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danny_fox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I have never been so interested in a book that I read it in 3 days, especially a book that has 500 pages.
I adored everything about this book. The characters, the world, the plot, oh my gooood.
I cannot believe this book isn't more popular. I NEED this book to be more popular.
Definitely became one of my all time favorites, and can already see myself coming back to it in the future.
Baz and Simon have officially become my new comfort characters <3
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cursing, Violence, Car accident, and War
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts
snackattackisback69's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
bornachoker's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Biphobia and Eating disorder
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was ready for this book to be a Harry Potter parody and nothing more the entire way through (and would have loved every minute of it), but I was very pleasantly surprised to find an actual, original plot that played very well with the humorous setting and premise. The plot and the surprisingly complex characters took this book from parody to a genuinely gripping Harry Potter rewrite that successfully delivered a more complex (and plausible) plot, alongside characters that were more flawed yet more understandable at the same time.
I felt like this book was wholly satisfying as a standalone. I don't really feel any need to read the sequels, though I'm sure I'll get to them someday. For now, I'm left with that same soul-satisfied feeling that I get when I've just finished a 100k word fanfic with no tags and I can't remember what it was like to have ever not known about something so wonderful.
4.5 stars because of complete bi erasure and minor racism (not the inclusion of it in the world but rather minorly problematic descriptions/inconsistent descriptions of poc by the author)
Graphic: Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Minor: Ableism, Infidelity, Racism, and Abandonment
Bi erasure details:erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
++edit to add++ After writing this review I stumbled upon an article that describes how this book fits in with its previous books.. which don't exist. Rowell writes "a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series".
https://lithub.com/how-rainbow-rowell-weaponized-fandom-for-good/
++
The story deals with a couple of lads at a Magic-School, who are roommates, constantly paranoid about each other and secretly-notsosecretly plotting to kill each other. Their relationships is utterly dysfunctional, which is possibly one of the weirdest and truest part of the story. Mostly teen stories come across as a bit simple and based in pointless misunderstandings, but this enemies to lovers plotline felt a lot more like my memories of highschool, which were a twisted mess of love and hate. Don't call me emo.
I think the stand-out bit of Simon Snow's world is the way that the magic works. It is triggered not necessarily by ancient dead languages but by living ones. Concentration and intent is coupled with incantations that come from clichés, catch phrases, idioms, and commonly known poems and songs. You can literally throw up a wall to protect yourself with "Can't Touch This!"... though it may only be powerful against people who are familiar with the song. It feels a lot like "Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board" only with common memes and quotes. They actually use "These aren't the droids you're looking for" to hide things from people's perception... and as phrases pass out of common use, so do their potency for weaving magic.
The evil baddy in the story is a mysterious force that swallows magic, and leaves the world mundane in its wake. Simon and his best friend Penelope, work with their friends (and enemies) and for much of the time nobody knows who is allied with whom... And at the equinox, ghosts come back to tell people the things that they think are most important to pass on to their still-living loved ones, which spices things up a bit with revelations, spilled secrets and quests. The Principal of the school is in a simmering conflict with the aristocracy of the magical world, as he wants to provide magical training regardless of lineage, to anyone with the talent.
As far as the story is concerned, the characters are a hot mess. The kids rely on the guidance of teachers, who are about as messed up as they are themselves, which means that adult support is not all it cracked up to be, though it's cool if you have a kickarse punk-rock Aunty who can bust you out of trouble when you are in too deep. The characters are a diverse ethnic mix, and the depiction of how Penny copes with her best friend's casual Racism about her looks and South Asian background rings true.
Ghosts, Vampires, Pixies, Numpties, Worsegers (like Badgers..only...) populate this world replete with silly wordplay and a main character who didn't find out that any of this existed until he was 11. This is a very queer love story, and I like the characters, even if they are jerks.
Well worth the read if you have the patience for being dropped in at the deep end.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Eating disorder and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Deportation
amberinpieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
etmetmetm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
marciafelis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
One minor gripe is that apparently none of the characters know bisexuality is a thing. It would be fine if it was just that
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
brynn_books's review against another edition
4.0
The magic system was also kind of confusing, it took me basically the whole book to understand it and I still don’t get it.
Towards the end of the book, there was just plot twist after plot twist after plot twist that was so beautifully executed and I loved everything about. It was like I was getting whiplash.
I loved the dynamic between Penny and Simon. I loved their friendship and just seeing a great friendship represented in this book was awesome and I love how it was a platonic friendship and how nothing romantic was going on between them.
I do have to say that Agatha annoyed me several times throughout this book and she was probably my least favorite character but I didn’t care as much because I was just focused on Penny, Simon and Baz.
I try not to take this too seriously. It kind of reads like poorly written fanfiction. But I love Baz and Simon (especially Baz). The worst part of this book was the first 100 or so pages before Baz showed up. That part was so frustrating to read. Overall, this was a pretty average read.
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping