Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A love story about opening your heart, by Rainbow Rowell, the New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park.

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life.

Without Wren, Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible . . .

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell comes with special bonus material; the first chapter from Rainbow's irresistible novel Carry On.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Cath's freshman year at the University of Nebraska does not begin well: her roommate is aloof and scary; her identical twin sister, Wren, ignores her in favor of beer and some airheaded new friends; and Cath has too much social anxiety to even find the cafeteria. Narrator Rebecca Lowman reads most of this coming-of-age novel, giving depth to Cath and many of the book's other characters. One of the more delightful aspects of this audio production is the occasional appearance of Maxwell Caulfield, who is the narrator of the Harry Potter-like fantasy novels that Cath is obsessed with and upon which she bases copious fan fiction. Caulfield's clipped tones poke gentle fun at Cath's fixation without mocking it, and becomes comically seductive when he reads pieces of Cath's fan fiction about the forbidden passion between her two main characters-vignettes that relate to elements in Cath's own life. Ages 13-up. A St. Martin's Griffin hardcover. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Rowell's follow-up (2013) to the fabulous Eleanor and Park (2013, both St. Martin's Griffin) doesn't disappoint. Cather and Wren are identical twins, both freshmen at the University of Nebraska, who were abandoned by their mother when they were eight, and have been dealing with their loving yet unstable father since then. Though they have shared a bedroom and friends all their lives, they react to college in very different ways. Wren insists on living apart and wants to discover a new life for herself without her twin; she parties obsessively. Cath retreats inward, seldom leaving her room except for classes and throwing herself into writing fan fiction based on the mega-popular "Simon Snow" fantasy series. The story, told from Cath's viewpoint, perfectly portrays the anxiety and nervousness a shy freshman can experience at a large university. Listeners get caught up in Cath's life as she make mistakes, gets her heart broken, and grows from the experience. The audiobook benefits from having two narrators. Rebecca Lowman's (Eleanor in Eleanor and Park) understated delivery is perfect for Cath. British actor Maxwell Caulfield's crisp narration of both Cath's fan fiction and the "Simon Snow" books, which are interspersed with the story, adds dimension to the audiobook. Give this to fans of Harry Potter, realistic fiction, and romance. A must buy for audio collections.-Julie -Paladino, East Chapel Hill High School, NC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

Cather Avery struggles with the changes that college brings: moving away from home, leading a separate life from her identical twin sister Wren, and having to do anything (eating, socializing, etc.) beyond obsessively working on the Simon Snow (think Harry Potter) series fanfiction she and Wren used to write together. Lowman's narration draws listeners in as she transitions fluidly between different voices, her inflections and pacing reflecting an impressive familiarity with the text and sensitivity for Cath's character as she slowly matures. But it is British actor Caulfield's charismatic lilt as he narrates the Simon Snow passages between the chapters that really adds something special to this audio edition. His captivating performance will leave listeners wanting more Simon Snow and sympathetic to Cath's resistance to live outside that fantasy world. cynthia k. ritter (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Rainbow Rowell's adult debut, Attachments, was published in 2011. Her other books include Landline, Eleanor and Park, and Carry On. Fangirl won the Silver Inky Award in 2015.

(Bowker Author Biography)