Reviews

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

_celestialstrings's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

The book was slow at the beginning but by the end it felt really rushed. So, after the climax, the speed of the story changed dramatically and, in my opinion, was rushed and many significant events happened at once without any proper pacing. 

eileen9898's review against another edition

1.0

~

beepers's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• 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

pastelsux's review against another edition

1.0

It’s bad. I’m sorry. It’s just bad. The excerpts we got of it in Fangirl were more than enough. It’s intended to be a fanfic, and it very much reads like a high schooler’s bad Drarry fic. That’s not a good thing.

Clearly Rainbow Rowell and I just do not vibe.

agusssgsb's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

theerosebride's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rebecca1206's review against another edition

4.0

I surprisingly enjoyed this book. It definitely gave me Harry Potter vibes. Totally a Harry and draco situation. It was a good story, quite predictable, but enjoyable. Quick read that only took me a day, maybe because I was very invested but anyway. All in all, glad I read it !! Simon and Baz absolutely loved it, awesome love story, you could feel the tension between them from the beginning.

suspencebooks's review against another edition

4.0

"I feel like a house after a fire. And sometimes like someone who died but stayed in his body. And sometimes I feel like someone else died, like someone else sacrificed everything, so that I can have a normal life.
With wings.
And a tail.
And vampires.
And magicians.
And a boy in my arms, instead of a girl.
And a happy ending - even if it isn't the ending I ever would have dreamt for myself, or hoped for.
A chance."



______________________________

Carry On was another book recommended to me by my boyfriend Dalton and even despite the first 350 pages being very slow, I still enjoyed it. This is my third Rainbow Rowell novel, and I'll read anything she will be putting out in the future.

1) The Plot

Simon Snow is the Chosen One. However, the majority of the time he can't get his wand to work and when it does, he sets something on fire. His girlfriend might be cheating on him. He's being ignored by the Mage. There's an evil monster who is wearing Simon's face. His roommate Baz is a vampire and despises Simon, and Baz didn't even try to come to school.

This all sets up the background of the story you would be jumping into. This book is different from Rainbow's other books, primarily because this book is a fantasy and this book takes place in England, and also there's a LGBTQ romance which has me like..



If you're currently reading this book or are going to read it, then I promise that this book eventually picks up momentum. You just have to push through. The only reason I can't give this book five stars is because of how slow it was at the beginning but this book is really good, I promise.

2) The Characters

I'd just like to say that Rainbow does a fantastic job at either making you like a character or despising them. All of her characters are very well developed, and Rainbow is phenomenal at making you relate to a character.

~Simon - I ADORE Simon. I could easily see why he would make certain decisions, and I felt connected to him often.

~Baz - Jesus take the wheel, Baz.... Oh Baz. BAZ. So. much. love. for. Baz. Baz is more than likely my favorite character in this novel. He was also very easy to relate to, and I honestly can't form coherent thoughts about Baz because I just, I love him so much. I should probably move on to the next character before I go into cardiac arrest.

~Penelope - I thoroughly enjoyed Penelope, and she was also someone easy to relate to. I'm probably saying this about every character but as I said earlier Rainbow does a fantastic job at making you relate to other characters.

~Agatha - I wasn't sure if I liked Agatha at the beginning, and as time progressed she got so irrelevant and I lost complete interest in her.

~The Mage - I. hate. the. Mage. with a passion.

~Ebb - I really liked Ebb!

~Lucy - She probably had some of my favorite chapters to read. Because if I recall correctly, her first line was

"I have so much to tell you.
But time is short, and my voice does not carry."

3) The Writing

All of Rainbow's books are very well written and written beautifully.

"You were the sun, and I was crashing into you. I'd wake up every morning and think, 'This will end in flames.'"

"Trying not to think about you... S'like trying not to think about an elephant that's standing on my chest."

“He’s a book full of footnotes brought to life. He’s a jacket made of elbow patches.”

"But I still want this if you'll let me have it."
Baz finally turns to look at me. "What's this, Snow?"
"This," I say. "I want to be your boyfriend. Your terrible boyfriend."
"You can have ... this. If you want it."
I do."

4) Conclusion

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm eager to read anything else Rainbow will be putting out.

★★★★/5 Stars!

thyph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

4.0

sarahbodas's review against another edition

5.0

Just reread it, and this book and these characters are truly amazing.
(I can't believe I didn't realize it the first time I read it. I'm so ashamed.)

Thank you, Rainbow. Every book you write is very important to me in it's own way. You've taught me so much and helped me go through a lot with your words. Sometimes I feel like these books were written just for me, like they communicate with me in a deeper level than any other book I've ever read.