This retelling of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is fantastic. It has been a few years since I have read the book but this quickly made me remember how much I love the characters and story. I highly recommend this graphic novel for those looking for a new way to enjoy the book or experience it for the first time. Now I just need to know when the next part will be available!

I love anything by Rainbow Rowell, and I have read Fangirl, the novel, many times. So it was a fun adventure to see it in Manga form. Fangirl follows Cath, a twin who is just starting college. Her twin Rhen is going there too, but she is living in a different dorm, to “meet new people”. Cath would have been happy to share a room with Rhen, so she is having trouble adjusting. She also is the writer of some very popular fanfiction centered around Simon Snow (Think Harry Potter but slightly different) and his secret love interest Baz. In this part, she is just starting to maybe adjust to being at college separated from her twin. 
This manga is amazing. I love seeing the story in this format. I also am LOVING the little interspersed Simon and Baz bits, which are MY FAVORITE PART. I hope after they finish Fangirl, they go on to Carry On and Wayward Son. The story is fun, the art is great, what is not to love?!?!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This book is a manga based off of the novel of the same name by Rainbow Rowell. I have read and am a huge fan of the original novel. This manga is an excellent adaptation of the story. Reading it gave me new insight into the characters in the story and so I recommend giving it a try even if you are familiar with the original book. I look forward to the future volumes of this manga.

I'm a huge fan of Fangirl so I was excited to see it in a manga version. I found myself just as absorbed in the graphic novel as I did in the book and didn't want it to end. I'm impressed that Sam Maggs was able to cover such a good deal in volume one and faithfully stick to the story line. I can't wait to continue the series!

This was a delightful manga-style adaptation for a book. I'm coming from the perspective of someone who has not read the book yet, and this successfully made me engaged with the characters and want to persue reading the novel in my own time. Super cute story and endearing visual style.

Fangirl still remains one of my all-time favourite books that I've ever read.  Since I finished reading it, I always thought it would be awesome to re-read in a graphic novel/manga book format. I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and I can't wait to read the next volumes in the series. I'm also excited to see it in it's finished form as well. I can't wait to see it in my store and get to have it as a new recommendation piece. I already know a lot of people who love the novel, so getting to show them the manga version is going to be so much fun!

Cath is experiencing her first year of college where her twin sister doesn’t want to room together so they could maybe find themselves apart and she just is having the worst luck navigating college life. So she dives into her comfort zone which is writing fanfic of her fav series Simon Snow and the Mage’s heir and which is spliced in between scenes in the manga which help break up the story. She is there to major in creative writing and English and her professor doesn’t take to kindly to fanfic and the use of copy written material in something that is supposed to be original content. 
While I haven’t read Fangirl the novel, the manga version was interesting way to read it. I really enjoyed how it was illustrated and the art work was just really great. I can’t wait to read part 2 and what happens with Cath, Wren and her friends. 
Thanks to Viz Media and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Rainbow Rowell is a treasure. Her work always gets checked out in my high school library and passed around with enthusiastic reviews. I was surprised to see this as a graphic novel, but pleasantly surprised at how well the story translates to the medium. At first, the "manga-esque" art style wasn't my favorite, but after reading, I think it works for the subject matter at hand. This is a definite purchase for me.

Cath is a college freshman and is having a hard time.  Her twin sister wants to start her own path, she is having trouble connecting with her roommate, and she wants to try and keep up with her popular Simon Snow fanfiction.  As the year progresses, she begins to learn more about her writing and herself.

This is a great adaptation of the original book.  It captures the essence of the original while breathing new life into the story.  The illustrations of her fanficition really help to bring it to life.  I really liked the manga illustrations.    This new fresh take on the story is sure to please current fans and attract new fans in the process.  I cannot wait to see what the subsequent volumes look like.

This manga adaptation of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl will delight fans of the original novel. I have never read the original novel, but the first volume of this graphic novel has me tempted. No doubt that fans of the original novel will find this manga adaptation exciting and enjoy seeing their favorite characters come to life through the artwork.

Fangirl Manga Volume One Advanced Review

I've never read the book that this manga is adapted from, and I'm not entirely sure that I would have given it a chance in prose form. Written by Rainbow Rowell and published in 2013, the young adult novel would have surely slipped under my radar. I didn't really read much young adult literature back then. With this manga adaptation though, I think the story has found a medium by which it has really attracted my attention. I think I find myself enjoying young adult stories and themes more when they are in comic form than in prose, maybe because I'm so used to reading shoujo manga. In a way, this comic reminds me a bit of the series Giant Days but mostly because of the college themes of dealing with a new place as a freshman just starting out. But it's not as wacky as that series, focusing more on the romance and drama than the weird meshing of personalities in certain friend groups.

Fangirl, if you haven't read the novel, is about a young girl named Cath who is experiencing her first year at college away from home. Things have been challenging for her; her twin sister has refused to bunk with her, she's having a hard time making friends, and she's worried her dad isn't taking good care of himself while they're away. The only thing that gives her comfort is her favorite YA fantasy series and the fanfiction she's writing about it. But the academic world doesn't appreciate fanfiction and she finds herself struggling to fit into literary academia and college life. The novel was translated to a comic form by Sam Maggs and illustrated by Gabi Nam and will be released on October 13th. 

I think this comic will be very relatable to a lot of people considering the subject matter. Most of us, I feel, have been through those confusing times of early college or the first time away from home for an extended period of time. It was a hard time for me, and it's an especially hard time for our Cath here. Having a twin sister who is trying to figure out who she is away from their relationship just makes things harder as her safety blanket is taken away from her. College rules and customs can be hard to figure out as most of them are unspoken, as evidenced by Cathy's inability to figure out how to traverse the dining hall. Instead of trying to figure it out, she decides to subsist on protein bars until her roommate physically forces her to come eat with her. College can be a new universe in and of itself, something that takes a lot of adjusting to make it through and finally find your place. 

College can be tough for a lot of reasons, one of which is just the culture of academia. Cath is trying to major in English and Creative Writing, a field that doesn't take kindly to fanfiction in general. It seems as though the only writing Cath has done before this point is her fanfiction and it still acts as a nice comfort for her to get lost in as times get stressful and confusing. The comfort of fanfiction is in the stability of the characters and the feelings of comfort and nostalgia they produce as you get lost in a world you're familiar with. 

The comic tries to set up the English professor's dislike of fanfiction as a surprise, but really I wasn't at all surprised. Copyright is something that is highly controversial among the literary world. There are many sides to the issue, and as someone who professionally works in the field of copyright right now, I can tell you the answers are not always that easy. Fair use, transformative works, parody, the state of orphan works, and the length of time something stays in copyright are all contentious issues. I don't have the space to get into here, but I'm interested to see how the comic addresses it in volume two in relation to Cath's fanfiction. 

Gabi Nam's art is really strong in this series. I'm really enjoying how the characters are designed, the art in general, and the expressiveness of the characters. Fangirls is her English debut but you can tell she has a long history of art and comics by how polished the comic looks. I'm also wondering if Sam Maggs did the layout of the pages or if Nam contributed to that as well. Either way I love how the pages feel light and give the story and characters room to breathe. The first flashback at the beginning of the volume is a great example of this as it manages to convey the anger and betrayal between Cath and her sister when she finds out they won't be rooming together. The panels are nicely set up to highlight the tense and emotional mood of the scene, drawing our attention to certain important expressions or parts by simply featuring them in their own panel. 

I also love the cutaways to the Sam and Baz fanfiction moments that break up the main action. Putting weight to the fanfiction Cath is writing creates a larger feeling of importance for this story she is creating. It also draws the reader into the world of Sam and Baz to get them feeling something for these characters in preparation for whatever happens later. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the plot around the fanfiction goes and more art around these characters. It definitely creates a nice frame narrative within the comic that manages to break up the action and emotional moments, allowing the story and characters to breathe and sink in a bit more. 

If you've read the original novel or are interested in stories around the awkward college years of nerds, I'd highly suggest checking this out. I think the medium of manga/comics is great for this story and will connect a lot more with manga and comic fans than the prose version. I'd you've read the original novel, let me know what you think about the adaptation in relation to the original. This manga is set to release on October 13, so set your calendars! And thanks again to Viz Media for sending me an advanced copy.

I absolutely loved this version of Fangirl. I read the novel itself a few months ago and found the characters and storyline to be so unbelievably relatable. Because of the plot, I was so excited to see how the novel would translate into manga and it did not disappoint. The artistic renderings of the characters were better than I imagined and the pages were well organized and creative. Thank God I already know the story because I'd be so upset by how this book ends with such a cliffhanger. I wish the entire story could fit into one graphic novel, but it makes sense that it would take up multiple volumes. I would definitely recommend others read this after reading the novel itself.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest feedback. I LOVED Fangirl the first time around in its original form and as an English Language teacher, fell in love with it again. The manga is beautiful, the story is exactly as I remember it and I can't wait to read it again with high school students. It's perfect for anyone who wants to return to the world of Simon Snow and experience it all over again from the beginning!

My favorite Rainbow Rowell book in a manga series. Great illustrations and I love that this story is being retold for another audience. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Great graphic novel/manga adaptation of Fangirl. It enhances the original story while playing into its own potential fandom.

A wonderful graphic novel of the beloved YA book by Rainbow Rowell. Perfect for fans of Giants Days and Check, Please!

I received this first installment of the Fangirl Manga series from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I recently read "Fangirl" for a book club I'm in, and this couldn't have come at a more perfect time. The other members in the club are looking forward to reading it themselves after I told them about it. 

I found that so far, the manga series is following the book very closely, so the storyline isn't different. I love how the characters have been drawn, with Regan being a particular favorite. (She was my fave in the book, and seeing her as someone else imagined her was really interesting.) I also thought it was neat to see the physical space, Cath's dorm room teeming with her Simon Snow/Baz items compared to Regan's side, which was mostly occupied by Levi. (Levi is just as charming in manga form.)

One thing I actually liked more about the Manga was the fact that the Simon Snow/Baz fanfiction didn't overwhelm Cath's storyline. In the "Fangirl" book, there were large sections of Simon/Baz fanfiction that Cath had written. These distracted from the overall storyline to me, and I often disconnected from these parts, my brain taking a little vacation. They didn't add to the book for me. 

In the manga, you get hints of Simon/Baz in a page or two that breaks things up, displaying how Cath sees them, and it didn't feel like a disruption. It was a fun little insert of something important to Cath that didn't take over the whole story. 

Overall I really enjoyed this adaptation, and I am looking forward to the next volume.

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.