Carry On (Simon Snow Trilogy, 1)

Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On did for me as a book what Back to the Future did as a movie, and what Star Trek did as a TV show. That is to say, I can’t put exactly into words the effect it had on me--but I can say that it made me want to go out and buy a ton of fan-art, and immediately start pondering which quotes I’m going to get tattooed on what parts of my body. It immediately rose above being a piece of fiction, and instantly became a part of my life. When I first saw this book on the shelves at Target, I have to admit, I wasn’t interested. (Which, perhaps coincidentally, is how I was the first time I watched Back to the Future; I put off watching my dad’s VHS copy of it for months, and I don’t know why. Then, as soon as I watched it, it was instantly my favorite movie.) I had read Fangirl, and loved it, but didn’t see the need to read this entire book. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Carry On is an extension of Fangirl (BUT you do not need to read Fangirl in order to enjoy Carry On. They're completely separate stories). In Fangirl, the main character, Cath, is obsessed with a fictional book-and-movie series about a wizard named Simon Snow. She loves cosplaying as the characters and writing fanfiction about it to share on the internet. Fangirl included excerpts of Cath’s fanfiction, which I wasn’t crazy about at the time, since it didn’t seem to add much to the actual story we were reading, which was Cath’s journey trying to fit in at college, without her sister to rely on. So when I saw that Rainbow Rowell had written an actual entire Simon Snow novel, my first thought was that it was super cool she was making the universe that extensive. My second thought was that this book would just be Cath’s fanfiction, which I didn’t enjoy that much. Thankfully, the good people at Goodreads saved me from that horrible misconception! As it turns out, Carry On is NOT a piece of fanfiction about a fictional story that only exists within a fictional universe. (Trust me, I LOVE fanfiction, but that might just be TOO meta to wrap my head around! That, and I didn’t like Cath’s writing style that much, though I did love Rowell’s third-person narration style in Fangirl.) Carry On is meant to be the stand-alone, official canon story of Simon Snow. After reading a bunch of fabulous reviews, I decided to order it on Amazon and give it a try. That was the best decision I made all year. I’ll admit, the length intimidated me a bit at first. You may be surprised to learn that, though I LOVE reading and writing, and do both all the time, I struggle with super long books. I generally enjoy books in the 200-300 page range. Sometimes I’m cool with books under 200 pages. Now, Fangirl was over 400 pages and I’d loved that, so I already kind of knew that I was willing to make an exception for Rainbow Rowell. Still, I was wondering when I’d have time to read a book over 500 pages long. It didn’t matter when I’d have time, because I somehow finished it in one day. I could. not. stop. reading!!!!!! Guys, I have SO MANY GOOD THINGS to say about this book. So get ready! Beware, though, there might be mild spoilers! I won’t give away any major plot twists though. First, let’s talk about how real all the characters felt. I wanted Penny to be my real-life best friend. I admired her intelligence, her no-nonsense attitude, and her amazing sense of humor. I especially loved how she was never afraid to insert herself into any situation. Nowadays, there is so much focus on the “powerful female protagonist” without much thought as to what that actually means. A girl doesn’t need to beat up a million bad guys to be amazing. And she ESPECIALLY doesn’t need to act like “one of the dudes.” What I love about Penny is that she is constantly so unapologetically HERSELF. She’s a little like me--loud, goofy, and a little invasive--but she never apologizes for being that way. And she never needs to. She knows who the important people in her life are. Penny is everything I wish I could have been at 18, and she’s a fantastic role model for teen girls. I have a picture of Penny now hanging on my office wall, right next to the mirror, so that she can inspire me every morning while I’m doing my before-work writing sprints. I’d also like to talk about Agatha’s character a bit. I actually disagree with a lot of other reviewers’ opinions on Agatha. Many people have said she’s annoying, she’s useless to the plot, or that she’s written as a flat, misogynistic stereotype. I couldn’t disagree more. Agatha is important. Agatha is struggling internally just like the rest of the characters, but she’s struggling differently. While Simon considers his magic to be his sole motivation, Agatha feels trapped in this world she doesn’t want to be in. It was easy to see her relationship with Simon failing from a million miles away. A lot of people will say that’s because she’s not good enough for him or something, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re wrong for each other because they want different things. Agatha doesn’t like the world of magic, and wants to be normal like her friends back home, but is under tremendous pressure from her parents to be an amazing mage like the rest of the family. I really appreciate that [SPOILER ALERT], at the end, Agatha chooses to take her own path. I found her to be empowering in that way--not even something as powerful as magic or family influence could hold her down from being who she wants to. Go Agatha! Now, I really need to talk about one of the most important parts of the book: Simon and Baz’s relationship. It is so brilliant, for a million reasons. To understand why, first we’ll need to go back to Fangirl. In Fangirl, Cath writes slash fiction about Simon and his roommate/nemesis, Baz, falling in