Book Review - Fangirl

Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Release Date: 30 Jan 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1447263227

Synopsis
Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. Without Wren, Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate 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. Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible ...

My Review
A proof copy of this came through at the library for my Teen reading group, but seeing as most of them read high fantasy none of them seemed overly eager. I'm going to the London Comic Con next month and there is an author fair there this year and Rowell is one of the guest authors, so I decided I might as well give it a go.
Cath is making the big move to University, and she is terrified, she's always had her sister by her side, but she's decided to go it alone, a different dorm and different classes. Cath ends up sharing a room with Reagan - a surly girl who really isn't interested in having a room-mate and her ever present boyfriend Levi. 
All Cath wants to do is write her fan-fiction based on the best selling Book Series 'Simon Snow'. She posts her fan-fic online and now has thousands and thousands of readers following her. It's what she is good at and all she really knows how to do. But life has to continue and Cath must discover what it's like to live in reality. 
I was really pleased with this book, I instantly felt hooked and like a had a connection to the characters, particularly Cath. I never went to Uni and I don't write fan-fiction but I could really relate to her nervousness and naivety about the world and the feeling that everything was too big and too scary. Coming to terms with the fact that you have to just go out and take the plunge sometimes and you'll be amazed what you can find. 
Cath is very intelligent too, she is very capable and bright and actually has a sharp sense of humour, she's instantly likeable, as is Levi - the lovely Levi. He is probably my favourite character, so sweet, so funny, so cute. 
All the characters have unique but relate-able personalities - like we all know someone who is just like them, so realistic.
So basically this story follows Cath through her first year at University, all the highs and the lows, school work, family problems, and even first romance. 
There was something just so captivating about this book I found myself finding excuses to be able to read and picking it up in every spare minute, I had to know where it went and what happened. And even a few days later (I've been delayed writing the review) I am still thinking about it and wishing there was more. 
I haven't read Rainbow Rowell before but I will definitely be looking up some of her other books. 

My Rating