#BTBBC: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Book Review

#BTBBC: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Book Review

Thursday, September 24, 2015

I read this book before but I got tired twenty pages after and then abandoned it on my phone for the last few months that have passed. Now last month (July), the exclusive collector's edition got me interested, since it was pink and idk what got into me and bought it on B&N. Right after I got the package, I found myself just staring at it for a few weeks and then came the book club that I recently joined, the Back to Backlist Book Club (#BTBBC), and the book of the month [August] was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It was a votation and I voted for the book mainly because it was convenient for me since I have a copy of my own and so after the votation period, it was announced that the book of the month was Fangirl and I was psyched! IDK why. :\

So anyway, that got me into finally finishing the book that I have abandoned a long time ago.

Fangirl is a cutesy story about a fangirl, obviously, who is obsessed about Simon and Baz, a fictional character from the famous Simon Snow series by Gemma T. Leslie which is somewhat similar to the Harry Potter series in real life. Cath is our ultimate fangirl in the book, who writes fan fiction and her stories are famous in the online community. She enters college and tries so hard not to entertain people and just focus on her fan fic and then go to classes and that was probably her plan until her room mate just can't take it anymore and then they became friends and then a lot has happened and then she has this mom problem, dad problem, twin problem, fiction writing problem, Nick problem, plagiarism problem, boy problem and basically every problem that stacks up until you don't know which one to knock out first.

Okay, so basically that was the story, I hope I made a good description of the book but I'm not so good with that so just bear with me, wormiees.

Reading the book for the second time, I still found myself bored with the fanfic part. I mean, for the first few chapters, I was reading it, but then as I go on, I found myself not really caring at all about what Simon Snow is doing or not doing or anything so I just skipped it all the way to the end! I mean, every end of the chapter, there is a Simon Snow related page that has nothing to do with the chapter, and it's just there, you know? It's not like I won't make it through the book without reading it. I guess it's just for effect. But anyway, I did not read all of those after chapter Simon-related paragraphs, just so you know.

I feel like there is a lot of missing links in this book, even unsolved problems, I guess.

First is the issue about Abel. Um, that's it? It wasn't even elaborated in the book, even for just a few paragraph about Cath and Abel's real (or unreal for that matter) relationship. What the hell is what-you-and-Abel-have-isn't-real-it's-an-end-table-bla-bla pep talk all about? Don't you think we deserve a glimpse of what that end table is all about? Like 3 or 4 or whatever years is short enough to ignore for all of them? Even if it's a dead end between Abel and Cath, the friendship was still built you know? It's not just okay-it's-over-between-us kind of thing. Please? What, he's just a filler? He's just there to add some spice to the story? Which ended up not adding any flavor to the mix after all, by the way.

*calm down*

What I am saying here is, Abel and Cath are friends. It's not something that they can just throw out the window. They could have wrap all the loose ends nicely at the end of the book. It's just that, this book felt like there were a lot of unresolved problems that were just abandoned after it was laid out in front of us. Cath found Levi, and Abel found another girl, they both know what they had wasn't real, so there should be something in there you know? Like "hey, we both know it's freaking end table but you are still my friend and we should not waste our friendship over finding the real thing for both of us" kind of thing.

Next is the mother problem.

I think that this book has a lot of problems in it. Real life problems but somehow it chooses to ignore the reality and focused more on the teenage problem that are a bit shallow. Forgive me, yes I think this is a struggle for some young adults--facing the reality of growing up and leaving the comforts of being young behind but let's face it, Rainbow Rowell threw in bunch of serious problems in this book but she chose to ignore those and resolved the ones that I think she thinks are more suitable for young adult readers, but come to think of it, many young adult readers experience family problems and resolving these problems in this book doesn't change the fact that the intended audience is for young adults. It is deep, it is serious,but readers find comfort in what they read, and readers find solace and companion in a book that understands them and not the other way around.

Wren, Cath's identical twin sister, is broken. So is Cath. But Wren has a different way of venting out the problems that she chooses to ignore in her crumbling teenage life. It all started with their mother, of course. Their freaking mother who can't handle the life of being a mother; their freaking mother who did not take the responsibility of being a freaking mother of two growing beautiful twins because she's not freaking ready to be a F*CKING mother! *okay, calm down*

Back to the mother problem. It wasn't resolved. It was just a passing thing in this book. She's just a passing conflict that is not worthy enough to be resolved in the book. Wren wants to welcome her back into her life just to fill a hole in her heart that only her mother could fill. Not the alcohol, not the boys, not anything or anyone else but the mother only. Cath didn't want her and I understand because the mother didn't want them so that's just it, no question about that. We may have different opinions about it but yeah, it's Cath's decision and I totes understand her.

