Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Review: Fangirl
Series: N/A (Stand-Alone Novel)
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: contemporary

Hmm, I just don't understand why this was so praised. It was good but it was far from fantastic or life changing. It was just cute. I also thought it was really quirky, funny, and original…but at times it was too…boring? Not exactly, but it wasn't very enthralling. 

The plot was centered a lot on "finding oneself" and character development. Which is great, especially as Cath is painfully shy and very focused on books. She's not outgoing and has trouble without her twin. It was really great to see how Cath begins to mature throughout the book, and make friends on her own. On top of that she has to cope with her sister going crazy, her poor depressed father alone at home, and her own abandonment issues by her mother. 

I really think the most interesting parts had to do with her father suffering from the breakdowns and her broken relationship with her mother. The family background was deep and definitely had a huge impact on Cath emotionally. Seeing Cath overcoming that and go out into the world was the best part of the book. 

Other than that…Levi was cute, but there wasn’t enough for me. I didn't fall in love with him, he was friendly and cute. Typical love interest style stuff. Wren I didn’t like, I don't know if the reader was supposed to like her by the end, but she was very annoying and made terrible life choices. I liked Reagan a lot, she was so sarcastic, and she turned out to be a really loyal friend. I think she was a fantastic side-character that I would have liked to see even more of. Bu in general, I didn't really connect with the characters too well. They seemed distant at times. Cath herself was again relatable but sometimes she got annoying. She was constantly pushing herself down, and I disliked how she refused to do the writing project simply because she was so hung up on fan-fiction. Meh.

The fan-fiction parts were also good, but I didn't really get the full point of them. I enjoyed them, but they seemed extraneous. The end was unmemorable, I didn't really feel impacted. It was a solid book, but it didn't blow me away like I was expecting. I didn't fangirl over this or feel absolutely required to keep flipping pages as I read it, but I did like it. I am pleased that this was a stand-alone book because it was great as a simple story to read.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Review: Eleanor and Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Contemporary, romance

Recommend To: fans of Pushing the Limits, the Fault in Our Stars (they cause similar amounts of trauma)

What did I ever do to you books? Why do I deserve this absolute heart-wrenching, completely terrifying experience? I never caused you pain, but you nearly killed me. I never made you cry, but you made me drown in tears. Why would you do such a thing? I felt compelled to write this review at 1 in the morning. Because I just finished and the tear tracks are still fresh. This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. 

The characters, still so fresh in my mind just evoke such emotions. Eleanor, love and independence. Park, bravery and loyalty. Richie, complete and utter hatred. Even the secondary characters invoke crazy things, Tina, Steve, DeNice, Beebi, Ben, Maisie, Park's parents, Eleanor's mom and actual dad. The feelings were just flowing freely and were completely out of control. My family probably though I was a psychopath or something. 

The writing itself, it just....I'm going to be honest here, it terrified me. I was going out of my mind. Because as the story progresses, it hastens and develops a sense of urgency. I was feeling utter dread as it continued. The beginning was almost slow, Park and Eleanor meeting, falling in love. But then it starts to go. And it makes your heart crawl up into your throat. Because you know, you KNOW, something is going to happen and you KNOW it's going to do something to do this fragile/indestructible love of Eleanor & Park and all you can do is sit tight and pray that they both don't end up like Romeo and Juliet. It's completely crazy. And it's one of my favorite books of the year. 

Eleanor. She made me want to cry. And then get a grip on myself and hug every single member of my family. Her story...just the incredible amount of things she is forced to go through. The fear of not having enough food, not having clothes, not having a bathroom door, not having batteries. A useless mother, a drug addict father (actual father). Siblings who honestly terrified me. The amount of things against her were astounding. I wanted to pack my entire room up and hand it to her with a bow. Like here...an actual toothbrush and clothes. And yet through it all, she still remained Eleanor. 

Park. He was freaking Asian Prince Charming. Can I say I completely fell in love with him? The comic books, and the music, and making Eleanor tapes. He was the opposite of Eleanor in every way. HIs family too, gods they were adorable. I loved how they eventually welcomed Eleanor into their family, especially his mom (I loved her).

Here comes the actual ranting. Richie you sick, SICK, TWISTED man monster. I hope you rot in hell. Because even if you are fictional, you embody perverts, rapists, sexual predators, domestic abusers, sex ring runners and every humanly horrible thing on this earth and I want you all to die slowly. Because you are freaking disgusting. 

Sigh, overall, this book is simply amazing. But it completely drains you. And uses every ounce of your being. Then it rolls over you with a train a couple times for good measure. Just a note of caution.