Fangirl

By: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Dates Read: December 28, 2020 - January 20, 2021
Pages: 434
Source: Own it

Why did I read it?
I had read Eleanor & Park recently and all the book people on the internet say this is THE book for introverts. 

 

Fangirl follows Cath as she heads of to her first year in university.  Her twin sister attends the same school but while she is off making friends and partying,  Cath can be found in her room writing her fan fiction of this world's Harry Potter equivalent.  She gets along well enough with her older, grumpy roommate and her boyfriend.  Cath's single dad remains at home and she could care less about her mom that left them 10 years earlier. 

 

I had high hopes for this book.  It started so well and it had me intrigued.  Cath is judged severely for preferring to be alone while also navigating her first year of university, and the relationships that come with it.  She is meeting cute boys and learning that they are much different than her high school boyfriend.  Her dad struggles with his mental illness and she fears it may also pass to her.  She only wants to be a writer but her teacher dislikes her writing of fanfiction.  

 

It had so many places to go and then it just sort of fizzled out.  Her dad struggles with mental illness and for two pages she battles with the idea that maybe she will also struggle with it, and then we forget all about it.  She's not sure that she should date the guy she wants to date and struggles with it, and then just does it.  Her fiction writer teacher gives her a second chance at her major project, and then we don't even know if she even ever finishes it.  I mean, talk about dropping all the balls Rainbow Rowell.  

 

Honestly, I'm just so disappointed.  I'm disappointed that all the book nerds of the internet love this book.  I'm disappointed that Rowell can write the struggles one teenager faces so realistically in one novel (i.e. Eleanor & Park) and totally drop the ball in another.  I was hoping for yet another book to recommend to young people to get a glimpse into the lives of others, but the problems seem to just disappear instead of worked through.  

 

I guess I should also mention that every chapter begins with a snippet of either Cath's fanfiction or the "actual" writing from the Simon Snow books.  I could have done without it and Carry On (the spinoff book that is the actual fanfiction) is not something I will ever read. 

Rating: 2/5

Overhyped books that plummet in disappointment get low ratings. 

 

Recommendation: I don't know that I would really recommend this book and I don't think that I will be keeping it on my shelf for that very reason.

The Gospel Comes with a House Key

By: Rosaria Butterfield
Publisher: Crossway
Dates Read: December 14 - January 1
Pages: 220
Source: Own it

Why did I read it?
Some dear friends of mine gave it to me with a note inside that said "every Christian should read this book," so I did.  

The Gospel Comes with a House Key talks about what the author calls radically ordinary hospitality.  People who live out radically ordinary hospitality see strangers as their neighbours and neighbours as family of God.  They don't see their homes as their own but as God's.  Hospitality is something they are seeking out (and planning for) every day all the time.  

Butterfield came to know Christ by a Christian couple showing her radically ordinary hospitality every Sunday.  She was invited into their home even though she felt as though she did not belong there.  They fed her, talked with her, shared with her, and beared burdens with her.  Now she does the same things with her neighbours and many individuals from different walks of life.  

Butterfield takes us through stories of her and her husband practicing hospitality.  She often begins with a story from her own experience and than uses that to give some practical ways in which we can practice hospitality.  She bases everything on biblical truth and talks about the hardships and joys that come from radically ordinary hospitality.  

The book was a beautiful reminder to love our neighbours and to love our enemies.  It was an excellent follow up to my last read, Everybody, Always.  Bob taught us to love everybody, always.  Rosaria is teaching us ways to actually do it.  She talks about some marginalized populations and some people that the church has often been not so friendly too.  She challenges all of this and calls us to do better and to start in our very own homes. 

It was a great book to read, but, ironically, it's not something we can start putting into practice right now due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.  However, I feel like there are many ways to start even in lockdown.  Phone calls and messages and porch gifts are all very manageable right now and I would guess that is what Rosaria is doing herself. 

Rating: 4/5

Recommendation: I don't think my friends were wrong.  Maybe every Christian should read this book.