3.5 StarsMy relationship with Rainbow Rowell has been a bumpy one...she made me fall in love with her after I read Eleanor & Park, and then we broke up for a little bit after I read Attachments. But I'd like to officially state for the record that we're friends again after finishing her latest novel, Fangirl.Why? Because I am this book. I'm a fangirl. I write--or wrote--fanfiction for years. I'm still a somewhat active member in the fandom, and (some of) my stories can still be found on the internet. That made it really easy to identify with Cath, our heroine. An eighteen year old girl headed off to college. She's been separated from her twin sister for the first time, and she really doesn't know which way is up. I will say that even though I liked Cath, I didn't really feel fully engaged with her until almost 40% into the book. But once I was, I couldn't put it down. I will admit there was some skimming going on--the in between chapter scenes weren't really at all entertaining to me. Mostly because I couldn't not think of Harry/Ron slash, and I don't read Harry/Ron slash. I don't read HP fic period. So yeah, it was a little too not-for-my-liking for my liking (if that makes any sense).The other reason is because Levi was much more entertaining. And adorable. I wanted more of him and less Simon/Baz. He was cute, sweet, funny, swoony and yeah, did I mention adorable? Rainbow has a way with the boys. But great book boy or not, I wanted more of Cath discovering herself...and less Simon/Baz. I felt like they were perhaps maybe too large a part of this book. I'm sure others will disagree with me, but I wanted the main focus to be on the characters and I found myself distracted by the not-really-characters instead of centered on the main attraction.Overall, this was a fun, enjoyable read. I laughed. I swooned. I got clenchy. I almost cried!! I definitely recommended this to all fans of Rainbow's previous books, all fans of swoony boys, and most definitely fans of fanfiction!
