I finished Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell on February 18, 2014 according to my page on Goodreads. I’m sure most of planet knows by now how I felt about her previous book, Eleanor & Park. It is one of the very few books I assigned 5 stars. Everyone knows how picky I am when it comes to rating books. My friends Kendra and Carey make fun of me repeatedly, calling me the Scrooge of readers. Kendra still hasn’t forgiven me for giving The Girl of Fire and Thorns 2 stars. (I stand by my 2-star review, Kendra, so don’t even.)
On February 18, 2014, I gave Fangirl 3 stars. I liked it, but I wasn’t telling the world about it like I did Eleanor & Park. I had trouble connecting with the story because I couldn’t relate to the main character, Cath, who is a socially awkward, passionate fan of the Simon Snow series (think Harry Potter). She is such a fangirl, she writes Simon Snow fan fiction, and however shy and introverted she may be in real life, online she is a superstar. Her Simon Snow fan fiction rivals that of the actual series in popularity, and as strong a writer Cath may be, she can’t imagine writing anything other than Simon Snow fan fiction. Fangirl is about Cath’s attempt to live life outside the fandom.
I was a fan of the Harry Potter series, but at the time the books came out, I was in my late 20s and in law school. I spent very little time on the internet and reading was something I had to put off until summer. No matter how much I loved Harry Potter, it wasn’t enough to get online and, to be honest, I didn’t know fandoms or fan fiction existed. I haven’t even watched all the movies because I wanted to reread the books first. What I know of Harry Potter is because of the books. That becomes important later.
My first taste of fan fiction came with Twilight. Long before 50 Shades of Grey became the juggernaut everyone but me has read and loved, it was fan fiction. The first time I heard of it was on a book blog. The blogger linked to it, gushing about its magnificence. Okay, I thought. I’m always up for free books!
Holy hell, NO. I was shocked at how awful it was. I read three pages, maybe less, before I gave up. This was 50 Shades before it became 50 Shades! I’m sure it went through numerous revisions (new names, at the very least!) before publication. I can almost guarantee what I read isn’t what was published. Note: I’m not saying what was published was good, but I hear the story is compelling.
Last night I changed my rating of Fangirl to 4 stars because in retrospect, while I didn’t connect with Cath, the book did open up a whole new world for me. Cath is obsessed with Simon Snow, but her fan fiction is about Simon and Baz falling in love despite being enemies. It’s slash. Obviously, Simon and Baz are Harry and Draco. Keeping in mind my previous media-free Harry Potter enjoyment, you might understand why, when I read about Simon/Baz aka Harry/Draco (now you know why it’s called ‘slash’), I looked up and thought: Wait. You mean I’m not the only one who thought Harry and Draco stormed around Hogwarts acting like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton?! I remember reading Half-Blood Prince and thinking Harry needed to chilax with the Draco obsession or invite him to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop and be done.
I became more invested in the Simon/Baz story–Fangirl includes excerpts within the story–than in Cath’s story. It reminded me how much I liked Harry and Draco as characters, and to throw them into my very favorite enemies-to-lovers trope (Cecily and Nico! Moonlighting! The Taming of the Shrew!) was just gravy. When I finished Fangirl, I was sad to leave behind Simon/Baz. Then, a few days later I–swear, no joke–went online to see if anyone else liked the idea of a Harry/Draco pairing.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah, turns out one or two other Harry Potter fans like the idea of Harry/Draco. Since then, I’ve read many, many, many stories involving Harry/Draco. Some of them are horrible and focus on the sexual relationship. Eh. No thanks. I’m not interested in erotica for the sake of erotica. I’m interested in watching a relationship evolve into what it will ultimately become. For me, that’s the best part of any romantic story. I tend to lose interest once the initial tension resolves. The other stuff, though, has been really well done. There are fanfic authors who, like Cath, write better/tell more compelling stories than what you see in publishing today.
That’s why I thought yesterday’s comment from Anna was so great.
I just want to speak up, briefly in defense of fanfiction: I have been reading fanfiction for over 13 years now (wow, just did that math) and have often found it to be much more compelling, true, and profound than many published works – especially the kind you’re calling for here, books for teens/tweens. I won’t argue that there is some real junk out there, but the same can definitely be said of many “real” books.
Fanfiction is primarily a labor of love, and it shows. The time and effort put into penning works of 75K+ words cannot be understated. I have always loved to read and devoured books at a pace that my family and library couldn’t always keep up with; fanfic filled the gap. It also made writing much more accessible (as people my age were writing things both great and terrible, and therefore I could either look to them or definitely do better). Don’t knock it; reading IS reading – I ended up with a degree in Publishing.
I completely, totally, almost agree 100%.
