Let’s talk about Fangirl.
The first person we meet is Cath. She is walking into her dorm room and she finds a boy in there. A Boy. Cath starts freaking out, but soon she finds out he is her roommate’s boyfriend. Crisis averted, or so she thought.
In the first twelve chapters we see how much Cath is afraid of change. She likes to be where things are familiar, where they are steady. She likes to be the one who takes care of people, and not the other way around. A lot of girl characters nowadays are written this way, where they are “self-less” “against change” “nerdy” but Cath is not selfless, she may help others, but she doesn’t want others to get her out of the little security she has managed. Cath is real.Cath is the fangirl and fanboy out there that uses books and writing to escape. She isn’t this super nice and humble person, she is a human being with faults and cracks.
Let’s talk about Nick. I don’t exactly know what my feelings toward Nick are except that they are… cautious. I like him because he is helping Cath get out a little more and in a way that she can cope with, writing. If Nick fades into the picture after the first twelve chapters, I am okay with that because he has already helped her enough and to me he has served his purpose in Cath’s life. Honestly, I’m Team Levi. I’m cool if Nick just… disappears.
Levi and Reagan. Can I just say how much I love these two, and each for very different reasons. I would have loved for Reagan to be my roommate in college. She and I would hit it off instantly. I wasn’t one to bond with my roommates too much. My freshman year I had bad roommates and what made matters worse was that my school was all about solving issues in a tell me about your feelings manner. That isn’t exactly helpful when dealing with bad roommate issues. I myself was dealing with a lot my freshman year and I wanted people to let me be and not change me into something I wasn’t. Yes, I was a bit of a rebel you could say. Anyways back to the story. I love that Reagan helped Cath overcome her block and made her go to the dining room with her and eat. After that, things got better instantly. Reagan was not a let’s do our nails and be girly stuff, she was doing her own thing and if she could, she helped others on the way. I like people that don’t get into my business and I think that is one of the reasons why Cath was cool with Reagan.
Now, Levi is also good for Cath, but for different reasons. He is quirky and nice. A good combination in my opinion. But what made me instantly like him was not just his easy, non-challant manner, but that he observed Cath enough that he knew she wasn’t really eating except for those darn protein bars. He ate her protein bars in order to make her deal with the issue. I would have reacted the same way as Cath, NO ONE TOUCHES MY FOOD, but at the same time, I would have been okay with it and put up with Levi like Cath did. After that, things change between Cath and she gets used to having quirky Levi around.
Cath and Wren were barely talking when their freshman year of college began and with their mother trying to return into their lives, it breaks the last fragile line that was holding both sisters together. They both completely stop talking. Neither one saying anything to the other. Never before has Cath been so alone.
Let’s quickly discuss WREN. She is dealing with her issues very differently than Cath, which I can understand but do not approve of. What really pissed me off was when Cath ran of to rescue her sister to find her drunk and Wren simply saying, Oh I texted the wrong C, I was trying to text Courtney. The one time Wren reaches out to Cath and it’s all a fluke. I was so mad.
Cath is dealing with a MIA mother trying to come back into her life, getting out of her comfort zone with no one to help her buffer the world, Simon Snow coming to an end soon, Abel breaking up with her, and a unstable dad she wishes she were home to take care of. That is some crazy stuff happening in her life and I think she handles it pretty well when assessing the circumstances.
I am proud of her so far and I know her journey is just beginning. And you know what guys, we will be there with her every step of the way.
The Talking Bookworm 