One word: fandom.

For college freshman Cath Avery, fandom isn’t something she does just on the weekends. Her life revolves around when she can post the next chapter of her fanfiction story “Carry On, Simon.” (In this novel, Cath is obsessed with the fictitious Simon Snow series. Think Harry Potter with a little more human technology.) She has spent the past few years writing with her twin sister, Wren, to get through their mother leaving their family. Both shared the same obsession with Simon Snow, until college rolled around… until Wren decided she wasn’t as into it anymore.

Cath suddenly finds herself living in a dorm room without her twin sister for the first time in her life. She now has to learn to navigate the craziness of her first semester of college, a surly roommate, and college boys all on her own at the University of Nebraska. On top of that, there’s Cath and Wren’s father, an emotionally fragile man who isn’t used to living on his own back home.

Now, Cath has to make the ultimate decision: can she be herself without her sister constantly by her side? Can she persuade her English professor that fanfiction isn’t the end of the world? Is she ready for the real world?

This book has to be one of the most relatable books out there, especially for any girl heavily engrossed in a fandom. Cath represents what most girls are feeling at this age: unsure, insecure, and struggling to find their own path while growing up.

Cath’s story proves that you don’t have to change who you are to prove you are grown-up, rather she shows her process into maturity by finding the balance that is better for herself and her future.

This adorable book has a little bit of everything: romance, nerd references, family drama, a drop of adventure, and many sarcastic remarks. If you love a book with an antiheroine, Fangirl is the one for you.

(5 out of 5 stars)