In my experience, the fandom often determines the quality of the fan fiction. The Harry Potter fandom, for example, is so gigantic, and has such a wide demographic, odds are you will find something amazing. On fanfiction.net alone, there are over 670,000 pieces of Harry Potter fan fiction. If we apply Sturgeon’s Revelation to this and assume 90% of that 670,000 is crap, that means, theoretically, there are 67,000 pieces of damn good Harry Potter fan fiction on that site. Funny, by the way, that Sturgeon was talking about Science Fiction, another much maligned genre, when he came up with that 90/10 rule.
Anna’s comment was in response to my desire for the 7th grade girls at school to read something other than Wattpad fan fiction. I believe reading is reading, and I would rather they read One Direction fan fiction than nothing at all, but I can’t go so far as to say “thank God for fan fiction because otherwise there would be nothing to read.” There are plenty of books to read. There are so, so many books kids can read right now, this very second. I didn’t read H/D because there was nothing else for me to read last month. (And I did read 4 other “real” books in that time.) I read H/D because I wasn’t ready to let go of those characters/that plot, and that’s fine.
I’m thrilled fan fiction exists; I wonder who I would be today if, at a very impressionable and creative 12 years of age, I had a community like that to support and nurture my writing. It is a wonderful introduction to the world of fiction writing and world building. But, I want the 7th grade kids to be cautious about becoming so comfortable they lack motivation to try something new or assume nothing else of value exists. This isn’t an idle concern. I believe The Baal Shem Tov said relationships are mirrors, and what we see in others are the traits strongest in ourselves.
Images: Cremebunny’s Drarry digital artwork kills me. Something so adorable shouldn’t exist.
Are you kidding me? 50 Shades Of Grey was vile. It wasn’t kink, it was a highly abusive relationship and the writing was excruciating. So if you have read it and didn’t love it, then I’m there with you. If you haven’t read it, there’s an excellent chapter by chapter review on a blog call the pervocracy.
*ahem* I shall now continue reading your post.
Hahaha! I never read it after that experience with the first few pages. I think I’ve actually read several of the chapter reviews on pervocracy before!
Just wanted to say I haven’t read any of 50 Shades. My 16yo reader mutters, when she’s sees anyone in public reading it, “Yes I’m judging you.” Not because of the content but because it’s so poorly written. So even if I wanted to I’d have to hide it from her!
So many things I love about this post, but perhaps the most is reminding me of Cecily and Nico! So much hotter than Nico and Julie. :-)
I have nothing scientific to base this on–just observation of my teenage daughter. She’s an avid reader and she loves the fandoms. I don’t think she reads fanfiction, but she’s definitely got the pulse of several fandoms. (Part of the reason I’m glad I read Fangirl is that it helped me better understand this part of her. Not to mention the words she uses; “canon” has a whole different meaning now.) But (getting to my point finally), I suspect that readers of fanfiction are always readers of “real” books. I don’t see fanfiction as a gateway to more serious reading. I do see them as a gateway to more serious writing, just as it was for Cath. Writing for an audience will always hone your skills. Great post for the same day as the Divergent movie premier! (And yes, my daughter HAS to attend that one today so that she can participate in the online reaction to it.)
Nico and Julie…so wrong. I mean, what? We should have rioted!
I’m so glad I read Fangirl, too. It opened up a world to me that the girls participate in daily. I find I can relate better, and that’s never a bad thing when working with kids. I know the language now, sort of! I hear you on canon. Also: slash, squick, !, and so many acronyms I’ve lost count.
I think that’s a great point about fan fic readers being passionate readers from the beginning. I’m thinking of one student who loves Divergent fan fic, and she’s a voracious reader in general. She’s actually going to read Fangirl on my recommendation.
My daughter loved Fangirl. And I think she really likes that I understand more of something important to her. And who wouldn’t want a boyfriend as perfect as…(Ah, can’t remember his name. That tells you something, doesn’t it? I’d never forget Nico’s name!)
Fangirl…ah.. Fangirl… hmmm. I only gave it three stars and the reason for that was that I wanted to dump ALL (ok, 90%) of the fanfic story within the book (I actually started skipping through the Simon/Baz stuff. yawn.). I realize I am not the target audience and I never was, even when I was much (much. sigh) younger, because when I’m done with a series, I’m Done With A Series. I don’t feel the need to immerse myself in even more offshoots of the storylines. I’m not against it though and I agree with Rita above about people that follow fanfic are already avid readers and I can see it being a great gateway for writers/writing, as well. If it motivates people to read and write? Great. I just hope that they don’t fixate only on one set of stories/books/fanfic.
