Fangirl

This was great! I read Eleanor and Park a few years ago, and I liked it quite a bit as well. Fangirl is very much in the same vein: the writing is quirky, emotional, and fun, and so are the characters. I loved the modernized yet classic coming-of-age elements in this story. Fanfiction is uncharted territory in literature, yet it's such a thriving commodity online for young people and adults. As someone who has read and written fanfiction, it was great to see the concept handled so well here. The romance was so sweet. Levi is one of the best male love interests in my recent memory. Burgeoning sexuality in the main character, Cather, is handled excellently. Though infuriatingly self-sabotaging and pessimistic at times, Cather is a great character to follow around in her world. She has a good heart, she is inquisitive and interested in things outside herself, and there. Is. No. Insta-love. THANK YOU!
I didn't give this one a 5-star rating mostly because 1) I didn't feel like the mom plot was wrapped up sufficiently. She wasn't there, then she was, then she wasn't again. I'd have loved to see more of this plot in the story since it was such a problem area for Cather. 2) The Simon Snow bits in between the chapters didn't always make sense in relation to the story itself. I think it would have been more cohesive if it had been strictly Cather's fanfic instead of random portions of her fanfic and the Simon Snow books. These are really small faults I found in the book, but they don't make it unreadable in the slightest. I really enjoyed Fangirl and would recommend it to anyone who loves YA.