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desiree930 's review for:
Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell
Oh man. I put this book off for a LONG TIME because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype surrounding it. So. Much. Hype.
I did end up enjoying this book, but I do think that there are issues with it that wouldn't let me rate it higher than 3 stars.
What I liked:
1. I liked that the characters were flawed and different. Cath's issues with anxiety and people isn't something I'm used to reading in YA.
2. I liked that this story has nerdy characters in the forefront.
3. The story was a quick read and while I was reading it I was entertained.
4. I really enjoyed Reagan and Levi. I liked that they pushed Cath out of her shell (as much as they could) and were there for Cath when she needed a friend.
What I didn't like:
1. Cath and Wren. I didn't HATE Cath, but I found myself getting highly annoyed with her throughout the story, especially after she and Levi began dating and she wouldn't even hold his hand. I felt like he deserved better than her. I get that she had anxiety and that she has a hard time with new people and new situations, but her attitude about other people demanding so much of her almost came off as pretentious. I don't feel like I'm explaining my thoughts very well, so there may be an edit in the future. I really, really disliked Wren. She was slightly redeemed by the end of the book, but so much of the story was spent with her belittling her sister and acting like an idiot that I just didn't care.
2. My thing I disliked most about this story is all the fan fiction inserted throughout the story. It created a very disjointed pacing, and I wasn't interested at all in those characters. I would've preferred more development of the actual protagonists of THIS book. I get that her reading to him is a big bond between them, but I don't need pages and pages of a story within a story. I ended up skipping all those sections as they came up. This is the main reason I couldn't rate this book higher than three stars.
All in all, I was underwhelmed by this story. I want to try a couple more Rainbow Rowell books in the future, but this one wasn't my favorite. Now I'm going to go hide from all the people sharpening their pitchforks...
I did end up enjoying this book, but I do think that there are issues with it that wouldn't let me rate it higher than 3 stars.
What I liked:
1. I liked that the characters were flawed and different. Cath's issues with anxiety and people isn't something I'm used to reading in YA.
2. I liked that this story has nerdy characters in the forefront.
3. The story was a quick read and while I was reading it I was entertained.
4. I really enjoyed Reagan and Levi. I liked that they pushed Cath out of her shell (as much as they could) and were there for Cath when she needed a friend.
What I didn't like:
1. Cath and Wren. I didn't HATE Cath, but I found myself getting highly annoyed with her throughout the story, especially after she and Levi began dating and she wouldn't even hold his hand. I felt like he deserved better than her. I get that she had anxiety and that she has a hard time with new people and new situations, but her attitude about other people demanding so much of her almost came off as pretentious. I don't feel like I'm explaining my thoughts very well, so there may be an edit in the future. I really, really disliked Wren. She was slightly redeemed by the end of the book, but so much of the story was spent with her belittling her sister and acting like an idiot that I just didn't care.
2. My thing I disliked most about this story is all the fan fiction inserted throughout the story. It created a very disjointed pacing, and I wasn't interested at all in those characters. I would've preferred more development of the actual protagonists of THIS book. I get that her reading to him is a big bond between them, but I don't need pages and pages of a story within a story. I ended up skipping all those sections as they came up. This is the main reason I couldn't rate this book higher than three stars.
All in all, I was underwhelmed by this story. I want to try a couple more Rainbow Rowell books in the future, but this one wasn't my favorite. Now I'm going to go hide from all the people sharpening their pitchforks...