In response to Louise: 50 Shades- RIGHT?!! One of the worst pieces of writing ever. Everyone was telling me, ‘oh, it’s a beautiful love story and not just kink’ . No, it’s not. I couldn’t even get through the first pages because the writing was horrendous and that’s before we even get to the actual plot/story. Painful. ha ha ha.. pun intended. It was it’s own kind of torture! ;)
Gasp! You skipped Simon/Baz?! ;) I wanted to skip the “real” Simon Snow stories. I didn’t because I’m compulsive.
I’m not the target audience either, but I had to give it one more star last night because it did show me that fan fiction can actually be good. I had such a bad impression of it following 50 Shades.
Thank you for this review! Fangirl is on my to-read list, and I’ve heard mixed things. I wrote fanfic in high school back when I had to log on using AOL dial up to send my stories to my “publisher” (the owner of a Geocities site dedicated to our fandom). It was fairly popular (what a weird thing to get “fan” mail at 17!) and I met a lot of really neat people and had a ton of fun working on my story. When I went to college, I intended to keep going, but I suddenly had studying and a social life and I never went back to it.
I had really mixed feelings when 50 Shades became so popular, especially when I tried to read it and it was AWFUL (I don’t actually think the first book did go through an editor). It seemed weird to me that it was OK to make so much money off of a story that used the characters from another franchise (with the names changed). I was pretty snobby about it being “glorified fan fiction” but maybe I was just jealous that I never became a bajillionaire from my fiction.
That is awesome. I didn’t get the internet until I was in college, and even then I didn’t use it. I heard about it, and knew we had access to it in the computer lab, but I didn’t get it. I didn’t even understand what you could do with the internet until I started planning my wedding, and that was in my mid 20s!
I’m not going to lie: I had horrible, terrible, judgmental opinions about fan fiction because my only experience with it was 50 Shades. I thought it was terrible that she made so much money that used Twilight characters with different names. I still don’t think it’s right, actually.
I’ve read 50 Shades, and the first two books of the Twilight series. Your instincts and tastes are correct: they’re the worst ambassadors for fanfiction. There are a lot of reasons to have deep reservations about how they portray relationships between men and women, and in the case of 50 Shades, the issue of informed consent and BDSM… nope nopitty nope nope. With a side of NOPE. On St. Nope’s Day, the year of the Nope. There are excellent fanfictions out there which *I* think should be published.
F- would not read again.
I’m reading this book right now ( so than you for the lack of spoilers. ) I have been thing about you while adding it. Did the character names drive you crazy? I got the Cather/Wren thing right before it was explained, but it bothered me that Nick &Courtney seemed to be the exception with the name choices. They were all real names, but how many Levis & Kelly’s do you know? (I actually do know a Reagan, but just 1).
I’m not done with the book, but I am a little surprised at the professor’s distaste for fan fiction. I imagine is supposed to come from the fact that she is an author & is projecting her own feelings about people “borrowing” her characters. I can see that she wouldn’t find it acceptable for an assignment when she asked for original writing, but the concept is actually very similar to writing assignments I had where we would mimic voice of certain narrators (like Holden Caulfield) or imagine what happens next in stories with abrupt endings. I do feel like it is a writing exercise and not the same as original fiction writing, since you are only dong part of the work.
As for reading it. . .it had a friend who was very into Buffy fanfic, an the a little into HP fanfic wen the books ended. For my friend, think her attraction to it was so that she wouldn’t have to let go of characters he had grown attached to. I tried a little, but it’s not my thing. While I do like the words the original writers created, I like the actual writing, so someone else’s version doesn’t really grab me. And like you said there is too much bad writing to wade through.
For kids though, I don’t know if it would bother be as a starting point, because there is a lot of bad writing out there in the published (YA) world too. So I think it can be useful to help them get into reading & learn what they like, but yes there is so much more to explore.
I have never read any fanfiction, although I am aware that it exists and seems like a world all its own. I read Eleanor & Park on your suggestion and that led me to Attachments and subsequently to Fangirl. I love them all for different reason, but for me, I think it comes down to me loving Rainbow Rowell’s writing style and her characters. You get attached and emotionally invested in the characters and to me, that is great writing — when you care what happens next to every single character and you can’t put the book down. So, Jules, I thank you for introducing me to Eleanor & Park, and in turn to Rainbow Rowell. She’s definitely one of my favorite writers now!
Well, I’m thinking I might skip this one. I really liked Eleanor & Park, but honestly Attachments was just so-so to me. I do think it is largely because I didn’t relate to the characters; E and P seemed more universal, while the characters in Attachments were more of the time and of their age. My daughter reads some fan fiction, but mostly because she likes to write. I think it would be interesting for both of us to read this one and then have her tell me how much it does or doesn’t reflect her view of fandom. I’ve avoided fan fiction mostly because of the already too many books in my life and because I fear it will be a big black hole I fall into and spend too much time in.
Fanfic is great for exploring more possibilities in your favorite story’s universe. But it’s supplemental and not wholly original so one should branch out often to read other subjects or series or be in danger of having their imaginary world grow too small.
