Member Reviews
I enjoyed Fangirl, however, it is only the first volume and as a school librarian I would like to know how many volumes are likely to be produced before committing to the first volume. It is a matter of budget constraints. Having said that I feel that those that read this version might be persuaded to read the original version to find out what happens in the book rather than wait for the next graphic volume.
The themes for the book are interesting. Friendships, relationships, alcoholism, the morality of using other people's characters in stories. It is a coming of age story for an anxious girl.
The drawings and text are good. The story has developed quickly and I am impatient to know how it finishes or develops, which after all is what a series needs to develop its following. I suspect that those that have read the older full text version will not read this but it will attract readers to Rainbow Rowell's other books.
I haven't read Fangirl the novel, but it is on my list to get to soon. The graphic novel/manga version was quite nice to read, I enjoyed the characters. Cath is a bit of a loner I thought, she does eventually make a friend with her writing partner, Nick, who seems pretty decent at this moment. I really like Levi as he is pretty nice and outgoing, trying to make friends with Cath. Cath is a bit weird, but I like that too. She doesn't do socialising well, which is kind of like me in a way. In terms of the plot of the first volume, I really thought it went quite smoothly. It didn't cover way to much in a short amount of pages, nor did I feel that the detail was too little. I felt that I got to know the characters a bit more than I expected. The relationship between sisters, and the father-daughter relationship was not really shoved in your face, but it was quite a good starting point for the rest of the story to take place. I really want to find out if the twins ever get to know their mother like their father has suggested. The book touches upon mental health as well which I thought was quite well done. It doesn't portray it in a negative light, but one that the character works through. The art of the graphic novel is pretty good. It resembles other novels to manga/graphic novel transformations. It suited the story quite well. I will try and read the next volumes, and the novel, before too long.
I thoroughly enjoyed Fangirl v.1 and look forward to v.2. I wish the illustrations were in color. That’s the only thing I’d change.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of Fangirl the Manga!
I’ve been really excited to read this one.
I read Fangirl waaaay back when. I was instantly attracted to the synopsis- a teenage girl who writes and loves FanFiction. I loved reading fanfiction when I was a teen, and I still enjoy reading it now.
Fangirl the Manga follows Cath as she goes away to college and life changes drastically. Her twin sister wants space, her relationships with the people from home change and she meets new friends and peers.
In this story, Cath struggles with the real world vs. The world of Simon and Baz. She tries to juggle her time writing and publishing her famous fanfiction, Carry On whilst doing her assignments for her upper English language class and doing her best to socialise with her new college peers.
Being Cath, she also spends a lot of her mental time worrying about others. She worries about her twin sister and how she is changing in to a different person to herself. She worried about her Dad left at home how his two daughters are away at college, and she worries about the boys in her life both at home and here in college.
I really enjoyed the art in this graphic novel. The characters were depicted really well, and I especially loved Reagan!
Volume 1 ended in a big old cliffhanger, and I’m already excited to read the next instalment!
This book is wonderfully drawn with a unique story line that held a personal place in my heart. We all want to hold on to something nostalgic and the characters really show that everyone has their own path to find.
FANGIRL will always be one of my favorite young adult novels, but I wasn't too interested in this manga adaptation. I am not a manga reader and this book didn't turn me, but I will definitely recommend this to manga fans and ya readers.
While I wasn't the biggest fan of the original Fangirl, I’m enjoying this new version! The illustrations make it a more enjoyable format. I don’t remember too much about what happens next so I will be looking forward to the next installment.
I am not familiar with the original novel, but this adaptation is everything! I loved every minute of it and can not wait for the second one. This book is about 2 sisters going off to college. One seems to fit in just fine, but the other is having more trouble. This story shows Cath learning to let go, become independent, and lean into who she really is- such a relatable character. I love the fan fiction aspect of this story, and also find that many people will connect to Cath because of her love for her fan fic.
I really enjoyed seeing Cath and Levi, and of course, Simon and Baz, depicted in the manga! The story was clear enough that I think readers who haven’t read Fangirl or Carry On could enjoy it, but I did feel like it could be expanded a little, and the time passing was a little unclear sometimes. I’m looking forward to the second Fangirl manga!
