It took a lot of self control not to start rereading this book when I was taking these pictures. (Also, I am weirdly proud of these pictures.) (Is it weird to be proud of pictures of books?)
Let's start this very non-comprehensive list (if it was comprehensive, we would be here all day):
1. Parenthesis (parentheses?) game is on point. Small thing, but I am a sucker for some well placed narrative parentheses . . . clearly.
2. Rainbow Rowell writes fantasy and it's honestly the best thing that she has ever written. It's written in Rainbow's style (i.e.
real characters, awesome dialogue, witty inner dialogue, and a good mystery), but at the same time it is completely new and different.
3. It's Rainbow's take on Gemma T. Leslie's characters . . . that Rainbow created. I always read the Author's Note and the Acknowledgements (yes, I'm that person), and Rainbow explains this better than I will but let's give it a shot:
- It's not Cath's fanfiction about Simon and Baz (even though it has the same name).
- It's not one of Gemma T. Leslie's (the fictional creator/author of the Simon Snow series) original book.
- It's Rainbow's fiction on her own fictional characters. She couldn't let them go when she finished writing Fangirl and decided to give them her own story. Basically Rainbow Rowell wrote fanfiction about her own characters.
4. The romantic element is on point. It keeps you on your toes, and it has you wondering whose romantic story will be the one that the story ends on. From
Fangirl, I had guessed whose romance it was going to be, but the journey had me questioning . . . and even if you read Fangirl, you will still be kept on your toes.
5. It's not just romance. There's so much more, which is more than I expected. There are politics, magic,
dragons (every book is better with dragons). It's not a book that focuses on one thing (i.e. romance, politics, friendships, etc.). It's a book that has everything wonderful intertwined within it.
6. Look at this map:
7. The magic system is far more interesting than I anticipated. You’re placed (not thrown) into this world. Not only is the magic system simple and easy to understand, it was also complex and explores things that I wouldn’t have expected it to explore.
8. This story is told in so many different perspectives, but there wasn't a single one that I didn't like. Which is an incredible feat. There's always that one character that I can't stand reading from their perspectives, but that wasn't in this book. I loved every single character ('ll tell you my favorite in a moment), and we knew so much about each of them. Every character is really well fleshed out and rounded . . . and I could talk about this book all day.
9. This is a really, really small thing (it is honestly mentioned 2-3 times), but
in this world the girl proposes to the guy and it's all really extravagant and wonderful.
10. Rainbow does a wonderful job of creating a magical world that is very modern. The spells aren't Latin and the mages (wizards/magicians) know what laptops and televisions are and how to work them. It was so nice. Also, as is classic Rowell, we get a bunch of nerdy pop culture references. This time: Doctor Who.
11. Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch. I can't explain more about him without bursting into a fiery flame of feels.
12. We have closure, but still with Rowell's classic open ending. We get an epilogue, and if that had been absent I might have actually fallen over dead. We still have unanswered questions and things that we wish the characters knew, but there is more closure than we've ever gotten before. I could definitely read seven more books about Simon, Baz, Penny, and Agatha though.
Content: PG-13
Language: Mild
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Published: 6 October 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin
Format - Pages: Hardcover - 522 pages
Source: Target
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
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Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.
Have you read Carry On yet? Tell me what your thoughts are down below!
