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Violet and her twin brother Luke have been left to fend for themselves in their dilapidated home formerly owned by their deceased grandmother. Their artist parents live abroad squandering the family money. In their quiet little town of Citizen Kane, Violet only has two companions, her brother and their neighbor Sunshine, until River West arrives and rents out their guest house. River first appears to be a dream come true. He cares for Violet in a way that she has not been cared for in a long time. The only problem is that strange things begin happening in Citizen Kane shortly after River's arrival. A group of children are found running around the local cemetery, claiming to be chasing after the devil. A child goes missing. Strange and unexplained deaths occur. Each time one of these mysterious events occur, Violet begins to suspect that something is very wrong with River. But how could he be causing these horrible things if he is with her when they occur? Is River the guy she has always hoped for or is he something completely different from what he appears to be?
My Thoughts:
This new novel by April Genevieve Tucholke will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. Throughout the first half of the book, I hoped that River would be the good guy in the story. As the story progresses that possibility seems less and less likely. I could not figure out how River could possibly be attached to the mysterious events that were happening in Citizen Kane. The suspense really increases when River's true self is revealed. Fans of Lucy Christopher's Stolen, will definitely enjoy this exciting novel that leaves you unsure of who the bad guy really is.
Cath is a writer, a writer of fan-fiction that is, and she is obsessed with the Simon Snow series (Simon is a Harry Potter-like character fighting against evil that seeks to destroy his world of magic). Her twin sister, Wren, is also a fan, but has mostly moved on to new things. Cath and Wren have been connected at the hip since they were little, and Cath was surprised when Wren didn't want to be her roommate in college. Left to navigate her freshman year on her own, Cath spends most of her time going to classes, writing Simon fanfiction, and avoiding the dining hall. When faced with loneliness, a new fiction writing class, and a mentally ill father, Cath absorbs herself in the world of Simon Snow, believing it is much better than her own. Noticing her intentional seclusion, Cath's boisterous roommate, Reagan, and her boyfriend, Levi, attempt to befriend her. As she moves through her freshman year and forges relationships with unexpected people, Cath begins to see that her own world isn't so bad after all.
My Thoughts:
Rainbow Rowell has done it again. I have been in a reading rut lately, unable to find any really good books. I am currently stuck in the middle of two novels that I am desperately struggling to finish. Because I absolutely loved Rainbow's other two novels (Eleanor and Park and Attachments), I hoped that Fangirl would be great as well. I was not disappointed. I picked up this book two days ago and barely put it down until I finished. Rainbow does such a superb job of creating and developing characters that you will fall in love with. I cannot recommend this book enough. And if you haven't read any of Rainbow's other novels, what are you waiting for? I predict there will be some awards given out to this phenomenal author in the near future.
