Book-a-book of the Month Club discussion

Thoughts on any specific characters (If this was a high school English class, this is where you would have to pick the protagonist, the foil, etc. :))

I think I liked Reagan the best. In these YA novels, it seems like there is always the quirky, alternative, full of attitude friend (who often at first you do not think will end up being a friend - but usually come through in an odd-couple-esque sort of way). In Fangirl, Reagan fit this YA stereotype perfectly!

Not sure I had a least favorite, but some characters did annoy me, but I think it was because they were supposed to annoy me!

I thought the Dad and his quirks were somewhat hard to believe. Not that it was a bad thing, it just seemed like when he came in, it got really weird!

Matthew, I work as a mental health therapist, so I actually rather enjoyed the part with the dad. I thought the author did a good job depicting mania and the stress it can put on the family.

The relationship between Cather and Wren kind of annoyed me. They went from being really close to being basically estranged, with no real communication between them about it. I kept imagining if that had happened between me and my sister. I'm sure we would have laid it all out there for each other. I thought that part was a little unrealistic.

Penny - good input - thanks! I didn't really have any point of reference for what he was going through. I couldn't tell if it was forced for the point of advancing the plot or realistic. Sounds like you have confirmed the realism of it.

Thanks Penny! That definitely makes the dad more believable, though I still wish the sequence of events would have tied it into the story better. Maybe even omitting the mom altogether and focusing on the dad. The drama between the sisters could have come from how to deal with their dad struggling alone at home rather than even introducing mom at all, which would have allowed for time to develop their family dynamic. I wasn't bothered by them becoming kind of estranged, but didn't like how it was portrayed. Almost like you just snapped your fingers and it was done. I would have liked to see more of them laying it on the table, which still could have led to them parting for a bit of that blew up, but would have lent more reality to it for me.

I don't have any sisters or twins, but I do have four brothers and the girls relationship was very like my brothers' and mine at times. We will get irritated with each other about something (sometimes something stupid) not speak for weeks or longer and then just fall back into being inseparable with no discussion, explanation or apology. Probably not the healthiest way to resolve things, but they didn't seem strange to me as a result.