What I hate about the mother problem is that, as a character, she's disposable. Whether Wren wants her or not, or whether Cath could hate her or not, she's just a small character that can totally be erased in a single stroke. The only depth the mother gave into this story was the brokenness she instilled in her daughters' hearts. I don't really know, I just think I was looking for something more out of their mother problem. The last of her was in the hospital and all she said was she's not a part of all that and Cath gave her a chance. The only chance that she'll ever gonna get to be a part of Cath's life but she's just chicken about all of it. She just did not reach out as much as she needed to. If she really want to be a part of her children's life, she should be the one to make the huge effort and not the other way around.

I was disappointed, to be honest. The book was cute, the characters were cute everything that Rainbow Rowell does was cute but all of the cuteness ended there and as much as I want this book to be beautiful and memorable, it wasn't for me. I have a lot of issues with it and there were tons of problems compressed in a single book. There were parts that I enjoyed and there were a lot of good parts, no doubt to that so after venting out my issues, I'll go the good part now!

The gradual romance is the best thing ever. Levi is love but he was such a douche in a later scene that made my heart broken... shattered, but she made that up by being the funny guy that we all love and adore. Levi *heart heart heart* Okay, I love it okay? There was a lot of okay okay okay okay in this book that everytime I see one I would have to put a sticky note and write, "Okay? Okay." in it. Get it? Get it. :D Levi is so adorable Levi is just the coolest person to hang out with... in your bed... Oopsies, that doesn't sound right, right? But if you read the book, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. Yeah? Yeah.

Cath was a good character, not great, she's dull and boring. The only time she's alive is when Levi grins or when Reagan curses. But anyway, her story is not forced, it's not hurried and she's a special kind of misfit that we all relate to. College is not easy and weaving through crowds of people that is not your kind of crowd can be tiring so she tuned herself out and made herself her best companion but here comes my favorite character of all, Reagan, she saved Cath from being crazy and sick while being the coolest chick ever! Cath is a character that everyone can relate to. She's not one of the strong ones but she definitely represents a part of us fangirls at heart.

The only reason I gave the book a 3 (on goodreads) is because I enjoyed some parts even though  I questioned half of it, but it's cool and cute and the book (physically) was beautiful, so there's that. My actual rating was 2.9 sooo.Yeah. :)

The book was good because Rainbow is a good writer, adored by a lot of teenagers and young adults, no doubt. Her writing is easy to get into and her characters are weaved to be someone that is totally us in real life. And the scenes where Reagan and Levi are a part of? Damn, those are def the good ones! All in all, a good book that everyone loves (but not me :D), give it a try and tell me what you think about it.

5 Reasons Why Book Lovers Are The Happiest

5 Reasons Why Book Lovers Are The Happiest

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

We are not weird, we just don't settle with the mundane

We do a lot of things that weird people out. Take me for example, I dance like crazy with or without audience because my favorite heroine does it so I would think it's cool, it's fine and it's fun! Yes, we don't care about what other people think because in the books we read, it's okay to be different and being different is what really makes us unlike the rest, which is the thing I dread the most, being just like all of them and not being unique in my own way.

We are never really alone.

Yes, we find a lot of friends, fiction or not, we have lots. Feeling lost, lonely, depressed? We just cope because somewhere out there, we just know, that there is someone who feels the same emotion we were feeling right now. Somehow, through these fictional characters, we are reminded that we are not alone.

We are never afraid to be left on solitude

People who don't read are afraid to be left in a place without anyone to converse with, because they don't have this skill that book lovers acquire. We can be alone and not be lonely at all because we have our books with us! We just don't leave home without a book in our bag, it's useful in time traveling you know? Do you really think it's a skill that only Mason and Scout mastered? That's where you're wrong, because just like them, we can travel forward through time. The only medium we need? A pretty good book and we would never really feel that 5 hours was already taken away from us.

We find solace between the pages

Because somehow, after emerging from a rough day, knowing that our fictional boyfriend will always be there waiting for us, is enough to cheer us up. The fun, the wit, the romance, the action, the drama is all the comfort we need along with the chocolates and the ice cream and the fluffy bed, really. *wink*

It's not that hard to please us, really.

It's not that hard to strike up a conversation with us. Sometimes, we might talk about something that we already experience first hand, but I tell you, even if we don't, we might know a thing or two about it. Why? Because we've read about it!

Like one time, when me and my sis talked about Paris, I kind of know this certain place and what it is or stuff. Why? Well, thanks to Anna and the French Kiss. Or when the time comes that someone will talk to me about Indiana, my ears will definitely perk up not because I've been there, but because Violet and Finch told me all about it in allthebrightplaces.

Agree? What are other things you think that defines us from non-booklovers?

