Kenna Luker

Mr. Pace
English IV
15 May 2019

Fangirl: a Bildungsroman

Fangirl is an immensely relatable book. The book follows Cath, short for Cather, as she goes

into the first year of college. She is a nerd, to say the least. Her main purpose in life is to read the

Simon Snow books and write fanfiction. Cath is a pretty introverted person unlike her twin sister

Wren how is ready for the full college experience. Needless to say, Cath has relied on her sister

for social events her whole life. During her college experience, Cath meets her roommate,

Reagan, and Reagan’s ex-boyfriend the attractive Levi. At first, she feels isolated without her

sister and dreads the read of the Simon Snow series. Her roommate shows her some of the ropes

but her fall semester is a mess, especially when her mother wants back in their lives. Cath has to

struggle with her stress about new people, her isolation from her sister, her mother trying to

reconnect, and boy drama throughout the novel. In the end, however, she gets the guy,

reconnects with Wren, and manages to acknowledge the pain of her mother leaving. She even

manages to accept the end of the Simon Snow series.

Fangirl shows a very relatable story of trying to be yourself and surviving college. She struggles

with her anxiety over new people: “...the anxiety she felt like black static behind her eyes and an

extra heart in her throat, and shove it all back down to her stomach where it belonged"(5).

Everyone has dealt with something similar in their lives. People tend to ignore their anxiety and

say they will deal with it later. It always builds up and blows up in your face but people do it

anyways. Cath has to figure out how to deal with her anxiety as she progresses through the

semester with her friends.

Cath has to deal with more than just anxiety in college. She ends up befriending a boy named

Nick and they become writing buddies, however, he betrays her by submitting the story they

wrote together as his own. Their teacher figures it out though and he has to give her credit. Cath

does not want credit though, even though he pushes her too. Luckily her friends backed her up;

“She looked up at all three faces, all ready to be offended for her, and she realized it really didn’t

matter. NickㄧNick who couldn’t write his own anti-love story without herㄧwas ancient

history”(404). Friends are necessary for a good life, one doesn’t need many friends as

long as they have one’s back. Without strong friends, a person will feel isolated and like

they do not belong just like Cath did until she found squad.

Cath grows throughout the book into someone who accepts her quirks more than before. People

should feel comfortable where they are and with who they are. Everyone can relate to at least one

of her problems. This is a very relatable book with all of Cath’s real-world issues.