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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
It was just an amazing story. Baz and Simon are the cutest ever.
~ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~
To be honest, I gave an extra star because I had a soft spot for Baz.
Carry On follows the life of the worst chosen one ever, Simon Snow, as he struggles to survive his final year at school. His girlfriend broke up with him and his roommate/nemesis goes missing while the evil Humdrum continues to make his life a living hell. This standalone is based on the characters who feature in snippets in Rainbow Rowell's bestselling Fangirl.
I'm probably in the minority here, but... I didn't like Fangirl. People kept parading that book like it was the damn Dummies Guide to Fandom. But I didn't feel that way at all. However, I was mildly interested in the snippets that were in Fangirl. But this book was really boring, at first. Nothing really happens until Baz turns up 30-ish% in the book. There were moments when I felt like I was reading angsty Darry fanfiction.
Looking back on it, this whole book was messy. I know it's supposed to be Rowell's take on the story, not Gemma's (the author of the SS stories in Fangirl) or Cath's fanfiction version. But the book is set up so it's like the final story in Simon's adventure, so there's a lack of world building and the book leans on using the premises from Harry Potter so much that it wouldn't have worked on its own. We're just thrown straight in, having missed seven books worth of characterisation- it was probably Rowell's intention to so but it was a bit tiring listening to them refer to their past adventures but we weren't there.
Characterisation wise, I didn't like anyone, at first, but they grew on me. Simon was so uninteresting and I still feel like I don’t understand him at all. Penny was smart and I liked her. I don't even remember Agatha. The chapters with Lucy was interesting but I didn't like how Simon doesn't learn the truth behind his parentage? It would've made a better plot to seem him react to that news, even though I saw it a mile away. Baz was my favourite. Watching him struggle with his dilemma as a vampire was interesting but He was good but could've been way better.
Overall, I'm in the middle with this book. While in terms of diversity, Carry On has Harry Potter beat. I was hoping it would be more original.
To be honest, I gave an extra star because I had a soft spot for Baz.
Carry On follows the life of the worst chosen one ever, Simon Snow, as he struggles to survive his final year at school. His girlfriend broke up with him and his roommate/nemesis goes missing while the evil Humdrum continues to make his life a living hell. This standalone is based on the characters who feature in snippets in Rainbow Rowell's bestselling Fangirl.
I'm probably in the minority here, but... I didn't like Fangirl. People kept parading that book like it was the damn Dummies Guide to Fandom. But I didn't feel that way at all. However, I was mildly interested in the snippets that were in Fangirl. But this book was really boring, at first. Nothing really happens until Baz turns up 30-ish% in the book. There were moments when I felt like I was reading angsty Darry fanfiction.
Looking back on it, this whole book was messy. I know it's supposed to be Rowell's take on the story, not Gemma's (the author of the SS stories in Fangirl) or Cath's fanfiction version. But the book is set up so it's like the final story in Simon's adventure, so there's a lack of world building and the book leans on using the premises from Harry Potter so much that it wouldn't have worked on its own. We're just thrown straight in, having missed seven books worth of characterisation- it was probably Rowell's intention to so but it was a bit tiring listening to them refer to their past adventures but we weren't there.
Characterisation wise, I didn't like anyone, at first, but they grew on me. Simon was so uninteresting and I still feel like I don’t understand him at all. Penny was smart and I liked her. I don't even remember Agatha. The chapters with Lucy was interesting but I didn't like how Simon doesn't learn the truth behind his parentage? It would've made a better plot to seem him react to that news, even though I saw it a mile away. Baz was my favourite. Watching him struggle with his dilemma as a vampire was interesting but He was good but could've been way better.
Overall, I'm in the middle with this book. While in terms of diversity, Carry On has Harry Potter beat. I was hoping it would be more original.
okay folks we're back to doing reviews as texts to brandon but i'm going to stop numbering them because keeping that record is not worth my sanity
1. ok i'm reinstuting text reviews and the first book will be carry on and my first question is
why does the dude on the cover look a Lot like newt scamander in the fantastic beasts movies
i have no idea how to answer that question but lowkey he could get it
2. all i've done so far is look at the map and read the first page and i've already decided that commenting on thinly veiled harry potter references are now off limits
it's too easy
3. the big bad is called the insidious humdrum l m a o
my stripper name tbh
4. their school uniform is a purple/green blazer and grey trousers
the aroaces win this one
okay LOVE THIS FOR THEM. I would wear that tbfh
5. ok the dumbledore stand-in drove goblins out of essex bc they were eating drunk people in club bathrooms and he was worried about losing the dialect
we stan
uhhhh we stan a language preservationist
6. someone's last name is wellbelove and how is that not just lovegood
she is also the most relatable bitch
"someday simon won't come back [..] and however i react, it won't be enough [...] what if it's like the time our collie got hit by a car? i cried, but only because i knew i was supposed to, but not because i couldn't help it [...] maybe i don't have that sort of love in me"
i feel like she should't be relatable because I am reading a book about sociopaths rn and Emma this is what sociopaths are
I can confirm I was a sociopath once
lowkey i might be a sociopath
you are definitely not I have seen you cry enough
7. this magical school actually has classes in political science what a concept
we love a politically aware trade school
8. there is a creature called worseger
which is like a badger but worse
and i want to hate it but i can't
i love this
we love morphology
WHY IS THIS BOOK USING CHOMSKY AS AN EXPLETIVE
AS IN "CHOMSKY KNOWS WHY"
HAHAHA is Rainbow a linguist
ok i mean yes but no bc all the other swears are like morgana, crowley, other great magic and/or demon people
and they refer to saying things like "oh jesus" as "swearing like normals"
which by analogy would make chomsky god
and i don't think a linguist would do that
9. also i love that simon snow gets called out for being a fucking dumbass
"is he racist? isn't he a race?"
