An Ode to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: 3rd Day of Blogiversary Week

Hi Swooners,

Today's featured author is the lovely Rainbow Rowell. I've had the pleasure of meeting Rainbow at BEA 2013 and at YALLFest 2013 and both times she's been an absolute sweetheart. Today I'll be showing pictures and quotes from one of my favorite books from last year, Fangirl. 

For those that don't know about Fangirl (seriously, go out and read it) here's the synopsis:

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 fanfiction, 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 fanfiction 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?

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The best way to explain Cath in her new surroundings:

“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can't Google.)” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

She's one of us! She's a reader!

“To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

She might be slightly neurotic:

"Like maybe you think I’m a little crazy, but I only ever let people see the tip of my crazy iceberg. Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and socially inept, I’m a complete disaster.” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

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That up there, is one of the many reasons why Cath's roommate, Reagan, is one of my favorite character in the book. And her sarcasm and sense of humor definitely helped:

“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.” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

Cath's dad is a riot but honest:

“Honey, I've watched a lot of 90210. The parents weren't even on the show once Brandon and Brenda went to college. This is your time - you're supposed to going to frat parties and getting back together with Dylan."
"Why does everybody want me to go to frat parties?"
"Who wants you to go to frat parties? I was just kidding. Don't hang out with frat guys, Cath, they're terrible. All they do is get drunk and watch 90210.” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

I can't help but agree with Wren, Cath's twin sister:

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And Levi. I can't about forget Levi. The nicest book boyfriend you'll ever meet and who'll bring you Starbucks and likes when you read him the fanfiction you wrote.

“That moment," she told Cath, "when you realize that a guy's looking at you differently - that you're taking up more space in his field of vision. That moment when you know he can't see past you anymore.” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

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Of course, one of my favorite thing about this book is how Rainbow managed to describe how much a fandom can take over a person's life. And willingly. I can't describe it as well as Rainbow did or as many other authors and fans can but I agree how much fandom and everything that is associated with a fandom allows you live in that world a little longer and make new friends and experiences.

“The whole point of fanfiction is that you get to play inside somebody else's universe. Rewrite the rules. Or bend them. The story doesn't have to end. You can stay in this world, this world you love, as long as you want, as long as you keep thinking of new stories.” - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

On a different note, for those that have read Fangirl, how cute is this? I want one:

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About the author:

Rainbow Rowell writes books.

Sometimes she writes about adults (Attachments and Landline).

Sometimes she writes about teenagers (Eleanor & Park and Fangirl).

But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they’re screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she’s not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Tumblr

So now you guys can go ahead and play on the Rafflecopter and do your thing. The winner will get a chance to win a copy of Fangirl. Giveaway is open internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And be sure to enter the rest of the giveaway that is open and be sure to stop by the rest of this week and see what we have in store for you guys.

*If you see your picture up here and don't want it up, just contact me and I'll quickly take it down.