love with one another. It’s understood that, in the canon Simon Snow universe (which did not exist in the real world yet at the time that Fangirl came out, but does exist now), Simon and Baz were not in a relationship with each other, or at least weren’t yet. I’m going to be totally honest. I have a lot of feelings on slash fiction. And those feelings are that it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. If you’re not familiar with slash fiction, it’s fanfiction that puts two established characters from someone else’s work in a same-sex relationship with each other. It is written primarily by women and the LGBT community--in other words, people whose voices are incredibly underrepresented in film, TV, literature, and the overall media. Nowadays, we have reboots and retellings taking over TV and Hollywood, like JJ Abrams’ Star Trek remake or the BBC’s modern-day retelling of Sherlock Holmes. However, just like their original counterparts, these new works are created by men, with giant studio budgets, who often like to make fun of the fanfiction that women write and share completely for free. Yet, these remakes themselves are nothing more than fanfiction--a new take on someone else’s work. Often, when fans write slash fiction, it’s because they’re trying to create more positive LGBT representation in the media. But a lot of opinion still seems to be that these writers are “trying to make everyone gay” to push some kind of liberal agenda, and many professional writers, directors, and producers find it anywhere from silly to annoying to threatening. Meanwhile, nearly all culturally significant characters remain stuck in canon heterosexual romances. But that’s what blew me away about Carry On; it totally subverted this norm. Cath’s fanfiction from Fangirl could easily have been reduced to frivolous slash fantasies, that no author would ever dare actually make canon. But Rainbow Rowell does it. She does it. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but if you’ve read any other reviews on this book at all, I’m sure you know this already. Simon and Baz actually end up together. About a third of the way through the book, it’s revealed that Baz has been secretly in love with Simon for years, but has never been able to do anything about it, for a variety of reasons--such as their families being enemies, Simon being in a relationship with Agatha, and Baz’s father not accepting that he’s gay. The build-up of their relationship is beautiful. You see them as enemies, but you can tell right away that there’s something different about them. It’s pretty obvious that they don’t actually hate each other, and are just acting so mean to each other because it’s what their families expect of them. But their relationship is more than just adorable--and trust me, adorable doesn’t even BEGIN to describe them. Their relationship, in the context of the fanfiction of Fangirl, and then the canon work of Carry On, is a statement in favor of female and LGBT writers. But then, it’s even more than that--it IS the positive LGBT representation that fans have been needing for decades. I’ll briefly touch on a couple negative things as well. I usually don’t include negatives of books that I like, but since I just spent over 1,500 words raving like crazy about this book, I think it’s strong enough to take it. I wish we got more of Penny’s relationship with her boyfriend, Micah. I feel like their plot was just totally dropped, and I’d like to know more about them. Penny never seemed to care about Micah much, even though she mentions she wants to propose to him. So I would’ve appreciated a little more development of their relationship, or at least to see them interact in some way. I wish Simon would admit that he is bisexual. He spends a lot of the second half of the book going back and forth in his head, wondering, “Am I gay or not gay?” I wish anyone had been able to tell Simon that he doesn’t have to be attracted to only one gender. (And I feel like that’s the kind of thing Penny would tell him. I wish she had.) Especially because he’s really interested in Agatha at the beginning, but then definitely falls in love with Baz after he and Agatha break up. It would be nice, since bisexual representation in books, movies, TV, etc. is almost nonexistent. (Even in shows like Orange is the New Black, where like over half of the characters are bisexual, they don’t even describe themselves that way.) But I’m hoping that, if a sequel happens--which has been hinted at!!--that Simon will have this realization then. And just a quick warning, if you haven’t read any other reviews yet--if you don’t like the first 150 pages or so, don’t worry. (I did like those pages, but I heard a lot of other people didn’t.) They’re very similar to Harry Potter, and you may start to worry that this book’s going to be a Harry Potter spinoff. But it’s not. Keep going, and you’ll be glad you did--the story goes in an entirely different direction. (But the world is similar to that of Harry Potter, with the kids being at magic school. I don’t have a problem with that. Harry Potter’s been around for 20 years now. Of course other writers are going to set stories in wizard schools.) So I know I went on for a really long time, and spent this entire review talking at length about the characters and their relationships and their cultural impacts. I didn’t even really get a chance to get into the magic, or the adventure the characters go on avenging Baz’s mom’s death, or the quest Simon has to go on as the Chosen One to defeat the Insidious Humdrum. But that’s probably because I’ve always focused more on character development when I’m reading (or writing) a book. So I’ll leave the plot reviews to more plot-based readers! In conclusion, if you couldn’t tell already, I highly recommend this book to everyone. Please read it.

