Fangirl

Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

2013, St. Martin’s Press

9781250030955

 

Fiction

 

 

Reading Level: HL570L

 

Interest Age: 16-18

 

Annotation: Cath is a fanfiction writer with anxiety starting her first year of college.

 

Plot Summary: Cath is in her first year of college, and she’s having trouble adjusting, because of her anxiety and because her twin sister Wren is pulling away from her. Cath enjoys writing fanfiction for her favorite series about a boy magician named Simon Snow. Wren isn’t interested in fanfiction anymore, but Cath still loves it. She even writes fanfiction for her creative writing class, though her professor gives her an F, saying that Cath is a talented writer but that this is plagiarism. Cath finds a writing partner named Nick and they write very well together, though she’s not sure if they are friends. She does become friends with her roommate and her friend Levi, though, and she starts to do better socially.

 

Critical Evaluation: I enjoyed this book a lot. I think people with anxiety can relate to Cath. It’s very hard to adjust to new stages of life, and college is a difficult one. It’s especially difficult for people with anxiety, but Cath manages after an adjustment period. I’m glad that she ended up having a romance with Levi, because I think it shows that you don’t always connect with the people you might expect to. Nick would have been a more obvious choice, but he ended up being a bad writing partner and a bad friend. I liked the fact that Cath writes fanfiction, because fanfiction was formative to me and a lot of people in my age group. It is still very relevant to young people today. Simon Snow is an obvious reference to Harry Potter, the series that spawned probably the largest fanfiction community on the internet. I don’t personally think fanfiction is plagiarism, but I’m glad Cath got the encouragement to write her own unique works. Fanfiction is a good way to get into writing, but all fanfiction writers should be encouraged to write their own original material. I think this book is good for older teens who are interested in writing or who have anxiety.

 

Author Biographical Information: Rainbow Rowell is an American author of young adult and adult contemporary novels. She completed the first draft of her novel Fangirl for National Novel Writing Month.

 

Ties to Curriculum Units: Creative writing

 

Booktalking Ideas:

• Discuss Cath’s journey as a writer
• Discuss the Simon Snow books

 

Challenge Issues: Sexual themes, profanity

 

Challenge Defenses:

• Mention awards the item has won or been nominated for
• State the library’s collection development policy
• Reference the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights
• Provide rationale for the item being in the collection
• As a last resort, offer the patron a “Request for Reconsideration” form

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