[Review] Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Original title: Fangirl
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release date: Januray 1st, 2013
Finished date: February 25th, 2015
Pages: 445
Read in: English

Synopsis

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Source: GoodReads

Final Rating: ★★★

Honestly, this is way overhyped. I was expecting much more of it.
It was sweet and funny in a quirky way but it was not a 5★ book.

"I still wish you'd get a dog," she said.
"I'd never remember to feed it."
"Maybe we could train it to feed you."

I also loved the fact that it portrayed mental illness in such a realistic way.I'm a huge fan of fanfiction, I read it often and I've even written a bit. It was refreshing to see such a big part of many teenagers lives portrayed in a book - it's the first book I've ever read about fanfiction.

The following extended review contains spoilers

If you have not yet read the book and/or do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read any further.

[Review] Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Original Title: Attachments
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Release Date: April 14th, 2011
Finished Date: March 6th, 2015
Pages: 323
Read in: English

Synopsis
"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ?

Source: GoodReads

Final Rating: ★★.5

I'm going to be honest - up until half the book I wasn't very impressed. Beth and Jennifer were hilarious, but I wasn't convinced with Lincoln. It was hard for me to start seeing him as more than a creep who proof-reads other people's e-mail. Once I got over that, it was actually like experiencing a Nora Ephron movie in book form - think You've Got Mail, but creepier.

«Falling... was he falling? Or was he just bored?»

I will also admit that, since I don't even know what Dungeons & Dragons is, there might have been little things that I didn't notice and/or couldn't interpret correctly.
Anyway, it was nice, but not really my thing. Which is a shame, because I actually like Rainbow Rowell's writing a lot.
Give it a try, you might like it.

«"I think I missed my (...) get-a-life window. I think I was supposed to figure all this stuff out somewhere between twenty-two and twenty-six, and now it's to late.»

The following extended review contains spoilers

If you have not yet read the book and/or do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read any further.