I think I'm going to say that this is the best book I have read this year. Why? Because it gave me butterflies. Actual real butterflies in my stomach. I haven't felt that in forever. But I felt it for Simon and Baz. And their romance. And it was the best feeling in the world. This book was simply perfection. I just cannot deal with how perfect this book was. I couldn't stop reading once I started it today. I mean, I knew I would love it. But I didn't know I would love it this much. Sigh. The writing is stunning. The plot was exciting and interesting. The characters were amazing to read about. I adored them. I don't even know how to write about this precious book. It looks gorgeous. And it is oh so pretty beneath the jacket cover. It is over five hundred pages, but it felt like much less than that, because I never wanted this book to end. Every page was amazing. Even though Baz doesn't show up until sometime after a hundred and fifty pages. Hmph. But reading about Simon was the very best. He's so cute. And so hungry. And skinny. And that just broke my heart. Sniffs. I love how he ate all the time, how much he ate too. I loved reading about his obsession with Baz, his sworn-enemy. There are some flashbacks to the previous seven years spent at the school. And they were all amazing. So much love. So interesting. Carry On is a book about magic. A book about Simon Snow being the Chosen One. About him being the most powerful. Yet not being able to control his magic at all. It began as a fanfiction in the book Fangirl by Rainbow. And it is not the same as Harry Potter at all. Just so you know. It is much better. And I love Harry. But I loved Simon Snow even more. The books are different. And that's that. Now I must try to figure out how to write about this book. Because I loved it the very most. And I wish to share my love. This book is the story of eighteen year old Simon. Whom is at his last year at a magic school. He is trying to stop a villain, who has the most silly name, lol. I adored getting to know Simon. Just, ugh. He was perfect. So cute and awesome. I loved how he wasn't the best at doing magic, but how he still tried his best. Loved how kind he was. Mostly, I just adored reading about Simon. I adored his relationship with his roommate, Baz. How they hated each other at first, lol. It was the cutest. Just so much love. Simon also has a best friend. Penelope. And oh my gosh how much I adored her. She was so much fun and so smart and so kind and always there for Simon. Their friendship meant so much to me. I adored reading about her and getting to know her. This book is mostly told from Simon's point of view, but a few more too. Like Penny and Baz. And I loved it the most. Such amazing friendships. Such gorgeous writing. Such an awesome plot too. Sorry, my brain is a bit all over the place. I just loved it so much. There was one character that I did not love in this book. And that was Agatha. Simon's girlfriend. Well, they never kiss in this book, and it has been sort-of over between them for a long time, though it takes them a few weeks to finally break it off. But point is. I didn't like her. She wasn't that kind to Simon at all. She would have cheated on him, if she could. And that's not okay. She also wasn't a nice person. Not even to Penny. Hmph. I didn't like how the book ended with her. But I wish I could have liked her more. I will have you know that the romance in Carry On is the sweetest thing ever. Sure, it doesn't start right away. Which is a bit depressing, as I loved seeing them together the very most. But when it does start, it is the most perfect this. I cannot deal with it. The romance is with Simon and Baz. And oh my gosh. It is the best thing I have read. I loved their first kiss. And their second. And the next one. And ugh. It seriously gave me butterflies. They are the cutest. Not the most romance, but the very sweetest one. I've still got my hands on his cheeks, and his cheeks aren't so cold anymore, not where I've been touching them. And when I suck on his lips, they go almost pink. For a few seconds, anyway. I wonder how long he's wanted this. I wonder how long I've wanted it. I don't know what to say about the plot in this one. The magic is gorgeous. I loved the spells they did. I adored how smart Penny was, how close she and Simon were, and just friends. I loved how Simon and Baz became friends and then more. Loved how exciting this book was from start to finish. I loved every moment. The story is about trying to end the villain. I loved finding out the awesome twists. I adored the ending. I loved how it ended for Simon. I cannot. Every single part of this book was perfection. My only issue with this book: It ended too soon. I need a sequel. I know this is a standalone fantasy. But I want a second book more than I want anything. I want to read more about Baz and Simon being in love. I want to read about them having adventures. I want to read about how Simon is able to live with what happened to him. I must know. I need a second book so badly. Oh, please. I would love it the most. Ack. So yes. Crossing all my fingers for that. I would buy and read it in a heartbeat. <3 It's my biggest wish. Carry On was the most perfect book. The writing was spectacular. The characters the very best to read about. The romance gave me butterflies. I could not have loved this book any more. So thrilled that I decided to read it today. It was the most I have loved a book in a long time. And I have read a lot of great books. But yes. This was the best one. Simon and Baz will always be in my heart. You must all go buy and read this precious book. You will not regret it, I promise. Because I loved it the very most. <3

