Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Book: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Genre: NA Contemporary Romance, Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆, For: Fun From: Amazon
By Suey: Wow, but I've heard a lot about this book! Everyone seemed to love it. I had no idea what it was really about. Fangirl? Fangirl of what I wondered. And why did everyone love it so so much? Well, so she (our heroine) is a fangirl of some Harry Potter type series and she is a very popular online fan fiction writer. Things get interesting when she goes off to college and suddenly doesn't have as much time to keep up on her writings, and besides, now she has writing classes where she has to do "real" writing. And even more besides, she is a bit fascinated with her roommate's ex boyfriend. So he, this guy named Levi, was the best thing about this book. I agree with everyone that I've seen saying he's their new book boyfriend. He was simply delightful and fun and just the coolest. No wonder Cath was fascinated. But Cath herself, I was just so so about. She was a bit irritating, but still interesting I suppose. I didn't enjoy her Simon Snow fan fiction stories. They were thrown in here and there throughout this book, and they were long and weird and had nothing to do with the story. Except as a device to get Levi and Cath together, sort of. Maybe there's some sort of symbolism deep down, but I didn't dig to find it. I just felt it slowed down the main story and once there in the end, I skipped it entirely to get back to the story. Have you read this book? Did you enjoy the Simon Snow stuff? Or did it bug you too? I'm really wondering if people generally liked it or not. Anyway, so the relationship development was fun for me. And the relationship (or lack thereof) that Cath was struggling with regarding her family was interesting and frustrating. I didn't like her twin sister at all and I wondered why Cath even bothered with her. But she is her twin I suppose. Bottom line: Fun engaging story. I enjoyed it despite the fan fiction stuff. And despite the many many F bombs. Other Reviews: As you can tell, though, for me the blend of romance, family issues and friendship challenges worked like a charm! From Anna Reads: The bottom line is that I was bored much of the time and when the swoon-worthy conclusion arrived, it did not compensate for the lack of depth in the secondary characters and their individual conflicts. From Book Harbinger: There's just so much good in Fangirl . Cath has an interesting family dynamic, and a very interesting fanfiction hobby/habbit/lifestyle, and some school drama, and one of the most adorable romances I've read in a while.  From Read This Instead, This was a cute, fun book, but the gazillion issues were annoying at times. As were all the Simon Snow bits. Truthfully, I just find it hard to care about a fake novel that sounds too much like HP. From Estella's Revenge, Cath’s struggles to leave her old life behind and adapt to life at college felt very real. From Bermuda Onion's Weblog: Source: Article
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World's largest art car parade rolls through Houston

The world's largest art car parade rolled through the fourth-largest U.S. city of Houston on Saturday, attracting an estimated more than 300,000 spectators. The parade, now in its 25th year, gave art car-lovers a rare chance to view more than 300 cars of every shape and design imaginable, from a giant Radio Flyer wagon, a rolling banana, to a giant metal dragon. Parade entries include anything on wheels from unicycles, lawnmowers, to cars and go-carts. Participants are community groups, public and private schools, professional organizations, as well as individuals. "The Houston Art Car Parade captures the essence of Houston's eclectic and fun culture,"said Houston Mayor Annise Parker. "It is among my favorite events and one of the most unique treasures our great city offer." Kerri Kepler, who built her miniature ship out of a shopping cart, said her art car was "a super fun project to work on." The parade
The world's largest art car parade rolled through the fourth-largest U.S. city of Houston on Saturday, attracting an estimated more than 300,000 spectators.
day "is probably my most favorite day of the entire year," she said. The Earth, Wind and Fire car was built by art students at a local high school in collaboration with the robotics class. Participants were not only enjoying the process of transforming an ordinary car into a great peace of art, they also were participating to deliver the message that art is an integral part of everyday life. For the spectators, they were taking a day off from their busy work as well as sharing the fun of the art cars made out of their creators' limitless imagination. A mother who took her two children to the parade said though they have lived in the city for years, it's the first time for them to view the parade, because she is always very busy and have too many things to do. "I think it's big fun today. I have not expected so many cars. It's a surprise to me," she said. For her two kids, she said the parade is good experience for the children's imagination. The children's favorite entry is the giant metal dragon which rolled down the streets as the last car of the parade. The Houston Art Car Parade was born in April, 1988, with a 40- car parade seen by an estimated 2,000 spectators. Participants in this year's parade came from across the country as well as from Canada and Mexico. Source: China.org.cn
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