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A review by nickscoby
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
5.0
Here's the backstory:
1. With CONSIDERABLE urging from friends I suffered through I want to say the first four Harry Potter books before giving up completely. Harry is insufferable--I have no patience for him--and CLEARLY Hermione is the best character, yet she suffers an unnecessary fate, i.e., paired up with Ron Weasley of all people. Uh, no. Just could not get into this world with the houses and the Harry worship and all that. Not to mention . . .
2. Not really a fan of magic.
3. I read Fangirl on a whim and ADORE it. Like 5 stars adoration. I moved on to Eleanor & Park and I think Landline (or was it Attachments?) and I HATED THEM. Gave up on Rainbow Rowell. But recently, I decided to revisit Fangirl (still love it) and I became more enthralled with the Simon Snow narrative. So much so that I decided--tenatively--to give Carry On a try.
Which brings me to . . . how much I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. It gets rid of the worst of Harry Potter (the houses, Ron Weasley, etc) and heightens the possibilities, i.e., the non-white people, the gays, strong female characters. And, of course, there's Baz. Dear snarky, beautiful, head over heels in love Baz. He's such a well-drawn character who just draws you in. And because you get to see his perspective (albeit about 120 pages in), you see that Simon Snow is not a complete idiot, just flawed. There's probably papers to be written on the many metaphors used for homosexuality, like the wands and tails and even magic itself, and it's so well done when it could have been cliched. Rowell really outdoes herself here.
As a consequence, my faith in the author has been restored, albeit temporarily. And I recently bought myself a Ravenclaw shirt. Because wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
ETA: I forgot to mention that there is a character named Pacey, y'all. I mean: COME ON!!!
1. With CONSIDERABLE urging from friends I suffered through I want to say the first four Harry Potter books before giving up completely. Harry is insufferable--I have no patience for him--and CLEARLY Hermione is the best character, yet she suffers an unnecessary fate, i.e., paired up with Ron Weasley of all people. Uh, no. Just could not get into this world with the houses and the Harry worship and all that. Not to mention . . .
2. Not really a fan of magic.
3. I read Fangirl on a whim and ADORE it. Like 5 stars adoration. I moved on to Eleanor & Park and I think Landline (or was it Attachments?) and I HATED THEM. Gave up on Rainbow Rowell. But recently, I decided to revisit Fangirl (still love it) and I became more enthralled with the Simon Snow narrative. So much so that I decided--tenatively--to give Carry On a try.
Which brings me to . . . how much I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. It gets rid of the worst of Harry Potter (the houses, Ron Weasley, etc) and heightens the possibilities, i.e., the non-white people, the gays, strong female characters. And, of course, there's Baz. Dear snarky, beautiful, head over heels in love Baz. He's such a well-drawn character who just draws you in. And because you get to see his perspective (albeit about 120 pages in), you see that Simon Snow is not a complete idiot, just flawed. There's probably papers to be written on the many metaphors used for homosexuality, like the wands and tails and even magic itself, and it's so well done when it could have been cliched. Rowell really outdoes herself here.
As a consequence, my faith in the author has been restored, albeit temporarily. And I recently bought myself a Ravenclaw shirt. Because wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
ETA: I forgot to mention that there is a character named Pacey, y'all. I mean: COME ON!!!