I originally read this before reading Fangirl and having no context about Simon Snow. At first my reaction was "This is just a Harry Potter rip-off. I really thought better of Rainbow Rowell." But the more I read, and delved into the fandom of Simon Snow, the story grew on me. Realizing that Carry On is really just Rainbow writing a fanfic of her own imaginary book series within a book she wrote, makes Carry On a literary work of beauty. It is not necessary to read Fangirl first to understand the story, however reading it first will definitely help with context and background of the characters and also help line up Simon/Baz's backgrounds for their years 1-7. Since my initial read several months ago, I read Fangirl (and more AO3 fics than I'm willing to admit), and went back to re-read Carry On with the context and background of the fandom. Second time through, this book is infinitely better. Still not a 5-star read, but a solid 4 (up from my 3-star review initially). I love the evolution of Simon and Baz's relationship from Enemies to Lovers. I'm sorry, but Fantasy Enemies to Lovers with a bonus of M/M goodness is going to win my affection every time. Rainbow created characters that are a mesh of most stereotypical "Chosen One" trope characters. Simon Snow is the Chosen-One, and The Mage's Heir, a boy prophesied to save the world of Mages while also being The Greatest Mage (and most powerful) to ever live. Baz is a (not-so-) evil vampire who won't admit he's a vampire, Heir of the most powerful of the old families in the Coven, and destined to stop Simon Snow before he can overpower the Coven and take over as the most powerful mage of all time. Baz also happens to be the most brilliant Mage student at Watford, and Simon is the worst chosen one to ever be chosen. So bad, in fact, that he cannot control his overabundance of magic so he tries to use it as little as possible. Simon and Baz are (of course) roommates at Watford School of Magicks, thrown together by The Crucible. Baz is always "plotting" and Simon is always trying to save the world from the Insidious Humdrum, while also making it his personal mission to prove that Baz is an evil-plotting-vampire. And we can't forget our female sidekicks. Penny, the too-smart-for-you BFF of Simon, who rivals Baz for top-of-class, and doesn't entirely understand why Simon is so bent on proving that Baz is plotting (or a vampire). Agatha is Simon's beautiful, although not incredibly powerful, girlfriend. His "happy ever after". Also, the often kidnapped pawn used against Simon by the Humdrum almost every year. This is the story of how frienemies become unlikely allies to uncover a plot larger than Simon ever imagined. It is terribly cliche, but that's the beauty of it. This book doesn't take itself too seriously, it's just a fun story written more-or-less as a fanfiction-turned-novel.

Oh, Carry On, how do I even begin to do you justice? I'll just have to muddle through and hope for the best. Simon Snow is an orphan, forced to spend his summers in various group homes around Britain. The rest of the school year he spends at the Watford School of Magicks, where he's just returned for his very final year (but not before having to behead a goblin trying to kill him on the way there). Simon Snow is the Chosen One of wizardkind, but most of the time, he can't even perform basic spells. He's so full of magic and barely restrained anger that when he really lets go, things explode or catch fire. Sometimes both at once. He didn't ask to be the Chosen One, destined to save all of magic from the ever-growing threat of the Insidious Humdrum, a mysterious force wearing the face of his eleven-year-old self. He knows that he's unlikely to survive their final encounter. His best friend, Penelope Bunce, is one of the best witches at the school and she does what she can to help Simon in every way. She worries about him when they are separated for the summer, and she tries to avoid thinking about what is likely to happen after they finish school. What she most wants to do is take Simon somewhere and get a little flat, far away from magical intrigue and his inevitable showdown with the Humdrum. Not that she fancies him in any way, a fact she wishes Simon's girlfriend would understand - she just wants to take care of him, like any loyal friend would. Simon's girlfriend is Agatha Wellbelove, the prettiest, most graceful girl at Watford. She and Simon have been going out for the past three years, and Simon always spends Christmas with her family. She doesn't really particularly like magic, and would happily go to a normal school with her normal friends, and she certainly doesn't relish the fact that she risks being collateral damage every time the Humdrum sends something horrible to endanger Simon. And then there is Baz, Simon's darkly handsome and mysterious roommate (and sometimes nemesis), who intrigues her so. Not that her parents would be happy if she dumped the Chosen One for a Tory vampire. Simon's mentor and the headmaster at Watford, the Mage, is barely present at the school, always off somewhere looking for new magical artifacts or texts to fight the constant dangers, but when he does return, he suggests Simon may want to leave Watford, and hide away somewhere. But Simon can't do that. Everything he knows and loves is there, and if he leaves, he won't be able to keep an eye on Baz, who for mysterious reasons hasn't returned for the fall term. Just before Simon and Penelope were magically whisked away by the Humdrum at the end of last term, Simon saw Baz and Agatha holding hands in the woods. Now Baz, the pompous and devious git, hasn't even returned to Watford. Simon is convinced he's plotting against himself and the Mage, and can't seem to eat or sleep properly, combing the grounds looking for him. What sort of nemesis just leaves? Like a lot of others, I suspect I found the Simon Snow parts of Fangirl (both the "official" Gemma T. Leslie sections, and Cath's fan fiction) the least interesting part of the book, and when I listened to the audio book during my convalescence from concussion, I frequently skipped them. Yet I was intrigued when Rainbow Rowell, one of my favourite authors, said that she couldn't get Simon and Baz out of her head, and was writing a book about them. Not her fictional author Gemma T. Leslie's version, or her fictional fan Cath's extended fan fiction, but in a very meta way, a kind of fan fiction of her own previous creations. I tried to avoid too many interviews, as I didn't want to get spoiled, but since I've loved every single thing she'd previously written, Rainbow Rowell writing YA fantasy was going to have to be pretty awful for me not to enjoy it. It turns out I was so eager for the book, I completely failed to realise that I pre-ordered the book TWICE - once on Amazon and once on Kobobooks. Because I am getting older, I can't actually stay up until the early hours of the morning reading, and then going to work to teach the young, so I wasn't able to finish the book until the day after I got it. Once I did, I had the biggest book hangover, though. I had fairly high expectations for the book, and it surpassed every single one. To anyone who has ever read a Harry Potter book (or not lived in an isolated cave for the past few decades, because really, who hasn't heard of the Harry Potter universe?), the influence here is very obvious. Rainbow Rowell has said that she loves Chosen One stories, and wanted to explore what it meant to BE chosen in her own book. Of course any such individual in their right mind wouldn't exactly love that their ultimate fate is probably to fight and die to save the greater good. Simon tries very hard not to think too much of his time after Watford, as he is very unlikely to survive to see it. There are so many clever references here, some calling back to Fangirl, but also a whole host of other YA literature, most obviously Twilight. Simon spent his entire fifth year trying to prove that Baz was a vampire, and his confrontation scene with his roommate had me laughing out loud. The ever-present YA love triangle is also present, but dealt with very deftly and the romantic tension in this book was the main reason I was so frustrated I couldn't actually stay awake long enough - I wanted to get to the kissing! It was all extremely worth it, though. I don't want to reveal how many times I may have re-read the chapters where the kissing first happens, but I read a lot of romance, and YA fiction rarely takes my breath away. It was pretty swoon-worthy, and my inner 14-year-old squeed. If you've ever enjoyed any sort of book or film or TV show, where the Chosen One constantly ends up endangering his friends and/or family, is struggling with the fate of the world and the safety of humanity on his or her shoulders, where there is a love/hate-relationship between the protagonist and the love interest, you should read this book. I was practically glowing with happiness when I completed the book, and once the doctor decreed that I wasn't allowed to do anything more taxing with my brain than listen to audiobooks, I promptly got this (a book I'd already paid for twice, mind you), just so I could experience it again. Euan Morton does a good job with all the different accents and voices, but sounds a bit too old for all the teenage characters. Since I always listen to books on x1.25 or even x1.50, that wasn't a problem for me, and I can very much recommend it as a great listen. It's always much harder to not just gush incoherently when reviewing a book you really love. This book completely blew me away, and will without a shadow of a doubt be high on my top 10 of 2015. If this is Rainbow Rowell's first attempt at fantasy, I can't imagine what she could do if she decided to play in the genre again some time.

