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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
A very enjoyable romp. You have to get past the Harry Potter similarities but once you do, it's awesome!
It's fantastically fun! Imagine Harry and Draco getting together but with more diversity and swearing.
Wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I found it better than Harry Potter and would love to see more books with these characters (Though I know that's not in the cards)
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Recently reread carry on and I love this book! If I had rated it a couple years ago it would have been a 5 star but rereading I noticed there a couple of chapters in the middle that were obviously there to just take up space and were kinda boring to read. I do love the writing style and general plot of the book and I thought it was planned out well. Although I understand why I wish we meet the main love interest earlier than halfway through the book. I feel as if certain topics could have gone a bit more in depth such as Simons life growing up and his first years learning magic. But as a cute fluffy teen romance I loved this book!
Wow. Rainbow Rowell has done something that I haven't seen in years: create an immersive magical school that made me feel like [b:Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone|3|Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)|J.K. Rowling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361572757s/3.jpg|4640799] did. And although the book will doubtlessly suffer many, many comparisons to Harry Potter, it's more than just a copycat. Rowell brings humor and a human touch to the classic Wizarding School trope, and the book stands on its own. It's authentic, with likable, well-developed main characters and a gorgeous romance. It should feel overplayed, but Simon and Baz (and even Penelope and Agatha) are engaging and keep the book feeling fresh.
4.5 stars. It took me a little bit to warm up to the story -- at first, my reaction was, 'This seems like a bad Harry-Potter-wanna-be fanfic.' Which is not too surprising, considering the idea for the book came from Rowell's previous novel Fangirl. But still, I wasn't sure I could really get on board. Everything seemed very outlandish and campy and over-the-top.
And then as I read, I got into it, and started really enjoying the characters, and the ridiculousness of it didn't bother me as much anymore. Rowell's writing is always so darn readable, and this book was no exception. My favourite character had to be Baz, for his delightfully snarky, grumpy-but-secretly-sweet personality (grumpy-on-the-outside magicians are a weakness of mine). And it was rewarding to watch his initially antagonistic relationship with Simon develop into reluctant allies, then friends, then more.
I am left with a number of questions about the ending, as it did confuse me ()
Definitely a book to pick up when you're in the mood for something that's light fantasy, but doesn't take itself seriously (at all!)
And then as I read, I got into it, and started really enjoying the characters, and the ridiculousness of it didn't bother me as much anymore. Rowell's writing is always so darn readable, and this book was no exception. My favourite character had to be Baz, for his delightfully snarky, grumpy-but-secretly-sweet personality (grumpy-on-the-outside magicians are a weakness of mine). And it was rewarding to watch his initially antagonistic relationship with Simon develop into reluctant allies, then friends, then more.
I am left with a number of questions about the ending, as it did confuse me (
Spoiler
What was the Mage attempting to do at the end? What did he want Agatha for? And why was Simon saying he was supposed to be Normal, if he was born to the Mage and Lucy? Did I miss something...?Definitely a book to pick up when you're in the mood for something that's light fantasy, but doesn't take itself seriously (at all!)
A pleasant read and really inclusive, felt like a modern take on Harry Potter and honestly I’m here for it.
This is the most beautiful paean to fan fiction I have ever seen. There were moments that I thought it wasn't reading like a novel, it was reading like a fanfic. And that's because it is a fanfic about a fake fantasy series from a book of fiction about writing fan fiction. There are just these perfect little moments when bis of Fangirl peep through. And the tone of the entire story runs parallel with Fangirl, so that you can see Cath's psyche in her fan fiction which is, of course, not actually fan fiction, but original fiction masquerading as fanfiction.
What's even better is that Rowell leaves holes in her plot resolution, GAPING holes, that cry out to be spackled over with...yes...fan fiction. Do Simon's, er, accessories ever disappear? Does Agatha manage to pass all through college? Does Fiona ever get to kill that one particular undead Londoner? When will Penelope figure out Simon's parentage? WHERE IS LUCY NOW?
I loved it. I loved all of it. I want sequels. I may even go to AO3 for them.
Carry on.
What's even better is that Rowell leaves holes in her plot resolution, GAPING holes, that cry out to be spackled over with...yes...fan fiction. Do Simon's, er, accessories ever disappear? Does Agatha manage to pass all through college? Does Fiona ever get to kill that one particular undead Londoner? When will Penelope figure out Simon's parentage? WHERE IS LUCY NOW?
I loved it. I loved all of it. I want sequels. I may even go to AO3 for them.
Carry on.
I think ... I don't like Rainbow Rowell? I mean as a writer. I don't know enough about her to form a personal opinion. But this is the third RR book I've read and the second I've been really bothered by, so I'm starting to think my love for [b: Fangirl|16068905|Fangirl|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355886270s/16068905.jpg|21861351] may have been a fluke.
This book is not terrible and I don't dislike it as much as I did [b: Eleanor and Park|15745753|Eleanor & Park|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341952742s/15745753.jpg|17225055], but I was never able to really get into it. My thoughts about this book are all over the place, so let's make things nice and tidy with a quick list:
The setting. My biggest problem with this novel was the world it took place in. Rowell's Watford is not creative enough for me to view it as anything other than a Harry Potter rip-off. There's a Hogwarts. There's a Harry, Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore and a Hagrid. There are wands, English boarding schools, creatures that live in the woods. If the book had been a bit more self-aware and taken time to poke some fun at HP, it wouldn't have bothered me as much. ("Say, Simon, isn't it great that our battles always seem to wrap up right before summer break?")
