Synopsis: 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? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? [via Amazon]
Book Notes:
Ok here was another chase of a mistaken identity book. I don't know what's up with me. I'm obviously craving for a chick lit, but I seem to be picking up all the wrong things. I guess coming from Eleanor and Park, this was a bit of a let down for me.
I didn't particularly like the inserts of Simon Snow. I don't like footnotes, and the continuous excepts felt like annoyingly long versions of a foot note. I know there must have been messages intertwining the stories, but I wasn't in the mood to weave the two together.
What I did find particularly interesting though was her relationship with her fiction writing professor. Back when I was a freshman, I actually had that kind of relationship with a professor. She was constantly pushing me to be a better reader and writer but some where along the way, I felt like I let her down. I got veered from my track, didn't see my potential, etc etc...
Oh I don't really know. At the end of the day YA books are mostly about coming of age, finding out who you are, experiencing everything for the first time... In so many ways, my life still feels like a YA novel. I'm still discovering my true identity, my genuine desires and my passions.
More than anything, I'm still trying to get out of my comfort zone. Just like Cath, it was so much easier to hide in this make believe alternate reality with characters that were created by someone else. It's so much more difficult to create our own stories, and I'm not just talking about literary characters, but the story of our lives.
Sometimes thats why I love fiction so much, it provides an alternative reality, all carefully constructed by someone elses vivid imagination. Through the characters, I feel like I'm living vicariously but I'm not actually living myself.
Sometimes its so easy to hide behind these novels because you know that no matter what, there will be an ending. And sometimes that's just what you need- to know that there is an end, that everyone gets closure, that chapters into your story, your life will mean something.
I guess thats just the thing about leaving school or maybe the thing about leaving the YA genre... after all those educational milestones, life just becomes. And next thing you know you have all these other life milestones that are beyond your control, and its mind boggling. I guess that's something I personally have to get over, these new milestones that are beyond your control.
But as far as books are concerned, I may not have enjoyed the reading process as much, but from the bits I read, I did pick up a lot.
Book Quotes:
"If you come off all moody and melancholy in a text, it just sits there in your phone, reminding you of what a drag you are."
"In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can't google.)"
"Why do we write fiction? Professor Piper asked. Cath looked down at her notebook. To disappear."
"Drinking tequila is more about the journey than the destination..."
"'We're skinny bitches on weekdays,' Courtnery said, 'and drunk bitches on the weekend.'"
"Smiling is confusing, she thought. This is why I don't"
"And I want that kiss to have been the start of something. Not the end."
"'It's okay if you're crazy,' he said softly. 'You don't even know-' 'I don't have to know,' he said. 'I'm rooting for you.'"
Rating: 2.8/5
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