Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell)

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Length: 433 pages

Rating: 4/5

Cath's world is the Simon Snow fandom (she's kind of a big deal in the fanfic world), her identical sister Wren, and their dad. But college is a whole different story. Soon she's dealing with a sister who isn't talking to her, a surly roommate with an overly-friendly boyfriend, her dad who is a mess, and a fiction writing teacher who doesn't think fanfic is real literature. And all Cath wants to do is stay in her room and write. Can she learn to live in a nonfictional world?

Things I loved about this book:

1. This book takes place freshman year of college. What's more life-changing than freshman year of college?! It's wonderful to read a book set here with all the trails and tribulations without it being this-will-be-life-changing preachy.
2. This book really focused on family, and what it means to rely on them without being dependent. Plus, my sister and I always wanted to be twins, and now I live with twins, so I loved reading a story about twins (and not the Sweet Valley High version).
3. Fanfiction. I loved the interspersed bits of fandom, especially Cath's own fanfic.
4. Rainbow Rowell knows how to write a good romance!

Things I didn't love:

1. Why is Cath so afraid of herself (especially herself in relationships)? The boy seemed to have more patience than is humanly possible (but I loved him for it).
2. It's impossible to read this story without drawing direct parallels between Simon Snow and Harry Potter, and a large part of this book was focused on Cath growing out of the fandom and moving on without it, because it is often looked at as childish. This is great for Cath's character growth, but I didn't like these particular parallels, because I don't ever want to grow out of Harry Potter!

Overall, a great story of learning to take charge of your own life.  

Insurgent (Veronica Roth)

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Catherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)

Length: 525 pages

Rating: 5/5

War looms as the factions squabble over their different ideologies. Tris and Four must choose sides, even as enemies loom at every turn, and as their friends keep dying with each new attack. Everyone is keeping secrets though, ones that threatened not just to tear Tris and Four apart, but their whole society. Through her grief and guilt, Tris must embrace her Divergence and decide who can be trusted and who should be killed.

People dying. Tris angsting. Factions factioning. In this much-anticipated sequel, Veronica Roth does it again. I was glued to this book- it was just the right amount of sequel from the first book and tease for the third book. We really get inside Tris’s head and see her guilt, grief, and confusion as she struggles to make sense of her own identity and Divergence, but also as she tries to figure out how to put society back together, and whether society is worth putting back together. Very much Harry Potter book 5 level angst.

You didn’t think it was possible for Tobias/Four to improve from Divergent. But HE DOES. He’s just as flawed as Tris, but when she gives up on life, he’s the one holding her together. There’s really no one word to describe how awesome he is, and he definitely makes the book that much better (especially when Tris is angsting).

And you may have seen on my review of Divergent, but even Lord Voldemort loves these books. Here’s the Dark Lord himself, interviewingVeronica Roth.

And if you're dying to know more about the next book, here's an ambiguous interview with V-Roth. Let the countdown begin!