and his friend is like simon shut the fuck up
10. honestly baz and simon are the definition of useless gays
they finally get around to kissing each other and
1) almost die in a fire bc they're too distracted by said kissing (fire v bad bc baz is a vampire and ergo very flammable)
2) finally manage to put out the fire
3) immediately recommence said kissing instead of, you know, leaving the forest that was very recently on fire
Okay priorities we all have them Emma
11. the reason i love this book so much is that it doesn't take itself seriously at all (see: worseger, very transparent this-boy-is-hot-and-i-want-to-kiss-him without making it like a super deep thing like YA sometimes tries to) but at the same time there's so much like, casual discussion of deep systemic issues
i guess it feels really real
like it mirrors the way our conversations go from ridiculous to very serious to back to ridiculous all in the space of three minutes
This is exactly what we need more of
12. i've found the best sentence in a book ever, everyone else can go home
"it's a hard spell and an old spell, and it only works if you understand the great vowel shift of the sixteenth century—and if you're stupidly in love."
ok closely followed by "i suppose i am gay; my therapist says that's not even in the top five things i have to sort out right now"
Omg MOOD
1. ok i'm reinstuting text reviews and the first book will be carry on and my first question is
why does the dude on the cover look a Lot like newt scamander in the fantastic beasts movies
i have no idea how to answer that question but lowkey he could get it
2. all i've done so far is look at the map and read the first page and i've already decided that commenting on thinly veiled harry potter references are now off limits
it's too easy
3. the big bad is called the insidious humdrum l m a o
my stripper name tbh
4. their school uniform is a purple/green blazer and grey trousers
the aroaces win this one
okay LOVE THIS FOR THEM. I would wear that tbfh
5. ok the dumbledore stand-in drove goblins out of essex bc they were eating drunk people in club bathrooms and he was worried about losing the dialect
we stan
uhhhh we stan a language preservationist
6. someone's last name is wellbelove and how is that not just lovegood
she is also the most relatable bitch
"someday simon won't come back [..] and however i react, it won't be enough [...] what if it's like the time our collie got hit by a car? i cried, but only because i knew i was supposed to, but not because i couldn't help it [...] maybe i don't have that sort of love in me"
i feel like she should't be relatable because I am reading a book about sociopaths rn and Emma this is what sociopaths are
I can confirm I was a sociopath once
lowkey i might be a sociopath
you are definitely not I have seen you cry enough
7. this magical school actually has classes in political science what a concept
we love a politically aware trade school
8. there is a creature called worseger
which is like a badger but worse
and i want to hate it but i can't
i love this
we love morphology
WHY IS THIS BOOK USING CHOMSKY AS AN EXPLETIVE
AS IN "CHOMSKY KNOWS WHY"
HAHAHA is Rainbow a linguist
ok i mean yes but no bc all the other swears are like morgana, crowley, other great magic and/or demon people
and they refer to saying things like "oh jesus" as "swearing like normals"
which by analogy would make chomsky god
and i don't think a linguist would do that
9. also i love that simon snow gets called out for being a fucking dumbass
"is he racist? isn't he a race?"
and his friend is like simon shut the fuck up
10. honestly baz and simon are the definition of useless gays
they finally get around to kissing each other and
1) almost die in a fire bc they're too distracted by said kissing (fire v bad bc baz is a vampire and ergo very flammable)
2) finally manage to put out the fire
3) immediately recommence said kissing instead of, you know, leaving the forest that was very recently on fire
Okay priorities we all have them Emma
11. the reason i love this book so much is that it doesn't take itself seriously at all (see: worseger, very transparent this-boy-is-hot-and-i-want-to-kiss-him without making it like a super deep thing like YA sometimes tries to) but at the same time there's so much like, casual discussion of deep systemic issues
i guess it feels really real
like it mirrors the way our conversations go from ridiculous to very serious to back to ridiculous all in the space of three minutes
This is exactly what we need more of
12. i've found the best sentence in a book ever, everyone else can go home
"it's a hard spell and an old spell, and it only works if you understand the great vowel shift of the sixteenth century—and if you're stupidly in love."
ok closely followed by "i suppose i am gay; my therapist says that's not even in the top five things i have to sort out right now"
Omg MOOD
adventurous
emotional
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
I. Can’t. Stop. Rereading. This. Book.
Seriously. This is getting out of hand.
(The audiobook is fantastic as well.)
Seriously. This is getting out of hand.
(The audiobook is fantastic as well.)
dark
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Yeah this is definitely one of my new comfort reads, no questions asked
Reading this book was like being thrown into the middle of a fantasy film. And I find that I love it. A lot. Some say that Carry On is like a fanfiction of Harry Potter. But I'd only read the first two books in the series and all the films. So what do I know about Harry Potter?
Maybe that's why I love this book so much. Because I don't feel like I need to compare between the two.
This book is different in it's own way. The characters are wonderful, I tell you. And the plot, the magic system as well as the world building; a big applause to Rainbow Rowell for thinking it up.
Now I know why Cath love the Simon Snow series so much.
P/S: I didn't know that this book had LGBT elements to it the first time I attempted to read it. My second attempt, I reached to the point where it was so plainly obvious already that I made up my mind to just continue with it anyway. So, yeah.
Maybe that's why I love this book so much. Because I don't feel like I need to compare between the two.
This book is different in it's own way. The characters are wonderful, I tell you. And the plot, the magic system as well as the world building; a big applause to Rainbow Rowell for thinking it up.
Now I know why Cath love the Simon Snow series so much.
P/S: I didn't know that this book had LGBT elements to it the first time I attempted to read it. My second attempt, I reached to the point where it was so plainly obvious already that I made up my mind to just continue with it anyway. So, yeah.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated