Recent Reads #15 - Stranger Than Fanfiction

I can't believe how long it has been since I've written a post for my Recent Reads series! As many of you will know, I'm a huge bookworm and just cannot resist purchasing new books everytime I enter a bookstore, so not being able to read a book I genuinely enjoy for over half a year was really bugging me.

I hardly enjoyed the assigned readings I had to read before my exams, so I wasn't inspired to share them with you guys, and I didn't have any time to sit down with a book I had picked out for myself between classes, work, assignments and studying for graduation exams either.

Due to that, I've been all the more excited about the fact that I'm now finally able to work off my to-read list! Stranger Than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer is one of the books that have been sitting on my bookshelf for longer than I can remember - which is a shame because I once I actually came around picking it up, I finished it within less than a day! 

Stranger Than Fanfiction starts off with two narrative perspectives.
 One of them follows the four teenagers Joey, Topher, Sam and Mo, who just graduated high school and are anxious to finally go on a road trip before they leave for colleges all over the country.
The other follows Cash Carter, an actor in his mid-twenties who stars in the teens' favorite television show, Wiz Kids. Being in the public eye for over a decade has apparently taken a toll on Cash, sending him spiralling out of controll a little more every day.

These two worlds clash - quite literally - when Topher, while writing a letter  to Cash, jokingly invites his idol to join him and his friends on their road trip, not thinking that anything would ever become of it. When Cash actually shows up in front of Tophers house, all packed and ready to hit the road with them, the four cannot believe their eyes. The scenario seems like a dream come true - until they actually start their trip and gradually learn that the person they've been idolizing since elementary school might not be who they've made him out to be all along...

Stranger Than Fanfiction seems like your typical coming-of-age story, and it is, in a way. However, there were some aspects to the book that, to me, made it stand out against books of the same genre.

For one, I loved the representation this book offers. Without spoiling any of the plot to you, let me enumerate: people of color, people who identify as gay, someone who identifies as a transgender and someone with a disability are among the list. These parts of the characters' identity were never ridiculed or used as punchline, and they weren't the only thing the characters were built on or the only thing there is to say about them.
We need more authors who can incorporate representative characters such as these into their books, because even though we're in 2017, it's sadly still rather uncommon for me to stumble upon non-white, non-straight characters.

I also found the characters in this book extremely relatable. That might be because I'm at a similar point in my life than four of the main characters - I'm going to start uni in October - and know so many of their struggles as if they were my own because, well, they are - stressing out about the change going to a new place brings and about how the hell to finance everything, for example.
But the book covers so many more relatable topics, such as families and the issues they face, dealing with anxiety, growth and learning to accept and love yourself..

I do have to admit that the situation the plot starts off with is pretty surreal - even in fiction, your favorite actor joining in on your roadtrip is a little far fetched, hence the book title - but in my eyes, some of the surreal situations the characters find themselves in add to the books humor.


Overall, I really liked this book - I mean, I basically blazed through this one while putting aside all my responsibilites for around 20 hours. As someone who is quite fond of coming-of-age stories as it is, I enjoyed this one even more because I found it almost painfully relatable, and also because it's very hard to come across a book that offers such a vast variety of characters that are all unique and interesting in their own ways.

If you, like me, enjoy stories about change and growth, are in for some dank humor and aren't put off by a slightly surreal plot, I highly recommend Stranger Than Fanfiction to you - even more so if you've ever been completely obsessed with a show, movie, or band before because you will definitely recognize your inner fangirl in these teenagers and have a right old giggle!
Stranger Than Fanfiction is available on Amazon for 8.99€.