Rainbow Rowell lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her family. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Attachments, Eleanor & Park, Landline, and the Simon Snow Trilogy. Her comics credits include Marvel's Runaways and She-Hulk, and the graphic novel Pumpkinheads. You can visit her website at www.rainbowrowell.com. You can find more of my reviews of her works here. Sam Maggs is a bestselling author of books, comics, and video games. She's been a senior games writer, including work on Marvel's Spider-Man; the author of many YA and middle-grade books like The Unstoppable Wasp, Con Quest!, Tell No Tales, and The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy; and a comics writer for beloved titles like Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, My Little Pony, and Transformers. You can visit her website at www.sammaggs.com. Gabi Nam is a South Korean artist who has lived abroad in Japan and France. She self-publishes her work in South Korea and specializes in the black-and-white manga style. Fangirl: The Manga is her English debut.
Cath just wants to hang out with her twin sister and write fanfiction. But now that they're in college, her sister doesn't have time for her. And life keeps pulling Cath further and further out of her shell. For the first time ever, Cath has her own social circle. There's Nick, her handsome classmate who wants her to write short stories with him . . . And then Levi, who keeps showing up when she isn't looking for him . . . Actually . . . maybe Cath's circle is more of a triangle?
This volume was definitely the Levi volume! As Rainbow mentioned on her Instagram, this volume includes all of the biggest Levi moments, from the fight at Muggsy's to Hi-Way Diner and The Outsiders, this is the volume that really develops his character. We learned a lot about Cath's relationship with her family and with herself, as well as how her expectations about college came crashing down in volume 1; in volume 2, all lights go to Levi and Cath's developing friendship with him. All of the scenes were gorgeously illustrated by Gabi Nam, and really captured the energy and heart of this developing relationship.
I didn't realize how much of the dialogue I had memorized of this novel over the years until I was reading the manga and was thinking ahead about the scenes that would be in this one and guessing what the characters would say on the page flips. Rainbow Rowell and Sam Maggs absolutely nailed the adaptation of volume 2. There was some new content in volume 1 that helped cement who the characters were and the role Simon and Baz play in Cath's life. But for those diehard fans like myself, volume 2 really felt like it was Fangirl in visual form. No new content, no new dialogue, all make it feel incredibly authentic, and made the reading experience feel like it was literally the images in my head I visualize when reading the print book come to life. That's what made reading this volume so magical!
Lastly, Fangirl: the Manga is meant to be four volumes—but I feel like we're a little more than halfway through the print book as far as original content goes! The division and cliffhangers of the first two volumes were perfect, making for a perfectly paced and evenly-tensioned series so far. It makes me more excited about what's up ahead, and makes me predict that the next volume will be pegged the "Reagan" novel; as Cath is picking up the pieces of yet another betrayal, Cath's and Reagan's relationship will be highlighted as Cath gets back on her feet. But if the next two volumes are meant to be as long as the first two, I'm guessing and hoping for some new content, without cutting any of the original scenes. All-in-all, I love how Fangirl, Vol. 2 ended, because it leaves so much room for creativity and homage to the original in the last two volumes!
I can't wait until Vol. 3, and will definitely be rereading the first two volumes in anticipation of news about the next two volumes!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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