History YMMV / FanGirl

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The main {{Aesop}} of ''Fangirl'' is that you are not alone in the real world while being a fandom writer. Alternatively, you're writing is not valid because it's fanfiction. As a writer, realistic fiction will be more meaningful and fulfilling. This ignores that not everyone who writes fanfiction ''wants'' to write original fiction and get their work published. They write fanfiction because they love the fandom and want to share it with the community. This also undervalues the fandom experience. Friendships and romances have come out of a shared love of ''Literature/HarryPotter'', or ''Franchise/StarTrek'', or ''Franchise/StarWars'', or countless other fandoms, they're as valid as any other relationship you have outside of fandom. This also ignores how some authors have had published books and movie deals by [[SerialNumbersFiledOff re-purposing]] their fanfics. Not the kind of message you want to send with a book that's supposed to be a love letter to fandom culture.

** There is a very big divide on whether or not this book is a good portrayal of fandom. Either is an accurate representation, or it's compared unfavorably to ''Series/TheBigBangTheory,'' that Cath is a caricature of of a fangirl (an antisocial, incredibly awkward loser). Not helped by the fact that there's a distinct lack of ''community'' fandom brings. Cath is never seen going onto forums to discuss theories or look up fanart and whatever token sense community is mentioned it's not necessarily about ''Simon Snow'' it's about ''Carry On, Simon'' [[ItsAllAboutMe Cath's fanfic]]. As a result the fandom aspect of the book feels like a [[InformedAttribute gimmick]] to boost it's sales than an actual portrayal. It's helped even less by Cath's apparent naivete about the legality of fanfiction, real life fanfic writers have been known to cringe ''hard'' when Cath turned in a piece of fanfiction for her writing assignment, while other don't mind as it's meant to serve as a sort of wake up call for Cath that college and high school are two different things and meant to help her get out of her comfort zone. And then there's the message that the book seems to push; that writing fanfic is "practice" for writing original stories and writing your own stories will be much more satisfying. This ignores the fact that fanfic writing is a hobby for a lot of fanfic writers and many don't particularly care to write their own fiction. It's less about wanting to create a writing career and more about sharing your love of the fandom. Not to mention the message comes across as a [[BrokenAesop Broken]] or CluelessAesop when you realize [[SerialNumbersFiledOff filing off serial numbers]] among fanfic writers turned published authors is a thing that is steadily becoming more and more accepted.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: She's got an anxiety disorder, [[DiagnosisOfGod as confirmed in the text]], but whether it's social anxiety, OCD or another variant is never specified.

** Is Wren’s roommate Courtney a ditzy but good person or a ToxicFiendInfluence to Wren? Wren already had issues with alcohol in high school, but they worsen with Courtney to the point of [[spoiler: hospitalization and her father staging an intervention. When that happens, Courtney doesn’t help her in any way, and their relationship becomes increasingly strained after Wren recovers, to the point where they go their separate ways after freshman year.]]
* {{Anvilicious}}: Don't drink, guys. You could get alcohol poison from it.

* AlternateAesopInterpretation:
** The main {{Aesop}} of ''Fangirl'' is that you are not alone in the real world while being a fandom writer. Alternatively, you're writing is not valid because it's fanfiction. As a writer, realistic fiction will be more meaningful and fulfilling. This ignores that not everyone who writes fanfiction ''wants'' to write original fiction and get their work published. They write fanfiction because they love the fandom and want to share it with the community. This also undervalues the fandom experience. Friendships and romances have come out of a shared love of ''Literature/HarryPotter'', or ''Franchise/StarTrek'', or ''Franchise/StarWars'', or countless other fandoms, they're as valid as any other relationship you have outside of fandom. This also ignores how some authors have had published books and movie deals by [[SerialNumbersFiledOff re-purposing]] their fanfics. Not the kind of message you want to send with a book that's supposed to be a love letter to fandom culture.

** You're defined by the time period in which you live, and thus may lack the terminology to explain your situation. Through the story Cath's narration describes her anxiety and Art's manic episodes as "being" or "going crazy." Not only is this a damaging stigma that ''still'' follows the mentally ill, Cath never reconciles these feelings. She just stops digging the hole she's in any deeper thanks to gaining a stable support system.

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The main {{Aesop}} of ''Fangirl'' is that you are not alone in the real world while being a fandom writer. Alternatively, you're writing is not valid because it's fanfiction. As a writer, realistic fiction will be more meaningful and fulfilling. This ignores that not everyone who writes fanfiction ''wants'' to write original fiction and get their work published. They write fanfiction because they love the fandom and want to share it with the community. This also undervalues the fandom experience. Friendships and romances have come out of a shared love of ''Literature/HarryPotter'', or ''Franchise/StarTrek'', or ''Franchise/StarWars'', or countless other fandoms, they're as valid as any other relationship you have outside of fandom. This also ignores how some authors have had published books and movie deals by [[SerialNumbersFiledOff re-purposing]] their fanfics. Not the kind of message you want to send with a book that's supposed to be a love letter to fandom culture.

** Is Wren’s roommate Courtney a ditzy but good person or a PoisonousFriend to Wren? Wren already had issues with alcohol in high school, but they worsen with Courtney to the point of [[spoiler: hospitalization and her father staging an intervention. When that happens, Courtney doesn’t help her in any way, and their relationship becomes increasingly strained after Wren recovers, to the point where they go their separate ways after freshman year.]]