wow wow wow wow

And this is from someone who barely ever reads contemporary.

I picked up Fangirl while at work because I was bored. I didn't expect to like it, let alone love it, because I'm not a fan of Rainbow Rowell. I read Eleanor and Park and Landline last year, and really didn't like both. The characters just didn't feel relatable, the dialogue was weird and not realistic, and I just didn't care much about the stories. BUT...Fangirl was different. It was beautiful. It was perfect in so many ways. I can honestly say that I've never related more to a book! This is definitely one of my top 5 reads of the year so far and I'm really glad I decided to give RR another chance. Many people told me after reviewing E&P and Landline that I should try Fangirl – that it was RR's best book. I told myself that I probably wouldn't like it and there was no point, but I was very, very wrong.

CAN I JUST SAY THAT LEVI IS AMAZING! He's so kind and considerate and understanding. ASDFGHJKL I JUST NEED A LEVI SO BAD I CAN'T. Literally, I've been going through my ebook copy and rereading parts and dying cause its SO GOOD. There's literally nothing wrong about Levi at all! He's perfect in every way and I just want to cry happy tears cause I'm so glad I read this book and met him! His relationship with Cath is such a slow build, but I was obsessed with every second of it!

Cath is definitely one of my favourite characters of all time now. I see so much of myself in her. Her awkwardness and anxiety took me back to the first couple weeks of high school and early university. Seeing her living off of energy bars cause she was too nervous to ask someone where the dining hall was was so sad, but relatable. I loved seeing Cath diving into the world of Simon Snow to escape the world and the problems around her, cause I RELATE TO THAT SO MUCH. Her relationship with Reagan was hilarious and fun! I seriously want a roommate like Reagan. And Cath's relationship with Levi is exactly the kind of relationship I dream of! I loved seeing Cath's hesitation and nervousness about getting too physical with Levi. I feel like that isn't really seen a lot (or at all) in YA books. Everyone seems to be okay with kissing and cuddling, etc. like itt almost comes naturally, but it's really not the case with everyone and I'm glad that this was included in Fangirl.

I didn't go into Fangirl expecting the book to deal with heavy topics like mental health and family issues. So I was surprised to see Cath and Wren's relationship falling apart, as well as seeing Cath struggle with her anxiety, and having to worry about her father and her mother who now wanted to be in her life. It was hard to read for me for some reason. I felt a little sad and depressed part way through, but the writing was really good and I really wanted to know what would happen next, so I read on.

Wren was pretty much the polar opposite of Cath and she really annoyed me at first. I hated seeing how she cut Cath out of her life. Even when she had her wake up call and they were reunited, I couldn't help remembering how they went months without talking. It was really sad and hard to read about, but I also understood that Wren was just different from Cath in some ways. Wren wanted to become her own individual, and she thought to do that she didn't need her twin. I think she realized that family is really important in the end, and she can still be herself, but not separate herself from Cath entirely.

Cath's dad was a very interesting character. It was hard to read about what he was going through and I honestly got second-hand-worrying through reading this book lol. It was nice to see both Cath and her dad realizing they needed to address these problems and work out something. Though her dad disappeared after the whole Wren incident, I did really like him as a character.

Cath's relationship with her mom, I felt, was realistic. I could totally relate to how Cath was feeling and I knew her final story for her Fiction-Writing class would be about her mom. I wish RR could have gone into more detail about the story Cath wrote, but it was still beautifully done and also a little sad.

I started off by liking Nick. I really though he and Cath would be a thing at first, but he turned out to be a total douche and I'm glad Cath didn't just agree to put her name on his story. He deserved a lesson and I'm glad she showed it to him.

I read reviews where people complained that they didn't like the Simon Snow parts and that they skipped through them. I wouldn't say I loved them, but I didn't hate them either. I did love how it brought Levi and Cath together. It was just so adorable and cute to see Cath reading to Levi. Carry On did become a bigger part of the book by the middle-end, but I didn't mind. I felt like it was incorporated well into the rest of the story. I did have a lot of flashbacks to Harry Potter, but I found the magic system in Carry On to be a bit weird (what with words having the ability to work as spells), and I didn't exactly fall in love with Simon and Baz. I might read Carry On at some point, but I honestly just want more Cath and Levi! I hope to god they get married and have children! I can imagine Levi working at his ranch while Cath is writing and then Cath reading to him before they go to bed! It would just be so freaking adorable!

This is definitely a book that I recommend to everyone! Especially if you've ever been a part of a fandom before, written fanfiction, or if you just love cute contemporary romances. I'm hoping to buy this book eventually and I think it's going to be a book I'll reread over and over again and never get enough!

SO GOOD. SO MANY FEELS. JUST AMAZING!