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cassidyserhienko's review against another edition
5.0
In honour of the upcoming release of Any Way the Wind Blows, this week’s #throwbackthursday is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell.
Baz has got to be one of my all-time favourite book characters and despite Wayward Son not being quite what I expected, I am sooo happy that Rainbow Rowell decided to turn this book into a trilogy. That said, I am fully prepared to fight her if Simon and Baz don’t spend AT LEAST a third of Any Way the Wind Blows actually being happy.
Carry On could have been a really fluffy, kind of ironic, tie-in to Fangirl and I’m sure myself and other fans would have still loved it. But instead, Rowell chose to really dive into the Chosen One trope and the repercussions that it would realistically have on the “hero”, particularly when the time for heroics is over. The way that she handles Simon and Baz’s respective insecurities and the progression of their relationship makes the entire Carry On series one of my favourites. While there’s certainly still plenty of inside jokes, I think that she does such an excellent job of exploring what are essentially literary tropes and almost bringing humanity to beloved characters and plotlines that we’re already so familiar with.
I did find the start of Carry On somewhat slow since I don’t think things really pick up until Baz comes back, but considering it’s kind-of-sort-of supposed to be the eighth installment in a series Rowell does a really fantastic job of providing background information and world-building without just info-dumping. Obviously this is a play on a certain series involving witchcraft and wizardry, but the magic system and world that Rowell creates is really unique while still giving little nods to Harry Potter.
I read Wayward Son in one sitting the day that it came out, but I’m still a little unsure of my feelings. As I said, it’s definitely not what I had been expecting from a sequel. However, I think that the tension between Simon and Baz and the personal issues that each of them, particularly Simon, have to work through are much more realistic to where their relationship would be. Of course I wanted an entire book of them being happy and in love, but it just wouldn’t be true to what Rowell is doing with the series. I wish that they had actually been communicating a little more by the end of the book, but based on the set-up I think Any Way the Wind Blows will focus more on their relationship and HOPEFULLY I will get some happy and in-love Snaz (consider this a petition for Snaz to be the new ship name, we’ve really missed an opportunity here people).
We all know Rainbow Rowell, so make sure you have the tissues ready July 6!
Baz has got to be one of my all-time favourite book characters and despite Wayward Son not being quite what I expected, I am sooo happy that Rainbow Rowell decided to turn this book into a trilogy. That said, I am fully prepared to fight her if Simon and Baz don’t spend AT LEAST a third of Any Way the Wind Blows actually being happy.
Carry On could have been a really fluffy, kind of ironic, tie-in to Fangirl and I’m sure myself and other fans would have still loved it. But instead, Rowell chose to really dive into the Chosen One trope and the repercussions that it would realistically have on the “hero”, particularly when the time for heroics is over. The way that she handles Simon and Baz’s respective insecurities and the progression of their relationship makes the entire Carry On series one of my favourites. While there’s certainly still plenty of inside jokes, I think that she does such an excellent job of exploring what are essentially literary tropes and almost bringing humanity to beloved characters and plotlines that we’re already so familiar with.
I did find the start of Carry On somewhat slow since I don’t think things really pick up until Baz comes back, but considering it’s kind-of-sort-of supposed to be the eighth installment in a series Rowell does a really fantastic job of providing background information and world-building without just info-dumping. Obviously this is a play on a certain series involving witchcraft and wizardry, but the magic system and world that Rowell creates is really unique while still giving little nods to Harry Potter.
I read Wayward Son in one sitting the day that it came out, but I’m still a little unsure of my feelings. As I said, it’s definitely not what I had been expecting from a sequel. However, I think that the tension between Simon and Baz and the personal issues that each of them, particularly Simon, have to work through are much more realistic to where their relationship would be. Of course I wanted an entire book of them being happy and in love, but it just wouldn’t be true to what Rowell is doing with the series. I wish that they had actually been communicating a little more by the end of the book, but based on the set-up I think Any Way the Wind Blows will focus more on their relationship and HOPEFULLY I will get some happy and in-love Snaz (consider this a petition for Snaz to be the new ship name, we’ve really missed an opportunity here people).
