Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Today alone I've seen at least four reviews of Rainbow Rowell's newest novel, Landline, so just to prove once again how behind the times I am, I thought I'd get around to writing up some of my thoughts about Fangirl. 

We could keep it really short and sweet; basically I loved it. I read it pretty much straight through. I found myself bringing it with me in the car and completely zoning out in the middle of conversations so I could read another paragraph, and after I'd finished I felt slightly sick and eye-achingly unable to contemplate reading a book which wasn't by Rainbow Rowell. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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 fan fiction, 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 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?

I would say that this is probably my third favourite of the three Rainbow Rowell books I've read so far. Note I don't say that it's my least favourite because they're kiiiiiind of all on the same level, but I really really adored Eleanor and Park and Attachments is just the cutest, but then I feel like when I reread Fangirl I'm going to be annoyed with myself for saying I liked it less than Attachments. Once again, I really adored the characters, especially Cath and Levi but also the whole supporting cast - Wren, Reagan (Cath's roommate), Cath's Dad - all of them were really well built characters and they all felt like people you could know in reality. The thing I love the most about all of Rainbow Rowell's characters is how human they all are. Every single one of them has personality quirks and insecurities and problems which I can relate to; I feel like I've known a lot of people who are similar to her characters and I can see myself a little in all of her protagonists. 

I don't know that there's too much else I can (or want to) say except that really everybody should be reading Rainbow Rowell, especially people who think they don't like love stories. In my opinion you'll have a hard time finding sweeter, quirkier or more real relationships in fiction. Read Fangirl. Read it now.