Throughout July, FYA Book Clubs the world over are fangirling, thanks in part to the July FYABC pick, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. FYA’s love affair with the world of Cather, Wren and Levi—and, of course, Simon Snow and Baz—began in December 2013 when Sarah first reviewed the book.
As someone who’s not only read, but written*, fanfic, something I appreciate most about the book is the way it portrays this nebulous art form. The books takes a look at it from multiple sides: From those who write it and read it, like Cath:
“The whole point of fanfiction,” she said, “is that you get to play inside somebody else’s universe. Rewrite the rules. Or bend them. The story doesn’t have to end when Gemma Leslie gets tired of it. You can stay in this world, this world you love, as long as you want, as long as you keep thinking of new stories—”
To those who don’t understand or agree with it, like Professor Piper:
“Bad or good isn’t the point,” Professor Piper shook her head, and her long, wild hair swayed from side to side. “This is plagiarism.”
Thankfully, the book never comes across as judgy.
In addition to obviously being cool with fanfic, Rainbow is also quite open to and gracious about her fans’ love of the book; her Tumblr is filled with reblogs of fan-created/produced art, videos and crafts. Including the shining examples below:
by givemeapaper
by Yulin Kuang
FANDOMS COLLIDING. What are you doing in a Fangirl video, Lydia Bennet?!
by yadykates
There are also 95 examples of Fangirl fanfic on FanFiction.net. I read through a few—some good, some … not so good**—but these are a couple that stood out to me:
The MagiCath by Alex Perth
Cath, Wren, and Levi are waiting to meet Gemma T. Leslie at a conference.
Procrastination Wins by hpbrat2
A rewrite of a scene from Fangirl (pages 174–177) where Cath is reading The Outsiders to Levi but from his POV.
And because I can’t resist a little swoon:
Simon Snow: True Love’s Kiss by rhien
When Simon is hit by a living death curse, it initiates a conversation Baz isn’t sure he’s ready for.
Be it fanart or fanfic, it’s obvious that Fangirl has struck a chord. What say you? Feel free to add your thoughts—or other examples of awesome Fangirl fan-stuff—in the comments.
*I’ll share links in the comments if you promise not to judge me for the book I wrote the fanfic about.
**Them’s the breaks when it comes to fanfic!
The image at the top of the post is a piece of bonus art (for the book’s UK edition) drawn by Noelle Stevenson, who did the original cover art as well.
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