All the stars.

I adore all thingsRainbow Rowell...and Fangirl and Carry On are at the top of that list. When a friend tipped me off about this manga, I requested an ARC immediately.

And it was everything I hoped for. It had been awhile since I read Fangirl, and I'm patiently waiting for Any Way the Wind Blows, so this was just the fix I needed. The characters are beautifully drawn and even though they differ slightly from what was in my head, they embody everything I loved about the originals. And the bonus Simon/Baz illustrations? *swoon* Like...could we get a Simon/Baz manga? Stat?

My only complaint is that the story sucked me in so quickly that I forgot this was only Volume 1--so when the end came I was jarred out of the story and was forced to mourn it's end. And with no ETA on the next installment, guess I'll just sit here sadly waiting for more.

I love Fangirl (and Rainbow Rowell). I wish this hadn’t been split into (two?) volumes, but really that’s the most critical thing I have to say about it. The illustrations are perfect and “emergency dance party” was portrayed per-fect-ly and appropriately took up multiple pages. Even though I’ve read the book, I’m much looking forward to the second volume and I’ll be happy to buy them both for my RR collection. ❤️

I've never read the original novel, but after reading this first volume of the manga adaptation, I will. Cath is a fanfic writer that is starting college. After being dumped by her outgoing twin sister, Wren, Cath must learn to navigate college life alone. All she wants to do is write Simon Snow fanfiction and keep to herself, but life forces her to meet new people and experience new things.
I enjoyed the story and the artwork. I didn't know if this would be for me, but so far, I am hooked and looking forward to the next volume.

Rainbow Rowell’s brilliant Fangirl is the runaway paean to fanfic of 2013/2014 (depending on where you live). If ever a novel were begging to go graphic, this is the one. It gave birth to the fiction-within-fiction heartthrob heroes: Simon Snow and Baz Grimm-Pitch, now the main characters of Rainbow’s must-read popular spinoffs.

Cath and her twin sister Wren are more than family, they are writing partners. But when they leave their small town for university, Wren gets a trendy new makeover and fully explores the fresher experience, even insisting on a separate room. This leaves geeky Cath bereft. Cath struggles through the first weeks on unfamiliar territory, and, without her muse to help inspire her writing, she becomes more withdrawn.

Spurred on by the passive-aggressive attentions of new roomie Reagan finally frees Cath from death-by-a-thousand-protein-bars (because Reagan’s creepy-not-creepy boyf Levi has eaten them). Together, they venture to the scary dining hall for a proper meal. As classes begin, Cath finds more to worry about. She’s got a professor who is rabidly anti-fanfiction (it’s plagiarism), her dad’s gone loopy over gravioli and crazy DIY plans, her sister is drunk-dialling her way through the first semester and Cath’s been dumped by the most uninspiring boyfriend, Abel, whose new girlfriend Katie is a ‘big fan’. Ugh.

When Cath meets Nick (with the great hair), her writing partner in English class, she might just be falling in love. But is he really a keeper, or is Nick a plagiarist himself? Will the attentions of Levi become next-level? Will Simon and Baz ever dance their way through a sexy waltz? The whole thing ends on a cliff hanger and Cath is torn between fixing the ‘F’ on her writing assignment or rescuing her wayward twin.

This volume (that ends somewhere at the end of Chapter 12 of the novel), has been ably adapted by Sam Maggs who has streamlined it into its F1 version with all the high points to move the action along while keeping the reader up-to-speed on the story. Coming from the grandaddy manga publisher Viz Media, you would expect a highly polished product like this. Some of the manga-centric aspects are even better than the full-text ones: The encyclowikia.com inserts about Simon and Baz, and graphic renderings perfectly highlight the emotional distress of Cath’s first days.

I believe illustrator Gabi Nam has done a superb depiction of the story. The panels are broken shards of a mirror, reminding us we’ve all been where Cath is. There is a great mix of close-ups and differing points of view giving the viewer a sense of movement and engagement. Gabi plays with depth of field by adding business in the back and foregrounds, this adds to the overall immersion and empathy I felt with the story. The text is easy to follow (speech in rounds and thoughts in squares) and each word hits its mark. The version I was reading was pre-publication and monochrome with benday dot shading giving it a cool back-to-the-future vibe. The artwork is manga-style (big expressive eyes, small chins, impressive hair) but touches of the artist’s hand come through (spare features when emoting and the aforementioned play on point-of-view and perspective). Since I’m a librarian, I was really impressed by Gabi’s sketch of the inside of a library: such detail (heart-eyes).

I will definitely be adding this to the shelves and I can think of a hundred borrowers who will be gasping for Vol. 2.

Not much to say about this, it’s exactly what it says: Fangirl told in manga. The art is cute and it stays pretty true to the actual book (though I have to admit it’s been years since I’ve read it). The best parts are by far the Simon and Baz chapters. If you’re a big fan of Fangirl or Carry On you will probably like this. It’s also a great way to consume the story without the massive time commitment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

I adore this original Fangirl and reading this manga version was such a joy. It was so true to the original text and added gorgeous artwork to bring it more to life. I loved seeing my favorite characters and scenes in action. I've imagined them in my head in so many ways so seeing them in a fresh way was wonderful. This version will bring the story to new readers. That ending was the perfect cliff hanger. I look forward to reading the rest and returning to this story.

As someone who has read manga since she was 11, written fanfiction since she was 14, and has at least an annual reread of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, I had my own fangirl moment when I realized there was going to be a graphic novel/manga adaption.

