Dahlia's Reviews > Fangirl

I was hesitant to pick this up because of the combination of the facts that A) I was nowhere near as enamored with ELEANOR & PARK as everyone else seemed to be, and B) I've never been part of any sort of fandom, nor have I read Harry Potter. That said, I think if I had been part of a fandom, I might've been more disappointed in this book. As it was, I was glad to be able to skim a lot of the fanfic scenes and have it not really affect my enjoyment. (I did really enjoy some of them, to be sure, but generally more the brief chapter openers than the lengthy ones in-scene.) Overall, I'm glad I picked it up anyway, as I really enjoyed it.

With regard to the fanfic storyline, what I *can* appreciate, and what I loved the handling of here, is just the sadness at the end of *something* - any favored book series, or movie series, or TV show. It wasn't the fanfic aspect that drew me in; in fact, it didn't really do much for me at all. It was the pure love for the series and the realizations of all that came with it ending that really did me in.

Cath and Levi are pretty adorable, though in that "made for each other way" Rowell has of writing people that makes me unable to ignore that they're fictional: They've never "perfect" in the traditional sense, but they're always perfect for each other. This always makes them cute and sweet to read, and the relationships nice and lovely, but they always lack believability for me as humans who exist in the context of others.

As for the family storyline...eh. Not my favorite, but family storylines rarely are. I was intrigued by her twinship with Wren (when I remembered Wren existed), and particularly their views on twin-as-safety-net, but that was maybe two scenes out of a whole lot I could've done without.

What really struck me about this book, on a completely personal level, was that whereas with ELEANOR & PARK, I think I was distanced by my complete inability to identify with Eleanor in anyway, I actually felt quite a kinship with Cath, right down to our looks. Obviously this is completely subjective and I don't need characters to *be* me, but it was an interesting thing for me personally to observe given my post-E&P feelings. Anyway, I was just glad to get a little further on board the Rainbow Rowell train!