And, Cath writes slash fanfic! If you’re not into fanfic, I could see how these interludes between chapters would be boring and tedious, but I absolutely loved them. The snippets of Cath’s fanfic and the “original” Simon Snow story were delightful. Sure, it’s inspiration is obvious, but it’s reminiscent enough of Harry Potter to have a hint of tongue and cheek humor about it yet unique enough that it stands on its own. Rainbow Rowell creates a believable fictional universe for Cath to obsess over. What amazes me to no end is that when I finished it, I was sad that the world of Simon Snow was not real and that I couldn’t pick up that series and read it myself. I read this immediately after finishing the 13th and final book in a series that inspired me to write over a million words of fanfic (to give you some indication of the scope of that, an average YA novel contains about 75K words.) My thoughts: So, I’m going to be honest here.

And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.įor Cath, the question is: Can she do this?Ĭan she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?Īnd does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? 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. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.Ĭath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. 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.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.īut for Cath, being a fan is her life - and she’s really good at it.

Fangirl novel