At first glance, the art is definitely done in a more manga-like style even though the dialogue remains in the standard English left to right. While I haven’t got a problem with this, it did take me a moment to adjust to reading a “manga” left to right.

Overall, this was a lovely adaption, and my heart basically stopped at the end because I was not expecting that ending point. I cannot wait for volume 2!

I read Fangirl a while ago and it was very exciting to see that they created it as a graphic novel. I know a lot of students prefer graphic novels so I feel like this is a great way to get them to read more. This book is listed as manga which I'm not sure what really is different than a traditional graphic novel. The images in this book were beautiful. It's a comic, but had realistic features and not caricaturist embellishments.

As someone that has a Fan Fiction account and written stories for some of my favorite characters, I understand how Cath feels. Sometimes when the book ends, you still imagine the lives of those characters and it's fun to share your visions. I never tried to submit fan fiction for a college writing course, nor did I ever attach my real name to my writing. Like most Fan Fiction writers, I started my stories with a disclaimer saying I was not the original author and such. Some authors actually enjoy reading fan fiction and I've even heard of two that openly admit to posting their own "fan fiction" just to see if people like new story ideas before writing a sequel.

My biggest complaint is that it is a "volume 1" and stops without finishing a storyline. The book ends on a cliffhanger, although the regular Fangirl is a full story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

I'm not a reader or fan of manga or graphic novels, but since Fangirl remains one of my favorite books, I had to give this one a shot. The artwork is well done and pretty much what I expected it to be, which is cute and fun. Unfortunately I just didn't feel any real interest in the format past my initial curiosity. For me, the manga was not much more than a recap of the first quarter of the novel. For those who do like reading manga and have more appreciation for illustrated works in general, I think this is a fun (and super cute) way to enjoy Fangirl.

Such a great way to read Rainbow Rowell! I can’t wait for this to become available. I am looking forward to the next volume.

For anyone that used to obsess over Rowell's Fangirl back in the day, which um guilty, this manga adaptation is the perfect way to reinvent the novel. The graphic novel features all sorts of detailed pictures that really bring the story to life. It tells the vivid story we all know well by now, and this way you can actually see these characters face to face and not just in your head! This read is definitely for fans of the original novel and not newbies to the book. But that being said, it's definitely fun to see Cath's story and her fanfics with my own eyes and not just in my mind. It reads very quickly, and you can definitely finish this edition in a single setting slash day. It just fun and enjoyable! This Vol. 1 does end on such a cliffhanger, and I just want the next editions like now!

This is an excellent adaptation of the original book! The book had charm as well as a deep insight into Cath's life. We get that, and so much more, in the manga adaption! I especially enjoyed the scenes from Cath's fanfic interspersed with the manga (and maybe a Carry On manga is in the works soon?).

I didn’t realize this was just volume 1, and now I’m desperate for more!!

This was so good — just as endearing as the original book (maybe more so?). Fantastic adaptation. The story is so good, and so relatable, and I love the dialogue and the art. All around great.

This adaption of Rainbow Rowell's YA novel of the same title is deliciously close. It's been six years since I've read the original, but it's all there: the anxiety and hold-your-cards-close-ness of Cath, Levi's boyish friendliness, and the stanning of Simon Snow/Harry Potter (even though "stan" wasn't a word back in 2014). I can't wait to see how well Maggs continues this task in volumes 2, 3, and 4.

Despite the recent controversy surrounding Rainbow Rowell and some of her work, I’m a die-hard fan of ‘Fangirl’ and ‘Carry On.’ It’s been several years since I first read the novel ‘Fangirl,’ but this manga version brings the story and characters back in all the best ways. Sam Maggs touches on all the crucial scenes and dialogue, and Gabi Nam brings all the little visual details to life (which is no small feat for a black/white graphic novel). I can’t wait to checkout future volumes.

Graphic novel, realistic fiction. Cather and her twin sister, Wren, are headed to college. But Wren told her sister that she wanted to make new friends, so the girls are not roommates. Wren worries that she won't be able to make new friends and actually avoids the dining hall. But then things begin to look up... can Cather make things work?! Students who like graphic novels will like this real-life college experience as Cather and Wren attempt to make it on their own as freshmen in college.

Although this is only the first volume of the Fangirl manga adaptation, I can tell already this story works really well in this format. I loved the novel, so I wasn't sure if the manga adaptation would hold up, but at least in this volume, I was really happy with how the story has been translated into a visual format. The characters still felt the same, and it was nice seeing them. I also think the manga adaptation will work well even for those who have not read the novel and are not already familiar with the story.

I was so excited to find out that Fangirl was going to be adapted into graphic format, and the only disappointment I felt was when I reached the end of the book! As someone who loved the original, it was wonderful to see the characters visually brought to light, and I felt the art really suited the storytelling well, and really let you see the parallels between the story Cath is writing, and her own hero's journey happening in college. I'll be looking forward to the next volume for sure!

As a fan of Rainbow Rowell, I found this serialized manga version of Fangirl fun, but also frustrating. I read that this is going to be 4 volumes, so I guess it makes sense that the end of the manga dangles. I think knowing the story makes me feel like there is a lot of unfinished business and may frustrate readers that are being introduced to Fangirl through manga first.

I really enjoyed this! Cute, book-faithful manga adaptation that totally adds to the original story. So fun to see Cath in manga form. I'll definitely check out Vol 2. when it's out.