I’ve loved Fangirl, especially the excerpts from Cath’s fanfics featuring Simon and Baz. But this! This is just a whole new level of intense. Baz's POVs captivated me the most, though. It doesn’t mean that Simon didn’t have his moments (because he most certainly did!), but I’ve always imagined Baz to be a snobbish, condescending prick when I’d get to finally hear his voice. Well, he was most of the time but I wasn’t expecting the endless pining and the secret crushing over Simon Snow. But then again, who wouldn’t fall in love with Simon? He’s just this ray of light – naïve but brave and bold and selfless. Most of the time, he’s reckless but you wouldn’t be able to hold it against him because he wears his heart on his sleeve. It makes you want to protect him even though he’s doing all the actual saving. Yet to Simon, Baz is this immaculate, flawless, and well-mannered guy who is everything he isn’t. Handsome, smart, and cool, Simon thinks Baz always gets what he wants. For so long, he hated the guy because he symbolizes everything that he won’t ever be, and well, Baz has been taunting and scheming against him time and again. But in actuality for Baz, it’s a defense mechanism for a love that will never be his. Factor in that they both represent opposite sides in the war of the mages – Simon as The Mage’s heir calling for reforms and equality, and Baz as the last living heir of the Pitches, the most influential name in the Old Families, who believe in tradition and power being given to the few elites. They’ve been doing this exhausting keep-your-enemies-closer dance for so long. For the good first part of the book, it’s messy and intriguing. Suspenseful. Rowell keeping you on your toes and building the story up towards something. And when you finally think you’re at your wits' end, the dam breaks with that scorching first kiss. Then everything just explodes. Revelation after countless revelation. Rowell was relentless. And it was exhilarating and beautiful. Simon and Baz’s relationship turning to something more. Rowell bombarding you with all these new twists to the plot. And it just works well with the entire story. It’s like when a talented opera singer works with the best orchestra – creating this hair raising symphony of melody that is pleasing to your ears. Everything is in perfect harmony. And it’s exactly like that with how Rainbow Rowell gave direction to this book. The micro and macro side of things in the story working together towards one solid goal. And that is to provide us readers with an epic adventure full of love and magic that leaves you feeling like an oxymoron – utterly exhausted but pleasantly contented. I am contented! I mean, I was. And well, I know the everyone keeps saying, "Keep Calm and Carry On." But God, I wish there were more. Not only of the story but more books such as this. As an LGBT reviewer, I am more than happy that Rowell was able to penetrate the mainstream community with gay characters like Simon and Baz. I know that there have been successful attempts by several authors, but not to this extent. And I’m hoping this helps in paving the way for more LGBT books being accepted in the mainstream, so that in the near future, there won’t ever be adjectives placed before the word ‘book’ or ‘novel’. Well-done! And very highly recommended. Read the full review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1346656497

I originally picked this book up on a whim and then proceeded to read it in its entirety over a weekend camping trip. And I loved it. I loved every bit of it. So, why and what is it about? Though Carry On stands on its own perfectly well, it's actually based on characters from another one of Rowell's books (though they're fictional within the world of that book). It's also sort of a quilt of YA fiction pop culture from the early 2000s. There's a wizarding school, a brash young hero whose life is surrounded by prophecies, a relentlessly cool teenage vampire, tons of teen angst, and of course a love story. With all of that, it would be easy for this book to feel sloppy or derivative but it doesn't. Instead Rainbow Rowell tells a wonderful story that is all the better for the fact that it is like other stories you've read but chooses to be boldly different from them. At the center of the story is Simon Snow, a teenager starting his final year of wizarding school even as the wizarding world is on the brink of war. I know it sounds like the final book in the series but Rowell is able to jump right in at the end of the story because this kind of tale is so well trod. We all know what sort of antics young wizards get into during their first few years at wizarding school just as much as we know how villains gradually escalate their plans as the heroes grow up. So, Rowell is able to throw us into the deep end of the pool by relying on off-hand references to past events that we immediately understand. The same is true with Simon Snow's relationships. We immediately recognize the roles that the brilliantly smart Penelope and well-bred and beautiful Agatha play. Just as we recognize that Simon's rich, cool, and possibly vampiric roommate Baz is nothing but trouble. But then, in this very familiar story full of tropes, Rowell starts turning things on their head. What if Simon's relationships aren't what he thought they were? What if some monsters aren't bad and some bullies are just jerks but not actually evil? What starts off as a by-the-numbers teenage wizard story starts dodging our expectations, twisting into something much more interesting and original, which I loved. The other thing that really made the book stand out as special is the characters. Through Rowell's capable writing these archetypical become interesting and specific. Simon's not just your average Chosen One, but is an impulsive young man who can't help but lead with his heart over his head. Baz is more than just a potentially villainous bad boy, but is a fully developed character struggling with the tragedies and failures in his past. And, though I love both Simon and Baz, the character whose arc moved me the most was Agatha, Simon's girlfriend who at the start of the book has decided that maybe marrying the boy who is supposed to be the greatest hero of their age isn't really what she wants. The reason this book works is because at every turn Rowell breathes originality into the dusty old tropes.

Though this is a "stand alone" novel, I am glad I have read both Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling because otherwise I may have been a bit lost. The plot is that it is the final year at a magical boarding school and Simon Snow is The Chosen One-- the one who will put an end to the Insidious Humdrum, the evil that is eating away the magic of the magic world. Simon has an intelligent side-kick, Penny, a graceful girlfriend, Agatha, and an archrival for a roommate, Baz (who is also a vampire and currently missing at the start of the book and driving Simon crazy about it). The Mage is the headmaster of the magic school and is also the leader of the magic world. He acts as a mentor towards Simon. It plays so much off Harry Potter that I don't think it stands quite on its own. I feel like the reader needs prior exposure to a school of magic with a chosen one to really understand what is going on. On top of that, the actual plot is just too cliche. If this was the 8th and last book of a well loved fantasy series and that was the plot outcome I would be so displeased as a reader! The plot stands just fine on the fact that it is a standalone, which it is, but at the same time its supposed to represent something more than that, which it doesn't. Despite that, I still really liked the book. I was just adsorbed by the characters. I think Baz has the best introduction of any character ever. I love how he pokes fun at Simon. I like how Penny is Ron and Hermoine wrapped in one character so she's smart and a great friend who doesn't mind breaking the rules and her loyalty means everything. Simon's all right and I like Agatha's ending. We get a really interesting way of telling a backstory, too. I like how magic spells can be catch phrases that can also lose power over time as people stop using them (think of the memes and the power they could have!) It was a quick read and I was giving it 4 stars until I got to the plot resolution where it was falling quickly to three, but the overall readability of it was still very good and I really like the alternating points of view to give the story a good pace. I really liked reading it but I only liked/tolerated the actual plot. I'll give it 4 stars.

