"Fangirl" - Rainbow Rowell

Hello fellow bibliophiles! As previously stated in my review of Eleanor & Park (read here), I have another Rainbow Rowell review for you! As background for Carry On, my book club's book this month, I recently finished Fangirl.

"Cath 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 the 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?"

Fangirl was good. Not great, but good. I have mixed feelings as I write this review. I feel like I had higher hopes for the book and author after reading Eleanor & Park. That's not to say this book doesn't deserve any credit, though. I liked the writing. Creatively, Rowell does a great job with metaphors and character descriptions. The romance aspect was not over done. I did feel the main character, Cather Avery, was sometimes too oblivious and ignorant to the things going on around her. I know that is how her character is "suppose" to be, but sometimes it was too much. While I know the fan fiction segments were needed, I often found them confusing and out of place. Simon Snow relates too much like the beloved Harry Potter, something that should never be imitated. That being said, it's easy to see why this book has been a hit in the Young Adult community. Overall, good book. Not my favorite by Rowell but still good. Great book for teenagers. As always, feel free to share any comments, recommendations, or suggestions.

Happy reading fools :)

Learn more about Rainbow Rowell's other books at her website HERE!

"Eleanor & Park" - Rainbow Rowell

Hello fellow bibliophiles! I've recently joined my first book club! I know... hard to believe I've never been in one before. In preparation for my first "meeting" I'm not only reading the book for the month, but other books by the author as I have never read any of her books before. A fellow acquaintance told me of the "bookache" she felt after reading Eleanor & Park and how "she wishes she could read it for the first time again." SO after checking out 4-5 books by Rainbow Rowell and getting this rave review I figured why not, let's start there!

"Two misfits. One extraordinary love. 

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem darker and flatter and never god enough... Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises... Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds-- smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try." 

I laughed. I cried. My heart swooned and then it shattered and swooned again. I loved the innocence of the lyrics and references to Romeo & Juliet. It was sweet and emotional. Between it's pages the narrative held all the feelings that us "different" kinds of kids felt as teenagers who weren't the prom queen or star quarterback. I loved all the personality in the writing of the characters, both secondary and main. The descriptions were detailed to the point I could clearly see myself within it's pages yet wasn't bogged down with adjectives. There is so much I could say about this book yet no words to describe how I truly feel at this moment. So I'll put it simply. I picked up E & P and didn't put it down until I was finished. I wish I could read it for the first time over and over and experience the story again. I'll leave you with two of my favorite quotes from the book. Read it and you will understand why I picked out these two specifically!

"That night, Park made a tape with the Joy Division song on it, over and over again. He emptied all his handheld video games and Josh's remote control cars, and called his grandma to tell her that all her wanted for his birthday in November was AA batteries. (page 60)"

"And you look like a protagonist." She was talking as fast as she could think. "You look like the person who wins in the end. You're so pretty, and so good. You have magic eyes," she whispered. "And you make me feel like a cannibal." (page 113)"

Read this book. Dive head first and live within it's pages. As always, feel free to share any comments, suggestions, and recommendations!

Happy reading fools :)

P.S. Sorry for the delay in getting this out. For once in my life I am experiencing what it's like to watch October baseball! It's taken over a good portion of my life. GO CUBBIES!!!

"Yes Please" - Amy Poehler

Hello fellow bibliophiles! I hope you enjoyed the posts from last weekend! I have been busy reading through my stack of books and have a couple reviews to get out for you this weekend. First up is Yes Please by Amy Poehler. While I LOVE Amy as a comedian, I am not sure how well her book matched up unfortunately. I know it is a memoir. That said, it is funny as I expect any book by a comedian to be wrote.

The book starts out a little slow. For the firs 70-80 pages, I often felt Poehler was trying too hard to be funny which was taking away from the story she was telling. Once she gets to the chapters about her start in Improv and stand up, I was more interested. The middle of the book was the best, in my opinion. While there were good bits towards the end, I often found myself skimming. My favorite two favorite parts were the chapter wrote by Seth Meyers and Amy's chapter about Tina Fey. I love hearing about their friendships. What I wouldn't give to be part of that group!

Over all I would I would say the book was pretty good. Not the best comedian wrote book but not the worst. It does have some funny stories and I did enjoy hearing about how she came up in the stand-up world. It's worth taking a read! As always feel free to share any comments, suggestions, and recommendations!

Happy reading fools :)