Fangirl

Cath has poured herself into Simon Snow, a fictional boy-wizard saga that seems to be everyone's favorite, though for her it is much more than a pastime. She and her twin sister, Wren, first lost themselves in those books as children, and the series carried them through the period after their mother left home. Their routine has always centered on rereading the novels, chatting in online Simon Snow communities, writing her own fan fiction, and dressing up as characters for film premieres. Wren has since moved away from the fandom, but Cath has no intention of doing the same.

College changes everything. Wren has announced that she will not share a dorm room with Cath, which leaves Cath navigating campus life alone and well outside anything familiar. Her new roommate, Reagan, is prickly, and Reagan's boyfriend, Levi, seems to be around all the time. A fiction-writing instructor views fan fiction as a sign that civilization is in decline, while Nick, a handsome classmate, cares only about the craft of words. Back home, Cath frets constantly about her father, a loving but fragile man who has never had to live on his own.

At its core, the novel asks whether Cath can manage without Wren nearby, whether she is ready to begin a life of her own, and whether she is willing to leave Simon Snow behind to do it. Rainbow Rowell, also the author of Eleanor & Park, explores family ties, first romance, and the process of growing up through a character whose devotion to a fictional world is both her comfort and her challenge.