I wanted to love this book before I even bought it because it's sounded like a total cliche storyline that I enjoy but with a very creative spin. That is certainly true. Ultimately I loved that it's about 2 boys who realize they're in love. Luckily it was *very* well written and I got to love the book for all the quarks. Here's the first reason why I was scared to read it after I opened the cover -> I hate things written in present tense so very very much!!!! Usually it ruins the story for me because it's an awkward tense to write a long story in, often the author has trouble staying in the right tense because of that, or it feels choppy because of that. This story didn't really have any problems with the tense and I was beyond impressed with the author's skill in that regard. Next, I was scared to read it because several other reviews stated that it starts 'in medias res', or in the middle of the story. While I do agree that the beginning (this is the first 30% of the book we're talking about!- I made sure to note when we got started into the real storyline here) is a bit slow, but it's not utterly boring. I'd have loved to see some of the backstory 'live' so to speak, instead of just being told about it (I assume these details are found somewhere in her 'Fangirl' book where Simon Snow is a fictional character and the main character of 'Fangirl' reads books about him and writes fanfic about him- I have not read that book though). However, it's pretty easy to survive without living through the past stories with the character. We've all read or watched Harry Potter, right? Good, we're all shamelessly caught up with our imaginings for Simon's backstory then. But now we have Simon and Baz, who are much different than the usual characters out there, and we have several other characters who are unique as well. Ultimately this book is kinda like we mixed Harry Potter with Twilight and some Yaoi and then added a few twists. The result is "unputdownable". I loved the story. The romance stuff was sweet, yet sarcastic and realistic enough for the world they were in. I gave the book 5 stars on the counter since it deserved more rather than less because of how good it was, but my 4.75 star rating in the title is based entirely on two things. 1 - Present tense. While it was expertly done it still did throw me from the story a time or two just because it's so unfamiliar to read in. Obviously this is more a personal preference. 2 - Necessarily slow start. It was a little taxing since it was 30% of the book, though it wasn't boring, but you couldn't have managed to keep up with the story without it. I assume that Book 2 will not need the slow start, so yes, I did already pre-order it. Excited to see what happens to Simon after what he had to do in Book 1 to save the day, and excited to see how he and Baz evolve as a couple, and quite possibly to see Penny with her American boyfriend as well. Cheers!

The book is set in an alternate reality where wizards walk secretly the earth. The plot revolves around the thrilling adventures of Simon, who is half wizard half human, in this whimsical academy. Much as I loved this book, the first pages felt a bit of a mixed blessing, having a low start, a gentle introduction and a premise rather similar to other celebrated saga—striking a balance between the already stablished stereotypes and a mind-blowing originality. In my humble opinion, what sets this novel apart from others with similar narrative are the well-crafted characters. It was pleasantly surprising that the author does not fail to introduce and normalize Simon as a LGBTQ character, a typology that on recent years have almost created a genre of its own, but without making this feature the be all and end all of the story. The more I dove into it, the more I realize I was about to be struck by a cliff-hanger ending with a shocking twist in the tail. And, trust me, it does surprise. Were I to sum up “Carry on”, it would be that it ticks all the right boxes, leading you be infatuated with all the emotionally complex characters, where not only the ending comes as a shock for the reader but the gripping climax building up throughout all the pages.

