'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell is an interesting look at fanfiction culture

The book cover for "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell.

"Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell is a novel about a fanfiction writer named Cath who's trying to adapt to life in college while dealing with social anxiety and growing apart from her twin sister.

Cath also makes some friends, most notably her roommate Reagan and her love interest Levi, both of whom frequently try to get Cath to come out of her shell. So essentially, it's a classic college coming-of-age story.

Likewise, there's somewhat of a story within the story since readers get to see snippets of the fanfiction that Cath is working on, which is slash fiction based on the fictional "Simon Snow" series. The "Simon Snow" series seems reminiscent of "Harry Potter" and the fanfiction Cath writes feels similar to a Drarry fic.

"Fangirl" is widely acclaimed for its accurate representation of fan culture, so much so that Tumblr chose the novel as its inaugural book club selection. And indeed, I felt like I could relate to aspects of the story, especially as someone who wrote fanfiction as a teenager.

Sometimes "Fangirl" even embodies the connotation of its name a little too well and fills me with twinges of cringe.

When Cath submits some of her fanfiction for a creative writing assignment, Professor Piper won't accept it because the purpose is to write something original. Cath then starts to argue that it is original because she's the one who wrote what she turned in, but that argument really doesn't work in this context.

While I've written many a fanfiction, I'd never submit any for a creative writing assignment. Why? Because while fanfiction is a great form of writing exercise, you didn't build the world or characters, so unless you know how to creatively repackage it à la "Fifty Shades," "The Mortal Instruments," or "After," it doesn't fulfill the point of the assignment.

Fanfiction can be a great outlet for people who like writing; if part of an existing story isn't finished or doesn't go the way you want, you can write what you want into existence, and it gives the opportunity to practice creative writing.

But it's just one form of creative writing, and usually college is meant to help you expand into other genres, so if your professor wants you to practice world building through original fiction or encourages you to write in other genres such as nonfiction and poetry, you shouldn't shoehorn your fanfiction into it.

Regardless of that aspect, "Fangirl" is very enjoyable because it provides an interesting look at fanfiction culture that's appealing to readers of all ages. Plus, the popularity of the novel spawned the creation of two spin-off novels based on Cath's fanfiction, "Carry On" and "Wayward Son."

If you want some insight into fanfiction culture and a feel-good, romantic coming-of-age story, I highly suggest reading "Fangirl."