Fangirl

So this is the part where I make some enemies.

You guys. I don't get Rainbow Rowell. I mean, I don't get the hype. She's an ok writer. She creates great characters, for sure. But where's the plot? Why don't her endings ever feel like endings? I swear, it's like she just lost interest after a few hundred pages and said, "Welp, that's enough. You can imagine the rest." There's not enough resolution.

I don't know. I don't hate her or anything. As a matter of fact, I just picked up another of her books (Landline) at the library today and fully intend to spend the afternoon reading it out on my patio.

I just finished Fangirl this week. It's been on my TBR shelf for a while, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. It was ok. A perfectly serviceable coming of age story about Cath, a girl who is really into writing fanfiction about a faux-Harry Potter series. At first I identified with Cath - she's pretty clearly got some anxiety issues that manifested in ways I could relate to. As the book went on though, Cath turned into something of a caricature. She's passive and reclusive and pushes the boundaries of what I can believe when it comes to being a late-bloomer. (she starts dating a guy she's already kissed and then doesn't let him so much as give her a peck on the cheek for over a month? really? really?)

The thing is, Fangirl didn't have much plot. Cath leaves home to go to college. Deals with her identical twin not wanting to room with her. Becomes friends with her somewhat intimidating roommate, gets a boyfriend, deals with family drama and bam. The book is over. There are enough loose ends to take up a whole second book. For instance: what's going to happen with Cath and Wren's mom? Is their dad really ok now? Or is he just going to continue an endless cycle of stable then manic then stable then manic periods for the rest of their lives? Is Wren going to be ok or is she going to turn into a full-on alcoholic?

Rowell spends hundreds of pages building this world and creating these characters and then just walks away from them. I don't get it. Why do people love her so much?