I know this because my grandmother was once very well read and now only pours over tabloids. We only ever talk about Kardashians and Brangelina. It’s very tiresome.
My 6th grader just started mentioning Wattpad to me and is very enthusiastic about it — she calls it “fun,” which to me shows that she gets the difference between the fan stuff vs. “real” stuff. If nothing else, I hope that she gets more into Wattpad b/c she’ll see that she can write and finish something and have a forum to share it. As of now, she’s a terrific creative writer and comes up with lots of ideas, but is terrible on follow-through (hmmm…where’d she learn that??)
And as an obsessive Harry Potter fan, I think she’d love and relate more to this Rowell book than “Eleanor & Park,” if only b/c she’s still too young to really have much interest in romance/relationship stories. Great post!
Oh, I very clearly remember when I discovered Buffy fanfic in the late 90s. Some of it was awful. But some of it was so well written. I remember one series that went off into this post-apocalyptic direction; I checked every.single.day for the next installment. And the slash was a real eye opener for me. I honestly believe that reading the development of emotional relationships between characters I was already invested in played a large role in my ever more accepting view of LGBT in my early 20s before I made good friends who were. Because at that time, there was very, very little representation of LGBT in mass media outside of Will and Grace. And even less exploration of intimate relationships. In a way, it was ground-breaking.
Oops – ignore. Meant to post on today’s post!
I like fanfiction. (I was exclusively a fan of Harry Potter fanfiction.) 90% of it is terrible, and I miss the days when I had a network of friends who were a great source for pointing out really, really good fanfiction. *sigh*
One unusual thing that happened via fanfiction for me was this: character A was going through a rough time, very sad! much feelings!, and character B referenced the album Under The Pink as music to listen to at night. I already had the album, had had it for years, but hadn’t ever connected to it. Everyone else I knew had connected to the music and found something in it that spoke to them. I listened to the album while being in the head space of that story and found MY connection to the album. I can listen to that album today, ten years after I found my way in, and I can still access that… gestalt. *waves hands* I don’t know how to say it!
Anyway. Fanfiction: A+ would read again
I like reading fanfiction for various fandoms. I will say that I am a snob when it comes to reading fanfiction. If I can’t make it through the first sentence without finding misspelled words or horrible grammatical errors, I stop reading right there. But there are some good writers out there.
I read all three 5o Shades books, in the hope that they would get better as I read more. I never read it while in facfiction form, but I will say that the editor didn’t do their job. The writing was weak and at times, all I wanted was for the plot to move forward. It isn’t worth the time it would take to read it. I’ll never get those hours back. I’m just glad I got them from the library and didn’t spend money on them.
I’m really late getting back to this, but here I am with a comment I’ve dithered over leaving for long enough.
“I would rather they read One Direction fan fiction than nothing at all, but I can�t go so far as to say �thank God for fan fiction because otherwise there would be nothing to read.� There are plenty of books to read. There are so, so many books kids can read right now, this very second.”
Very true! There are plenty of books to read. Especially now. YA fiction has come a LOOOOONG way from what it was when I was scouring the shelves and the best and brightest offerings were Sweet Valley High and The Face on the Milk Carton (no judgment on anyone who liked these, but I very much did not). In fact, I can’t even remember hearing the words “YA fiction” until I was almost out of high school.
And finding books you might like is way easier now, too. Amazon’s Suggested Titles is the miracle I was looking for in the stacks in 8th grade. The best I had to go on was what my friends liked or what the library chose to carry; complete shots in the dark. It gets old, quickly, searching for something that fits, that resonates. The Harry Potter books spoke to people across generations in a way that few things ever do or have. You are clearly making every effort to help students find the book that fits, and I can’t even express how awesome that is, but not everyone is quite so dedicated. It is a lonely venture to go through book after book after disappointing book and not find anything that really speaks to you.
One last thing, and then I’ll be done: “But, I want the 7th grade kids to be cautious about becoming so comfortable they lack motivation to try something new or assume nothing else of value exists.” My main problem with this is the assumption that you cannot try anything new within a particular fandom. I have read a much wider variety of stories within fanfiction than I’d probably ever have tried without. In fact, I’d argue that it’s an excellent way to try out new genres; you know you already like the characters and the settings, and possibly even the author’s style. That makes it very easy to say “hmm, turns out I’m not a big fan of thrillers/horror/romance/mystery/etc” because all the other variables are already accounted for. Turns out I’m not a big fan of horror, but I did unexpectedly learn that I can enjoy historical fiction (something previously inaccessible).
And, take heart, after an intense four to five year love affair with HP fanfiction we amicably parted ways. It took me another five years before I fell into a new fandom, and I was reading all the way there.