The magic. This book seems to be written as the eighth book in a series. (Simon is in his eighth year of school and past battles are mentioned.) So, there's not a lot of world building going on. The story really needed it, though. Magic in Rowell's world seems to be based on the power of words. The older and more common a phrase, the more powerful it is. But because the magic behind this is never clearly explained, all of the spells just sound uncreative, cliche and lazy. Actual spells include "Up, up and away," "Come out, come out, wherever you are," and "Clean as a whistle." It's also explained that the magicians need the Normals (aka the Muggles) because their use of language is what gives them power. I'm not sure how this works, as it's not explained either.
The romance. What romance???? Where was the love story in this love story? It was instalove. This is the same problem I had with the love story in E&P. The two characters say they love each other, but there isn't any action (I don't even know if this pun was intended or not!) or emotion to back it up. We're just supposed to believe they're in love because they say so. When I read E&P and this happened, I thought I was unsatisfied because I'm old and pervy and jaded. It turns out, I was unsatisfied because there just isn't anything there.
The prose. This was a two-fold problem for me. One, I don't like lazy first-person narration and this was the laziest. Rather than tell the story from one POV, the narration switches from the POV of nearly all the main characters. It's confusing and it honestly feels like Rowell just did it because it was easier than writing a scene from one POV. The Simon Snow snippets in Fangirl were written in third-person narration, and those short scenes were much stronger and memorable than anything in this book. Also, there were some strange, straight-up gross lines in this book:
BECAUSE HE HATES HIM. BUT HE LOVES HIM. BUT HE HATES HIM. Ugh. There had to be a less disgusting, more realistic way to describe his conflicted feelings.
WHAT?? This is a terrible, terrible line. This worse than in E&P when Eleanor kept going on and on about how she wanted to eat Park's face.
Yeah, so there it all is. I was excited and really rooting for this book because of the LGBT representation. I can't speak to the authenticity of it, but I am glad that it got written if just for that. Considering Rowell's shaky track record writing race, though, I do think I probably need to follow this up with a book actually written by a member of the LGBT community.
This book is not terrible and I don't dislike it as much as I did [b: Eleanor and Park|15745753|Eleanor & Park|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341952742s/15745753.jpg|17225055], but I was never able to really get into it. My thoughts about this book are all over the place, so let's make things nice and tidy with a quick list:
The setting. My biggest problem with this novel was the world it took place in. Rowell's Watford is not creative enough for me to view it as anything other than a Harry Potter rip-off. There's a Hogwarts. There's a Harry, Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore and a Hagrid. There are wands, English boarding schools, creatures that live in the woods. If the book had been a bit more self-aware and taken time to poke some fun at HP, it wouldn't have bothered me as much. ("Say, Simon, isn't it great that our battles always seem to wrap up right before summer break?")
The magic. This book seems to be written as the eighth book in a series. (Simon is in his eighth year of school and past battles are mentioned.) So, there's not a lot of world building going on. The story really needed it, though. Magic in Rowell's world seems to be based on the power of words. The older and more common a phrase, the more powerful it is. But because the magic behind this is never clearly explained, all of the spells just sound uncreative, cliche and lazy. Actual spells include "Up, up and away," "Come out, come out, wherever you are," and "Clean as a whistle." It's also explained that the magicians need the Normals (aka the Muggles) because their use of language is what gives them power. I'm not sure how this works, as it's not explained either.
The romance. What romance???? Where was the love story in this love story? It was instalove. This is the same problem I had with the love story in E&P. The two characters say they love each other, but there isn't any action (I don't even know if this pun was intended or not!) or emotion to back it up. We're just supposed to believe they're in love because they say so. When I read E&P and this happened, I thought I was unsatisfied because I'm old and pervy and jaded. It turns out, I was unsatisfied because there just isn't anything there.
The prose. This was a two-fold problem for me. One, I don't like lazy first-person narration and this was the laziest. Rather than tell the story from one POV, the narration switches from the POV of nearly all the main characters. It's confusing and it honestly feels like Rowell just did it because it was easier than writing a scene from one POV. The Simon Snow snippets in Fangirl were written in third-person narration, and those short scenes were much stronger and memorable than anything in this book. Also, there were some strange, straight-up gross lines in this book:
"... I imagine myself spitting in his face. And then I imagine licking it off his cheek and kissing him. (Because I'm disturbed. Ask anyone.)"
BECAUSE HE HATES HIM. BUT HE LOVES HIM. BUT HE HATES HIM. Ugh. There had to be a less disgusting, more realistic way to describe his conflicted feelings.
"Snow's table manners are atrocious -- it's liking watching a wild dog eat. A wild dog you'd like to slip the tongue."
WHAT?? This is a terrible, terrible line. This worse than in E&P when Eleanor kept going on and on about how she wanted to eat Park's face.
"I can't believe there's a part of your body that grows when you need it. You're like a mutant."This is presented without comment other than I'm a pervy old lady. I'd like to think that Rowell knew what she was doing when she put this in, but I'm not entirely sure. This is the only line this ridiculous. And to be completely honest, if the rest of the book had been this tongue-in-cheek and smart alecky, I probably would have loved it.
Yeah, so there it all is. I was excited and really rooting for this book because of the LGBT representation. I can't speak to the authenticity of it, but I am glad that it got written if just for that. Considering Rowell's shaky track record writing race, though, I do think I probably need to follow this up with a book actually written by a member of the LGBT community.