We all know Rainbow Rowell, so make sure you have the tissues ready July 6!
kidneybean's review
5.0
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
Content Warnings: Foul language, blood, violence (minor), death, mentions of mental illness
I had my doubts going in to this book, but when a student recommended it to me I figured I would give it a try.
’Carry On’ takes place in a magical world in the year 2015. It follows the story of Simon as he transverses his last year of high school. The only problem though is that he’s the “Chosen One”, and an evil entity is sucking up all of the magic across Europe.
This is a slow-burn, fluffy, enemies to lovers Teen/YA fantasy romance novel. It features many queer main characters.
Again, this is a novel I wish I had read in high school. It was hilarious at times but also heart-warming and emotional when it needed to be.
I fell in love with the characters AND the narrator. I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t quit listening! I’m excited to dive into the sequel!
Content Warnings: Foul language, blood, violence (minor), death, mentions of mental illness
I had my doubts going in to this book, but when a student recommended it to me I figured I would give it a try.
’Carry On’ takes place in a magical world in the year 2015. It follows the story of Simon as he transverses his last year of high school. The only problem though is that he’s the “Chosen One”, and an evil entity is sucking up all of the magic across Europe.
This is a slow-burn, fluffy, enemies to lovers Teen/YA fantasy romance novel. It features many queer main characters.
Again, this is a novel I wish I had read in high school. It was hilarious at times but also heart-warming and emotional when it needed to be.
I fell in love with the characters AND the narrator. I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t quit listening! I’m excited to dive into the sequel!
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
UPDATE (9/10/17): I loved this book the first time, but I was really disappointed with the ending, so I gave this book a 4.5 star rating. However, after having read it again and at a (somewhat) slower pace, actually taking *in* the story I was reading, I'm perfectly content to bump this up to the 5 star rating it deserves. In retrospect and away from my desire to binge, the ending makes sense for this story; it's more apparent to me that Rowell wasn't trying to duplicate Harry Potter even though this is - obviously - loosely based off of it. So, that missing half star rating was really a fault in my capability of understanding and not categorizing a perfectly good story, and I wholeheartedly love and adore this story and what it presents in its' entirety. And, maybe someday, Rowell might revisit this world - even if it's technically author-canon fanfiction from a world of fiction!
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Overall, a solid 4.5 stars. I absolutely LOVE that this exists, and everything Simon and Baz (especially Baz) but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the ending... I guess we all want happier things for heroes in the end. Still, this is such a good read from start to finish, and though I spent SO LONG waiting for SnowBaz to be real, the second it was, I was done. Fabulous work once again by Rainbow Rowell; I cannot wait to see what she'll write next!
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Overall, a solid 4.5 stars. I absolutely LOVE that this exists, and everything Simon and Baz (especially Baz) but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the ending... I guess we all want happier things for heroes in the end. Still, this is such a good read from start to finish, and though I spent SO LONG waiting for SnowBaz to be real, the second it was, I was done. Fabulous work once again by Rainbow Rowell; I cannot wait to see what she'll write next!
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
I think I've accidentally picked a different edition at some point? Anyway, of course it's a 5 star read! This was my reread for the purpose of annotating the book - can't wait to pick this up again someday and add on. It was fun to try to pick out some themes and my favorite lines while adding in memes, jokes, and hand-drawn emojis into the margins!
starshipgazer21's review against another edition
3.0
This book was not what I expected going into it. It had a well-thought out story, but as a huge Rainbow Rowell fan, it is definitely my least favorite Rainbow Rowell book. The shipping was incredible and the romantic tension killed me, but the overall plot was not my favorite and the ending was a bit lackluster. Still a good book, just not one of my favorites.
smolcap23's review against another edition
4.0
A solid lighthearted read. And by lighthearted I mean I was probably supposed to be emotionally devastated or something but instead I got confused. Probably should've read Fangirl first.
jagic's review against another edition
4.0
Very weird. I would describe it as a gay mixture of Harry Potter and Twilight.
butteredgarbage's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
breezyruizy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0