Ce livre est parfait. Je suis une fan de Rainbow Rowell et j'attendais beaucoup de ce bouquin et je dois dire que je ne suis pas déçue. j'aime tellement Baz et Simon. L'histoire est tellement drôle et rafraichissante avec des clins d'œil a Harry potter que évidemment j'ai adoré. Je crois bien que c'est le livre que je préfère de Rainbow.Il est en plus de ça très facile a lire en anglais je le recommande a 100%. (+ la version relié est si belle)

Inhalt: Simon Snow, der Auserwählte, der stärkste aller Magier, der Retter der magischen Welt, kehrt nach Watford zurück. Es ist sein letztes Jahr in dieser magischen Schule und er will es genießen. Doch wie soll er das, wenn sein Erzfeind und Mitbewohner einfach nicht zu Schulbeginn auftaucht? Baz muss etwas planen, etwas Boshaftes. Es reicht ja nicht, dass ein Monster die Magie stiehlt, nein, Baz und die alten Familien wollen ein Krieg gegen den Mage (Anführer der magischen Welt und auch noch Schulleiter), Simons Vormund, starten. Natürlich findest Simon keine Ruhe und sucht unentwegt nach ihm. Es hilft nicht, dass seine Freundin Agatha sich zu Baz hingezogen fühlt. Und dann taucht auch noch Baz' tote Mutter auf, um ihren Sohn aufzufordern ihren Mörder zu stellen. Plötzlich ist Baz wieder da, als ob nichts gewesen wäre. Was soll Simon tun? Seinem Erzfeind ist nicht zu trauen. Aber auf der anderen Seite will er natürlich, dass Baz' Mutter ihren Frieden findet und Baz den Mörder findet. Die beiden einigen sich auf eine Waffenruhe ' Meinung: Ich hatte dafür gebetet, dass ein Buch nur um Simon und Baz erscheint. Rainbow Rowell erhörte mich ' die fiktionalen fiktionalen Figuren aus ihrem Roman 'Fangirl' ließen auch sie nicht los. 'Carry On' ist von ihr selber geschrieben, nicht von Cath, dem Simon Fan #1 in 'Fangirl' oder von Gemma T. Leslie, der fiktionalen Autorin der Simon Sonw Reihe. Von Simon und Baz gibt es viele Versionen, die von G.T.L. und die aus den Fanfictions (den fiktionalen Fanfiktions), deswegen war ich mir unsicher, was ich mit 'Carry On' bekommen würde. Keine meiner Hoffnungen wurde enttäuscht. Baz ist sarkastisch und spielt seine Erzfeind-Rolle, Simon ist durch den Wind und denkt nicht nach, Penelope ist stark und klug und eine Feministin, Agatha ist erfrischend menschlich und der Mage ' traf genau meine Erwartungen. Er war gut geschrieben, ein an sich runder Charakter (wie der Rest auch), nur ein paar Lücken in seiner Biographie quälen mich noch immer. 'Carry On' ist eine Liebesgeschichte, auch darauf habe ich gehofft, aber Agatha spielt darin nicht die Hauptrolle (wie ich hoffte). Dies ist die Geschichte von Simon und Baz und es ist ein Geschenk, wie unaufgeregt Rowell mit dieser Liebe umgeht. Es ist keine Coming Out Geschichte, die Liebesgeschichte ist da, aber es dreht sich nicht alles um sie. So etwas findet man selten, eine Geschichte in der sich zwei Jungen zueinander finden, ohne dass es der einzige große Plot der Geschichte ist. Und der Rest des Plots ist groß ' Kriege drohen und die Magie schwindet. Die Vergangenheit muss ausgeforscht werden, die Politik steht sich selbst im Weg, der große Reformer baut sich sein eigenes Imperium. Am Ende opfert Simon das, was für ihn so wichtig ist und erhält die Magie. Jemand stirbt durch den Zauber 'Stop it, stop hurting me!' und alleine diese Szene hat so viel Aussagekraft. Was muss alles vorgefallen sein, dass jemand durch solche Worte stirbt? Anstatt einfach einen Schritt zurück zu machen? Mein Kopf ist immer noch bei diesen Worten und ich sehne mich nach mehr Lesestoff, die besser verstehen lassen. Ich denke aber nicht, dass es mehr von Simon Snow geben wird. Die Geschichte ist rund. Es ist SimonsHeldengeschichte, auch wenn er es nicht so empfindet. Es ist kein glückliches Ende, aber ein gutes.

Esse livro é incrivel, cheio de magia e bruxaria, adolescentes rebeldes, e aventuras. Vale muito a leitura, que alem de leve também é por vezes emocionante. Recomendo.

A chosen one book about chosen ones. Definitely an interesting idea and it translates into a book that was hard to out down! I will say that I found the beginning rather slow. It feels as though we are waiting for something and there is this anxious feeling as it just isn't happening. But once it does finally happen things really get moving, even though that anxious feeling doesn't leave but instead keeps propelling the story forward. This story does a good job tackling questions from classic academia chosen one stories. It is very reminiscent of Harry Potter, but it really works for other chosen one stories too. From the difficulty of the popularity mixed with the isolation for the chosen one, but also for their friends, as well as the peculiarities of the adults of become the biggest mentors of these children they expect to save the world. It was really well done and managed to both flip some of those concepts on their heads but also affirm some of the previous ideas. A great book!