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___rei's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
5.0
I don’t know how I spent so much time without reading Rainbow Rowell, it is just perfect
amiramuhtaseb's review against another edition
5.0
Yes, yes. one thousand times yes. If you’re thinking of buying or reading this, here are some reasons why.
Inclusivity. The characters are far from perfect, diverse and interesting. Granted the two main characters are white, it’s rare that you find side characters like Penelope being consistently recognised and praised for her intelligence and being remarkably more competent than the main character. Despite her description being one that physically tells she is not skinny, it was not written as “She was chubby but beautiful.” She doesn’t require the justification of being pretty for her weight. She is Penelope, she is smart, she is driven and she is destined for greatness. I love her.
Simon is so loveable it’s unreal. Being a chosen one but being so goddamn aware he is not good at it makes you want to hug him. His reliance on Penelope shows humility. He is not ashamed to ask for help. Despite his insecurities, you love him because he isn’t afraid to seek help, has been taught to seek help. I also love Simon for how easily he accepts his feelings for Baz, and doesn’t really have a coming out. This is truly one of the few LGTBQ+ novels where a coming out scene doesn’t really occur. It’s refreshing, as it really shouldn’t be necessary to come out, if only people were more accepting. We can only hope if this happens to those around us, they would receive the same support as Simon and Baz.
BAZ. Words can’t even describe my love for him. It’s so painfully obvious how he feels for Simon and his gratefulness once they are together makes you fall and fall and fall. He is by far my favourite character and the way he protects himself through aggression, whilst not admirable in any means, is understood. His privileged position, his past trauma and his fear of losing it all explains this. Yet, he is willing to change on the spot once given the choice: Simon, and the true Baz or an image of Baz everyone wants to see?
The world Rowell gives us is one that is so in depth, but doesn’t require seven books to truly uncover. It’s so well thought out and planned that I never felt confused by overwhelming terms or plot lines. It’s an easy, enjoyable read that I wish I could experience again.
Loved it.
Inclusivity. The characters are far from perfect, diverse and interesting. Granted the two main characters are white, it’s rare that you find side characters like Penelope being consistently recognised and praised for her intelligence and being remarkably more competent than the main character. Despite her description being one that physically tells she is not skinny, it was not written as “She was chubby but beautiful.” She doesn’t require the justification of being pretty for her weight. She is Penelope, she is smart, she is driven and she is destined for greatness. I love her.
Simon is so loveable it’s unreal. Being a chosen one but being so goddamn aware he is not good at it makes you want to hug him. His reliance on Penelope shows humility. He is not ashamed to ask for help. Despite his insecurities, you love him because he isn’t afraid to seek help, has been taught to seek help. I also love Simon for how easily he accepts his feelings for Baz, and doesn’t really have a coming out. This is truly one of the few LGTBQ+ novels where a coming out scene doesn’t really occur. It’s refreshing, as it really shouldn’t be necessary to come out, if only people were more accepting. We can only hope if this happens to those around us, they would receive the same support as Simon and Baz.
BAZ. Words can’t even describe my love for him. It’s so painfully obvious how he feels for Simon and his gratefulness once they are together makes you fall and fall and fall. He is by far my favourite character and the way he protects himself through aggression, whilst not admirable in any means, is understood. His privileged position, his past trauma and his fear of losing it all explains this. Yet, he is willing to change on the spot once given the choice: Simon, and the true Baz or an image of Baz everyone wants to see?
The world Rowell gives us is one that is so in depth, but doesn’t require seven books to truly uncover. It’s so well thought out and planned that I never felt confused by overwhelming terms or plot lines. It’s an easy, enjoyable read that I wish I could experience again.
Loved it.
aliciasrealm's review against another edition
3.0
Simon Snow might be the Chosen One, but he's certainly not a very good one thanks to his uncontrollable magic. His final year at Watford School of Magick is off to a bad start after he's abandoned by his mentor and his girlfriend breaks up with him. On top of that, Simon's roommate/nemesis Baz (who is probably a vampire) has gone missing, so when the ghost of Baz's mother comes looking for him she finds Simon instead. Upon Baz's return, he and Simon decide on a truce to avenge her death. Meanwhile, a mysterious entity called the Insidious Humdrum seems to be growing stronger...
The pacing made me want to DNF several times. Part One revolves around Simon and several other characters synopsizing their adventures and interactions during previous years, so the first third of the novel is quite slow because very little actually happens in the present. (Imagine if the Harry Potter series began in his Sixth Year and the first book opened with Harry recapping the events of Years One through Five...that would encapsulate what happens in Part One of Carry On.) Worse yet, Baz is missing during all of this.