BOOKWORMIEEPROBLEMS #2

BOOKWORMIEEPROBLEMS #2

Friday, April 24, 2015

I sometimes call myself a booknerd but most of the time I like to call myself a bookworm. Booknerd is a title that is somewhat extreme because it's like you are really in love with reading that you practically live in the fictional world more than the real one. As much as I wanted to call myself that, I don't think I've reached that point yet, although I'm pretty much in love with reading, I am still a newbiee, so I call myself a bookwormiee or wormiee for short (Thus the bookstagram @ishieewormiee) .

Bookwormiee Problems is a new feature that will tackle the problems that I encounter when I became a wormiee. Some of them might be the same as your experiences, so tell me below if you experience these problems too, as a booknerd/bookworm.

Welcome to my second wormiee problem. I don't actually have a list of wormiee problems because these problems just pop out of my head one moment when I'm suddenly experiencing it. Here goes another pop!

So last Sunday, I went to Executive Optical (EO) and had my eyes checked again after 4 months and in that span of time, my eye grade spiked up, not gradually, but SUDDENLY! And now I have to have a very expensive lens just so I won't have to endure a very thick lens (Although I only picked the ultra thin and not the super thin so it's still slightly obvious that my lens are thick) and ugggh I'm still freaking out!!!

Executive Optical is my family's go-to place for ten years now, where I got my first glasses and my first contact lenses so if you ever had the problem I had down below, just visit Executive Optical's website and find the perfect pair of glasses for you. *wink*

Book Wormiee Problem #2:

What the fudge happened to me eye?!?!

I think I just blabbed too much, so here comes the wormiee problem... *drumroll* Having very poor eyesight ;( Maybe I  am not speaking for the whole bunch of readers but there's a high probability that a lot of you are wearing glasses and doesn't have a 20-20 vision. Am I right?

It's a big problem and it's one of the factors why I am not accepting any more e-copies of books because I might not be able to read on my Note more often (I'm limiting myself to reading on my tablet only for my pdf textbooks). I know that physical ARCs are rarely shipped in my country (A Filipino wormiee problem) and e-ARCs are really convenient but I already stopped reading ebooks already and now I've got to save money to buy myself a book or joining book tours so I can have the physical copy to read.

It's not easy wearing glasses and contact lenses, do you agree with me?! Agree with me!!! Yes, yes, thank you! :)

Contact lenses make me look good and more confident but it's so darn uncomfortable for college students like me who have to sleep very late and wake up really early in the morning. It's not the most comfortable feeling in the world when you place the lens in your eyes when the residue of "puyat" still lingers even after taking a nice bath.
Eye glasses? Ugh, I have to endure wearing my new glasses that makes me look really weird. They're expensive! And they don't look good on me! Ugh! Perks of having perfect vision, huh? Yes, it's not easy to have the perfect pair of glasses especially when you're on a budget but my eye health is more important than looking fab so eyeglasses for me!

Maybe it's from reading, maybe it's from excessive internet use, but yeah, I own the blurry world now. Are you part of this world?

If only I would look as good as those ad models, then it would be perfectly okay for me to wear this stupid glasses and just wink wink wink because I'm so fab. =)) 

Definitely a bookwormiee problem. Are you experiencing the same problemo?

BookWormieeProblems #1

BookWormieeProblems #1

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

I sometimes call myself a booknerd but most of the time I like to call myself a bookworm. Booknerd is a title that is somewhat extreme because it's like you are really in love with reading that you yourself proclaims that you're a nerd. As much as I wanted to call myself that, I don't think I've reached that point yet, although I'm pretty much in love with reading, but I am still a newbiee, so I call myself a bookwormiee or wormiee for short (Thus the bookstagram @ishieewormiee) .

Bookwormiee Problems is a new feature that will tackle the problems that I encounter when I became a wormiee. Some of them, you might be the same as to what you're experiencing, so tell me below if you experience these problems too, as a booknerd/bookworm.

Bookwormiee Problem #1

"I thought that happened IRL!"

Reading too much just alters your reality in so many different ways. Something that happened in the Fiction Land just somehow seems to wriggle itself out and blend into our Mundane Land. Sometimes I also tend to believe that what happened to the girl protagonist also happened to me in real life. But sadly, I will always be shaken awake by the truth that it happened from a land far from mine and IT'S NOT REAL LIFE!;(

Another is, it blends its way through my dreams every night flooding my mind with emotions that I cannot decipher and then in the morning, it leaves me expectant in its wake. The feeling that you stepped into Fiction Land is surreal that waking up itself is a pain that IT'S NOT REAL LIFE! ;(

Books are our doors to our preferred alternate "reality", but as much as we wanted it to be real, there's a boundary between both worlds and one of the perks of being a wormiee? We can turn all things into reality, we can step into both worlds because we have the keys in our hands. These books are our passage to all the worlds there is to the universe. So maybe it's not a big problem at all, maybe it doesn't live in our world, but it certainly lives somewhere that only bookwormiees know existed.

Do you experience this situation where you thought it was IRL but it's not?