Fangirl is one of my favorite novels. I had read the novel a while back &, In my opinion, I enjoyed it very much. There were some aspects in the book that I can relate to. When I had hear there was a manga version of this novel, I had to give it a go.
The manga Fangirl is everything that I had imagined it to be. The art work is beautiful done. I get to finally imagine what the characters would look like.
I can't wait for more volumes.
I'm unfamiliar with the source novel, so this is my first encounter with the Fangirl text. It is beautifully illustrated, I loved the black and white style and the way the artist managed to make everything so incredibly expressive in what is a fairly sparse style.
While I am unfamiliar with the source material, you can see the marks of solid adaptation here in the way that the story is broken up text conversations and other interesting formatting details and panels. It's an interesting style choice and one that holds true.
For me the failings here are mostly in terms of the story itself. While I am very familiar with fandom and am generally interested in fandom-obsessed characters, I couldn't find a lot here to grab onto. The volume ends on a kind of uncompelling cliffhanger, the characters are very archetypal and the story is a bit obvious. It's not offensive or anything, it just didn't make me want to reach out for a future , further volume, which is a pity because I'd definitely be interested in seeking out more of Gabi Nam's work.
Great coming of age story about twin sisters who are dealing with the issue of an estranged Mother in two completely opposite ways. Both sisters are entering college together, however Wren decides that she wants to break away from her sister Cath a bit and be more independent. Cath struggles with this a lot through the story but ultimately has to learn to become her own person because of it. Highly recommended!
Having never read the novel of the same name on which this graphic novel is based, I can't compare the two. However, I can say that this version stands well on its own. The pacing is excellent as we meet Cath and learn about how her relationship with her twin sister, Wren, as well as the Simon Snow fandom has changed (or not) from her high school years to her entry into college. We are witness to Cath's struggle to stay true to herself while also becoming an adult, and I look forward to seeing what happens in volume 2.
I loved Fangirl when it was published in 2013 and this was a fun way to fall back into the story and the characters. It makes me want to reread the book and the Simon Snow books. This was a quick and easy read that made me feel like I was hanging out with old friends.
What's not to love about anything Rainbow Rowell? Fangirl is one of my favorites of her books, so I knew I had to get this the moment it came out! The art is beautiful and perfectly captures all of the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for this arc.
This might be biased, but I love the world of Fangirl and Carry On. I just really, really relate to Cath as a person, her experience in college, obsession with fictional worlds, online friends, awkwardness, wanting to be alone most of the time... I understand all of it. This is a nice introduction to Fangirl for anyone unfamiliar to the book, and a cool new way to experience the story for those already in love with Fangirl.
A beloved Rainbow Rowell novel turned into a beautifully illustrated Graphic Novel. Cath is obsessed with Simon Snow. She loves writing fan fiction for the Simon Snow community. But now Cath is starting college and completely out of her element. She is living in a new place with a new roommate and her professor doesn't think fanfiction is something that Cath can credit since it is all plagiarism. How will Cath make it thought her first year of college when everything she knows is gone.
Already purchased for my library. This is a great addition to Rainbow Rowell's books and fans will jump in to as they see their favorite fan girl in manga form.
I was given an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Right off the bat, I have to say I LOVE the book fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. So when I heard there was going to be a manga adaptation of it, I was extremely excited.
The story was amazing and the art work that Sam Maggs put in to this was breathtaking. When I saw the artwork for each character, it somehow matched exactly what I pictured for each character in my head, while simultaneously giving me new concepts from the world.
For me, a good adaptation does not always need to be word for word, the exact same as the original book. I think my only critique of this version is, there were a couple scene changes that I felt would not make sense to a reader who has not read the original book by Rainbow Rowell.
Other than that, I highly recommend this book! I can’t wait for Volume 2!
As avid readers of manga and light novels, there are more than a few handfuls of times wherein we tried creating spin-off stories of our favorite series. Different people have different reasons for writing their own fanfiction, but for us, we do it for the sheer love of the series. Of course, the feeling of not wanting the series to end or not being satisfied by the ending is also there. Nevertheless, the world of fanfiction is definitely alive and well.