
Cath and Wren are twin sisters, theyโve done everything together, including writing Simon and Baz fan fiction. Now theyโre off to college but Wren wants to start doing things by herself. Forced to share a room with a stranger instead of her sister, Cath buries herself in the fictional world she loves so much. But is there time for coursework and Simon? And does Cath really need to socialise and make new friends when sheโs got plenty online already?
Levi lived in a house, like an adult. Cath lived in a dorm, like a young adult – like someone who was still on adulthood probation.
The main relationship is really sweet and suitably slow and awkward to be completely believable. Falling asleep on other peopleโs bed in halls of residences was always a common occurrence when I was at university and it wasnโt always because you were drunk. Cathโs nervousness at going it alone and the simple things of college life is really well done; living off energy bars because sheโs left it too long to find the cafeteria, not knowing what to do with the stranger sheโs suddenly sharing a room with.
There was a lot going on in her family life. Thereโs a lot left unsaid but can be pieced together when you look back at whatโs happened. Yet, sometimes it felt a bit all over the place, lots of threads that didnโt have the depth they deserved. Her father was an interesting case, coping with mental illness for most of it, and clearly a contribution to the break-up of their family, even if no one points the finger at him. Theyโre all too angry at the mother.
Wrenโs determination to separate herself from her sister seemed a bit harsh. I guess siblings do grow apart but it didnโt fit with this girl who used to lovingly write fan fiction with Wren and helped hold her father together when they were little.
“You’re not a book person. And now you’re not an Internet person? What does that leave you?”
Levi laughed. “Life. Work. Class. The great outdoors. Other people.”
“Other people,” Cath repeated, shaking her head and taking a sip. “There are other people on the Internet. It’s awesome. You get all the benefits of ‘other people’ without the body odor and the eye contact.”
The fan fiction aspect didnโt win me over. I can understand why she used a fictional fandom but I would have preferred it to be something that existed. Simon and Baz were close enough to Harry Potter for people to be able to relate but different enough not to cause legal problems. But my brain struggled to really click with their world and the passages just interrupted the flow of the story. And Cathโs choice to hand in fan fiction as coursework was mind boggling.
Iโve never been the hugest fan of stories about writers and writing though. Itโs just personal preference, and maybe I read more than enough writing stuff in real life, that I donโt want it in my fiction. There will plenty of people that will enjoy reading about Cathโs relationship with writing and relate to her special form of writerโs block. I did like her general geekiness though, there’s a lot of behaviour there I can nod my head at.
The thing about Rainbow Rowellโs books is that I do really enjoy them but the one I think Iโve enjoyed the most was the one people told me was her worst, Attachments. Itโs all about expectations, isnโt it? I donโt think this is as good as Eleanor & Park, which is probably her best but as I said in my review, I was expecting something different and maybe I wasnโt in the right frame of mind for that one when I read it. Iโm looking forward to her next one, Landline, though especially as it has some stuff in the past again. I love her snippets of nostalgia.
Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones | Hive
Also reviewed @ Reblog Book Club | Book’d Out | Fictional Thoughts | Jess Hearts Books
Shelve next to: Roomies by Sara Zarr + Tara Altebrando
Book Source: Purchased
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I am a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell and her books. Especially Eleanor and Park. There is a lot of hype around this one and I am afraid that going in to it with very high expectations will be my downfall.
Thanks for this review. Even though it is really good and you enjoyed it (the relationships look adorable), you didn't fail to over look some of the negative aspects you saw! ๐
Thanks for sharing, I am lot less apprehensive going in to this now :3 xx
Alex @ The Shelf Diaries
I loooooved Fangirl, mainly because I related to Cath maybe a tiny bit too much… I agree about the fanfiction thing, though. When I wrote my review, people were like 'FANFICTION IS A LEGITIMATE FORM OF EXPRESSION AND IT'S NOT PLAGIARISM.' and I'm like, both of those things are true (well, I think so) but it's still not appropriate as an assignment for a college course! How could it be?! Madness.
Also, for the record, I like Attachments better than Eleanor and Park! But I feel like Fangirl might actually be my favourite… I don't know, I just love them allllllll!
I still haven't read Fangirl, Ellie :))) but I'll be curious to see if I feel different about it.
I haven't read this one yet, but have heard nothing but good things about it. It's kind of nice to hear a not-so-good review about it, although I still look forward to reading it. E&P is something I have my eyes on next though!
Btw, I am a new follower following readathon participants before Saturday! ๐
Random Ramblings
Hi Jillian, I hope you have fun with the readathon! Rainbow would be a great readathon choice, easy to just sit down and get absorbed into her worlds.
Rowell writes such believable characters. Attachments is actually my favorite so far, but I enjoyed Fangirl too (I haven't read Eleanor & Park). I am not a fan fiction reader or writer, but I am interested it from a legal perspective (which was the focus of my comments in my review of Fangirl last September).