THE LOWDOWN:

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate 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.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? Open her heart to someone?  Or will she just go on living inside a made-up world?

FIRST IMPRESSION:

There was a boy in her room.

Pound Hall, 913.

–Hardcover edition

SNAPSHOT:

Without her twin sister, Cather constantly battles with herself to find her place.  But instead of living life to the fullest, Cath dives into her majorly popular Simon Snow fanfic, Carry On, Simon, continuing into the eighth year where the author of the actual series left off. (And, of course, slashing Simon with his enemy Baz!)

Cather is intriguing and easy to identify with–what college freshman hasn’t had days where they hide in their dorm, or been lost and unable to find the cafeteria, or had a professor tear them down a peg?  Her constant loneliness as she tries to psyche herself up to try new things and go new places may seem unsettling, but are a harsh reality for so many students with or without social anxiety.

Rainbow’s writing is sugar in the raw and makes for a great read. For fanfiction readers and writers, Cather’s world will ring brilliantly true.  For those not in on that scene, there’s still plenty of internal drama—boys, school, social anxiety, mom trying to come back into her life, dad trying not to fall into a mania—that there is something for everyone.  The book includes a lot of respectful examples of real-world mental illness—particularly bipolar disorder, social anxiety, PTSD, and more—and the struggle/desire to be more than just a diagnosis.

Appropriate for ages 13+. Features strong language, sexual situations, alcohol use, and emotionally intense situations.

Deals with responsibility, leaving the nest, mental illness, broken families, identity, and finding yourself.

Readers may benefit from charting Cather’s ability to act for herself.  Her relationships with some good-intentioned characters border on emotional manipulation.  She is often portrayed as a pushover as people to goad her into things, even in small gentle ways.  Being ‘good for her’ or something she ‘secretly wants’ to do may not be an acceptable internal excuse.  Cath’s immaturity vs. maturity and sense of agency is worth further discussion, particularly from a feminist 2.0 perspective.

GET IT ON YOUR SHELF:

If you…

– Enjoy neurotic main characters on a personal journey of self-discovery
– Want to know more about the world of fan fiction writers
– Are new to college or like stories set at college
– Like a dash of romance in any and all things

THE ESSENTIALS:

Contemporary YA

Hardcover & Ebook 448 pages

Published September 10^th, 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin ISBN-10: 1250030951

(Review copy provided by Jessica Preeg at St. Martin’s Press Publicity)