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We are-two crazy teenagers-Raven and Beez and on this blog we hope to enlighten you with our hilarious comments on the countless books we have read ;)

Friday, May 30, 2014

Raven: Fangirl


A novel by Rainbow Rowell

Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: St, Martin's Press
Pages: 445
Targeted Audience: All Fangirls (new and old)

Summary: From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.
A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. 

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. 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.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. 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... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Alright. 
I am ready for this.
Let's begin.
So... I-uh...I really... I just... Damn man! I am not ready! And I don't think I ever will be. Recently I have read so many beautiful books like 'Me Before You', 'Between the Lines', Addition', 'Pivot Point', 'The distance between us', and many many others but this book... This book is on a whole new level.

Now I am going to be honest with you here. Beez was the one who suggested that we should read this book since we have been fangirling over Sherlock, Doctor Who, Supernatural and Loki for a pretty long time. (Not that long actually. Just a few months)

So we start reading this book and it doesn't speak out to us. I mean, when you start reading a good book, the first page itself grips you in its tentacles and pulls you in but this book did not do that. We read like twenty or so pages and gave up on it. But then we read a few reviews by other people on this book and almost everyone loved it and so we decided to start off again and we kept reading and kept reading and kept reading...

For me, I was entranced by the book as soon as Reagan started talking to Cath. Her character was just so vibrant and hilarious. I have a bus mate who is exactly like her so I always kept imagining Reagan as that girl and now whenever I see her (My bus mate) I can't stop snickering! Reagan is a very intimidating person. Usually I don't get along with people who intimidate me but she and Cath got along so well that I couldn't help loving her.

Oops! Before we get into characters, the blurb. 
So Cath and Wren are twins. They have an awesome Geek dad and their mom left them when they were kids. Wren decides to go to college in Lincoln which is pretty far away from Omaha and Cath is forced to go as well.
Wren and Cath love each other (I mean they are twins! They grew up together) but Wren wants to have her own identity and so she does everything from cutting her hair to getting a different roommate in college. However, Cath doesn't want to let go of her sister. She does not like change. All she wants to do is sit in her room, put her glasses on and write Simon Snow fan-fiction and give Simon and Baz (The two main characters in the Simon Snow books) THE best ending ever. 

Simon Snow: It's just like how Harry Potter is to us.

Cath has a huge number of people who follow her fan-fiction and since she just loves writing she chooses 'fiction writing' as one of her subjects in college. And now she gets to learn from an awesome fiction writer called Professor Piper who thinks fan-fiction is plagiarism. 

The problem: Cath can't let go of Simon and Baz. She is losing her sister but gaining an awesome guy in the process. And as you can see, there is more 'change' than she can handle. 

Now lets continue with the characters.

Cath/Cather as we know, is a not so ordinary girl who has an ear fetish. Yeah... that pretty much sums it up. Hahaha! Not really, I am just kidding. It's just that Cath is so human that I can't describe her in a few words. She is a lot of things-funny, awkward, serious, nerdy, geeky, reluctant to trust people, indecisive, caring, etc. She is more human than any character I have ever read about. I just feel like I can relate to her. In fact, all the book worms who go around fangirling can relate to her. She is just so 'us' and I love that about her. 

Wren on the other hand was a complete arse in the whole book! Specially when she made fun of Simon and Baz, I was really pissed then. But by the end I fell in love with her too. She is back with Cath, writing fan-fiction with her, fangirling over Simon and Baz and just plain having fun.

Levi is just... Levi. He kind of resembles Tom Hiddleston in his views on being kind to everyone. He has a never-ending supply of smiles, a widows peak which reminds me of Matt Smith and Chris Hemsworth, and a very funny sense of humor. He isn't like the guys you read in every freaking god damn book! He isn't hot, he isn't 6 foot, he isn't muscular and well built, in short-I love him! He is a normal guy. He feels so real that when someone reminds you that he is just a character it's like a huge slap to your face. To be honest, I think Rainbow Rowell wrote Fangirl because she knew that people who would read it would fangirl over it and she was right.

Levi is not someone you would fall for on first sight. He has got so many layers to him. As Cath gets to know him more she falls for him harder and harder and so did I. He is such a sweet guy. Very very very few authors write guy characters who are sweet and not arrogant. Who try to win over a girl by being sweet to her instead of being a complete jerk. I could go on about him forever.

I want to marry a guy like him. And that is final. I ain't having no other kind.
Also the fact that he loves it when Cath reads books to him is just so 'sawoon' worthy.

Honestly, I never knew how the ending would turn out to be. Maybe it's because I never thought of the ending. I just kept reading. Never even bothered to look at the page numbers and before I knew it I was on the last page! I never cry over happy endings but this was one book in which I did. I just had soo many emotions going through my heart. And uh... we fangirled over the book. And I think that once you are sucked into the fandom, gay ships are very very common. Now I am reading another book in which I am convinced that one of them is gay or has a huge crush over the other guy. Yeah... being in a fandom has that effect on you.

P.S: There is a tumblr page called Carry On (Since that is the name of the book Cath was writing-Carry On, Simon) where you can read more excerpts from the Simon Snow books! And loads of fan art! It is awesome! Click here---> http://magicath.tumblr.com/ (Oh and Magicath is Caths fanfiction-writer name)

Lots of Love & Pasta,
Raven

Before we wrap up:
(Reagan) “I feel sorry for you, and I'm going to be your friend."
"I don't want to be your friend," Cath said as sternly as she could. "I like that we're not friends." "Me, too. I'm sorry you ruined it by being so pathetic.”
Now you know why we like her so much. 


 (A conversation between Levi and Cath)
“What's the plan?' she asked.
He grinned. 'My plan is to do things that make you want to hang out with me again tomorrow. What's your plan?'
'I'm going to try not to make an ass of myself.'
He grinned. 'So we're all set.”

Notice how he is grinning the whole time?

(Another conversation between Levi and Cath)
Cath: I still can't believe you work in Starbucks.
Levi: What's wrong with Starbucks?
Cath: It's just such a huge, faceless corporation.
Levi: So far they have let me keep my face.

How can you not love his humor??


Five stars and more!

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