When Baz finally shows up in Part Two, things thankfully start to pick up. We get more of a sense of the conflict, more info about the Humdrum, and at last we get what we all came here for: the Simon and Baz romance. This may be the Simon Snow series, but Baz is the real star. He's snarky and wonderful and my favorite character. Some of the banter and interactions between Simon and Baz were amusing, but nothing that really made me laugh.
I also found their discussions of Simon's orientation problematic; despite the fact that Simon dated Agatha, the narrative pushes the idea that Simon can only be straight or gay. There is no bi rep here, it's not even contemplated by any character and instead Simon's relationship with Agatha is used as a plot device to distract us from the fact that Simon also has feelings for Baz. I am disappointed to see yet another instance of bi erasure here.
I've heard this book described as a satire of Harry Potter with a HarryxDraco romance. (Note: I have not read Fangirl). It's easy to match the Simon Snow characters to HP characters, but it's a bizarro world version of Hogwarts, where spells are cast not by reciting Latin incantations but instead by phrases such as "As you were!" and "Paper beats rock!" HP fans will probably spot many things inspired by the series. The POV moves between numerous characters, some more interesting than others. If the pacing wasn't so off I probably would have liked this more, but as it stands I have no interest in continuing the series.
TW: suicide attempt
The pacing made me want to DNF several times. Part One revolves around Simon and several other characters synopsizing their adventures and interactions during previous years, so the first third of the novel is quite slow because very little actually happens in the present. (Imagine if the Harry Potter series began in his Sixth Year and the first book opened with Harry recapping the events of Years One through Five...that would encapsulate what happens in Part One of Carry On.) Worse yet, Baz is missing during all of this.
When Baz finally shows up in Part Two, things thankfully start to pick up. We get more of a sense of the conflict, more info about the Humdrum, and at last we get what we all came here for: the Simon and Baz romance. This may be the Simon Snow series, but Baz is the real star. He's snarky and wonderful and my favorite character. Some of the banter and interactions between Simon and Baz were amusing, but nothing that really made me laugh.
I also found their discussions of Simon's orientation problematic; despite the fact that Simon dated Agatha, the narrative pushes the idea that Simon can only be straight or gay. There is no bi rep here, it's not even contemplated by any character and instead Simon's relationship with Agatha is used as a plot device to distract us from the fact that Simon also has feelings for Baz. I am disappointed to see yet another instance of bi erasure here.
I've heard this book described as a satire of Harry Potter with a HarryxDraco romance. (Note: I have not read Fangirl). It's easy to match the Simon Snow characters to HP characters, but it's a bizarro world version of Hogwarts, where spells are cast not by reciting Latin incantations but instead by phrases such as "As you were!" and "Paper beats rock!" HP fans will probably spot many things inspired by the series. The POV moves between numerous characters, some more interesting than others. If the pacing wasn't so off I probably would have liked this more, but as it stands I have no interest in continuing the series.
TW: suicide attempt
lavendermarch's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't really get into this until around page 150 or so. Baz really livened up the book for me. I liked Simon, Penelope, and Baz. Agatha was useless and annoying. I spent the first hundred pages of the book trying to get my bearings. It was a bit like being plonked down into book six of Harry Potter - lots to catch up on. While the general plot wasn't bad, and things were tied up at the end, I never got super into that part of the story (maybe because of the confusing start).
My favorite part of the book by far was Simon and Baz's relationship. It was... delicious. They had an excellent dynamic, closely followed by the joy that was Penelope. I had a lot of fun pretty much every time any of the three of them interacted, and especially when my ship was being shippable. It was loads of fun, basically.
The writing in general flowed well and was easy to read. I read the entire book in a day, and it didn't feel like it was 500 pages, which was nice. That said, as some of the plot details and world building were messy, that did bog down my enjoyment some.
3 stars. I'm glad I finally read it (I got it for Christmas two years ago).
My favorite part of the book by far was Simon and Baz's relationship. It was... delicious. They had an excellent dynamic, closely followed by the joy that was Penelope. I had a lot of fun pretty much every time any of the three of them interacted, and especially when my ship was being shippable. It was loads of fun, basically.
The writing in general flowed well and was easy to read. I read the entire book in a day, and it didn't feel like it was 500 pages, which was nice. That said, as some of the plot details and world building were messy, that did bog down my enjoyment some.
3 stars. I'm glad I finally read it (I got it for Christmas two years ago).
mattielinbright's review against another edition
2.0
this book was hard to get into at first but once baz showed up, the ball started rolling and i LOVED IT. i wished it had more detail in some places. i did find it hard to really put myself in the setting sometimes.
navillerax's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book and it was really easy to get through I couldn’t stop reading and wanting more it was great
chellamour's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
helielios's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
5.0