Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell
★ Top 25 book of 2013 · #23 on Best Books of 2013
Cath is devoted to the Simon Snow series and its fan fiction, but starting college without her twin sister Wren pushes her far from her comfort zone. She must decide whether she can build her own life and write her own stories.
Best for: Teens and adults who love fandom, fan fiction, and coming-of-age college stories
Fangirl is #23 on BookWard's Best Books of 2013, out of 45 2013 books that cleared our data bar.
What Fangirl is about
Cath and Wren are twin sisters starting their freshman year at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the move pulls them in different directions. Wren is outgoing, makes friends easily, and heads off to parties. Cath, who deals with social anxiety, would rather stay in her room writing fan fiction about the Simon Snow series, the books the twins leaned on as kids after their mother left. Now Wren says she has outgrown all that and keeps her distance.
Cath is not entirely alone. Her roommate Reagan and Reagan's friend Levi look out for her, a classmate named Nick becomes a writing partner, and a professor who dislikes fan fiction challenges her work. She also worries about her loving but fragile father. Rainbow Rowell writes with warmth and humor about shyness, creativity, family, and learning to stand on your own.
Fangirl on the Best Books of 2013
Fangirl came out in 2013. Of the 45 books first published in 2013 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #23 on our Best Books of 2013 list.
Why it made the list: 282 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (18 ratings); 22 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2013 list
- Tales from a Not-so-happy Heartbreaker Rachel Renée Russell, #21
- Beautiful Bastard Christina Lauren, #22
- The 5Th Wave (the 5Th Wave #1) Richard Yancey, #24
- The Enchantress Returns Chris Colfer, #25
See all Best Books of 2013 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2012 Best Books of 2014.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 236 want to read it, 22 are reading it now and 24 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 from 18 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 44 | 55% |
| Reader love | 60 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 69 | 20% |
Questions about Fangirl
When was Fangirl published?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell was first published in 2013.
Was Fangirl one of the best books of 2013?
Fangirl is #23 on BookWard's Best Books of 2013, out of 45 2013 books that cleared our data bar. 282 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (18 ratings); 22 are reading it right now.
Why is Fangirl on the Best Books of 2013 list?
282 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (18 ratings); 22 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2013
- House of Hades Rick Riordan, #1
- Hard Luck Jeff Kinney, #2
- Crown of Midnight Sarah J. Maas, #3
- The Screaming Staircase Jonathan Stroud, #4
- Unravel Me Tahereh Mafi, #5
- The Goldfinch Donna Tartt, #6
See the full Best Books of 2013, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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