5 out of 5 Stars!!
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?
Kelsie's review:
I'm going to leave all the intellectual stuff to Nadia on this one. Let me just begin with saying that this if the first book in I can't even remember that I HAD to finish reading. I stayed up until maybe 3am? It's all kind of blurry have 1am, but I am happily enjoying a book hangover right now. What can I say about this book? It's fantastic in the ways of Perks of Being a Wallflower and every Stephanie Perkins novel. My favorite thing in the world is character growth. I love it. I love seeing them become something more. Cath has a long road ahead of her in the beginning of the novel and she is dragging her feet when it comes to growing up. She is in full on Peter Pan mode, but she has to. The people who come into her life refuse to leave her behind.
I'm going to keep this short because I know Nadia has a lot to say about this one, but my absolute FAVORITE thing about this book is the situation with her mother. I LOVE that the author didn't cop-out with the whole forgiveness thing and then everything was ok. I sympathized with Cath so much on this one. It grabbed me and I found myself nodding along when she spoke about what happened and her feelings about it. I get you, Cath. I really freaking do. I saw so much of my Freshman in College self in Cath that it really made me nostalgic. Also, super quick and then I'm passing the buck, but can I just express my undying LOVE for all things Levi? Oh Lawd, what a male lead. Beautiful boy with a beautiful soul. You captured me Levi, ya big nerd! Gah. Ok. Go read this right now, my lovies. Goooooo noooooooooow! Actually wait and read Nadia's review and then gooooooo!
Nadia's review:
Rainbow Rowell has a talent that is gorgeous in its simplicity. She has this striking ability to arrow to the heart of the matter with a simple, beautiful turn of phrase. Case in point: “You give away nice like it doesn't cost you anything.”
Sentences like that...they undo me.
I guess one of the main reasons that I fell in love with this book is that Cath is so relatable. We're all Cath in some shape or form. Whether it's using an author's world to escape your own, or social situations leave you feeling like you're playing a game of Minesweeper that you are always destined to fail, or made to feel weird over your overly intense reactions to things other people expect you to act blase about.
Also, her secondary characters are so well developed! At the end of the book you feel like you know each and every one of her characters. Even Simon and Baz.
Fangirl has this coming of age feel reminiscent of The Breakfast Club and all those other eighties movies. It's a book that will leave you coming back to it again and again.
Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.
Kelsie's review:
Ok, wow. This was such a heart-breaking and painfully poignant story about first love. I loved it and hated it and so many feelssss. The ending though. I will be honest and say that I contemplated throwing my Kindle across my room in a fit of rage and then I calmed down. Then I thought about it and I realized that maybe the open ending was perfect for them, ya know? They are 16 yrs old and it's first love. It allows the reader to make up all kinds of scenarios for them.
I call it painful because good lord what wasn't painful about being a teenager? Everything we learned about ourselves was embarrassing and horrifying. Being a teenager is all about being uncomfortable in one's own skin and it translates so well in this book. It was cringe worthy, but in a nostalgic way hahaha! I promise this is a good thing. Sometimes life does suck, but sometimes there are moments that are filled with so much sunlight and sweetness that it makes up for it. That's what this book was like for me.
And the characters! Man alive, this chick writes such beautifully flawed characters. I love them and felt them in my bones. They are both so young and naive, still discovering things about themselves and it was wonderful. This book literally felt like a growing pain. Do I recommend this? Definitely. I am loooooving this author right now.
"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 . . . ?
Kelsie's review:
This was too stinking cute. I loved it. The emails between Beth and Jennifer were HILARIOUS! They also discussed very emotional things and I can see why Lincoln fell for Beth. I loved his reactions to the emails when they would talk about him. So funny. Lincoln's struggle with growing up and not being under his mother's thumb is admirable. This book is just another reason to love contemporary romance, or at least how it used to be. It's funny, sweet, and romantic. Me gusta!!!
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