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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a sweet, charming, swoony take on Harry Potter and the Chosen One trope.
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
First of all, before I start this review, I just think that it’s important to point out that all those people going all, “BUT IT’S HARRY POTTER!!!” need to calm down. Obviously if Simon Snow was extremely similar to Harry Potter then it would only make sense for this book to seem quite similar to Harry Potter itself. It’s written like fan fiction because you just have to accept the fact that Carry On is technically a fan fiction for Cath’s fan fiction in Rainbow Rowell’s book about fan fiction.
Anyway, moving on with the review: I was okay with this book. I know a lot of people were saying that this is their new Rainbow Rowell favorite, but in my opinion, Fangirl will always be my number one!
The first 40% was very difficult for me to enjoy. Probably because most of it was me thinking that Simon Snow was a bit too focused on finding Baz everywhere and it got me thinking that Simon was searching for Baz more like a mad lover than someone concerned with worry. It was great once the actual plot started though.
I think in terms of characters, I like Penelope, Simon, and Baz. Also, Lucy’s perspective was great to read about. I really, really hated Agatha, to be honest. Every time she’d come into a scene into the book, I thought my eyes would go into the back of my head from how much I’d be rolling them.
The magical words and spells were really fun to read about!
Although there were some twists in this book, I’d kind of predicted them. Like one with.
I am upset about the fact that, but I guess it’s something I have to come to terms with.
Overall, this book is okay. The characters were good, and the setting and the magic were very well explained and developed. I did see a lot of similar traits to Harry Potter, and this book could have been better in terms of pacing, but I thought it was okay.
Anyway, moving on with the review: I was okay with this book. I know a lot of people were saying that this is their new Rainbow Rowell favorite, but in my opinion, Fangirl will always be my number one!
The first 40% was very difficult for me to enjoy. Probably because most of it was me thinking that Simon Snow was a bit too focused on finding Baz everywhere and it got me thinking that Simon was searching for Baz more like a mad lover than someone concerned with worry. It was great once the actual plot started though.
I think in terms of characters, I like Penelope, Simon, and Baz. Also, Lucy’s perspective was great to read about. I really, really hated Agatha, to be honest. Every time she’d come into a scene into the book, I thought my eyes would go into the back of my head from how much I’d be rolling them.
The magical words and spells were really fun to read about!
Although there were some twists in this book, I’d kind of predicted them. Like one with
Spoiler
the Mage being Simon’s dad and the lady calling Simon his rosebud boy was actually his momI am upset about the fact that
Spoiler
Lucy’s story will never be known or properly explainedOverall, this book is okay. The characters were good, and the setting and the magic were very well explained and developed. I did see a lot of similar traits to Harry Potter, and this book could have been better in terms of pacing, but I thought it was okay.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I expected to enjoy this book because it came highly recommended. Simon was surprisingly unlikable, Baz being the most interesting character, and overall there were so many perspectives weaving into the story that each chapter became disorienting, especially in audiobook form. Most chapters read like diary entries instead of actual scenes, which just didn’t work for me.
I don't know if I loved this book or hated it. At first, I definitely hated it. The wands and spells all seemed so cheesy, and I didn't like any characters except Penelope. But the story grew on me and there were definitely things I enjoyed about it.
I can't count how many times I've read this book, but I do know it's been at least five years since I last have. I remember counting down the days back in 2015 till it would be in my hands. I was in my world history class as a sophomore in high school when I got an email saying that my prepurchase on kindle had gone through. It took everything in me not to immediately start reading it at my table, and almost ten years later, it took everything in me to set my book down. (I eventually got a hard copy- I also won a contest for a new book skin! And when the third book came around, you best believe I spent extra for the Watford pin and a signature from Rainbow)
I knew that the story had been based off of the amalgamation of every chosen one magic stories, but especially HP. I was an avid HP fan, but I wasn't entrenched in the HP fandom. I was, however, entrenched in the Rainbow Rowell fandom. I followed her on twitter, on tumblr, instagram, and I waited with baited breath for any inclination that she would be writing a new story. When it turned out that it was a Simon Snow story, I was so excited. I devoured and reread the passages in Fangirl over and over again, almost as many times as simply reading Levi and Cath's love story. I never really compared it to HP because that just wasn't my life at the time. The most HP fandom activity I was involved in was sometimes reading Marauders headcanons and fancasts on tumblr (no one can light a candle to mid-2010s Marauders fandom, sorry kids). But other than that, for me, Simon Snow was it's own entity. I drew parallels, of course I did, but it meant so much more to me. It felt much more alive.
My reread was simultaneously just as devastating and heartwarming as it had been every other time I've read it in the past. And I read it so often that I memorized exactly what page Baz and Simon's first kiss was on (hello page 342). I never wrote fanfiction for it, but I did read fanfiction, and I did make a handmade card with all our favorite quotes (Rainbow liked it on twitter!), and I made a Spotify playlist that only copied like one or two songs from Rainbow's playlist. Sidenote, thank you Rainbow for introducing me to not only Mitski but also Raleigh Ritchie.
All this is to say that this book and its series means so, so much to me. All of her books do, even the ones I haven't gotten around to yet (and that includes the last book in the Simon Snow series because I'm awful at finishing things). I love that Rainbow manages to make a book that supposed to take place in Simon's last year at Watford so vivid and alive. I love every cliche that Rainbow turns on its head. I love, love, love the ending. And I love that I still have two more books to read!
Quotes! [These are my thoughts] Spoilers beware!
"He is our greatest threat. And you are our greatest hope."
"I was too stunned to respond or to ask any questions. Too young. I just wanted to see the Mage do that trick again, the one where he made a map roll out all by itself."
"Maybe I don't have that sort of love in me- maybe I'm defective." [Agatha my beloved! I'm going to keep reiterating that throughout these quotes- I think she may be my favorite character]
"And the domed ceiling has a mural of Merlin himself calling magic up through his hands into the sky, his mouth open. He kind of looks like the guy who hosts QI." [Well if anyone alive today looks like Merlin, it is going to be Stephen Fry]
"Everyone's still gossiping about where he's been. The most popular rumours are 'dark coming of age ceremony that left him too marked up to be in public' and 'Ibiza.'"
"'Baz...' he says again. And I wait for him to get it out. 'You're- you're wearing jeans.'
"I tilt my head. 'I am. And you're wearing half the country-side.'"
"It wasn't supposed to be me, Natasha. Telling this boy how to make his way in the world. I'm no good at this. Look at me. Thirty-seven years old, rolling my own joints in my dressing gown, eating bikkies for breakfast whenever I manage to get up- I'm a disgrace."
"I look at the three of them again. They look so happy- it's hard to believe none of them are on speaking terms now. I look at Lucy, at the colour in her cheeks and her blue-sky eyes, and slip the photo into my pocket." [I love this scene. I love how much Agatha sees in Lucy, and how inadvertently her relationship with Simon parallels Davey and Lucy's so, so much. I also think it's interesting how in Fangirl, in Gemma's series, Simon finds out the Mage is his dad by the eighth book, but in Rainbow's, he doesn't. I wonder if the Mage ended up being a good guy in Gemma's. I wonder if he sacrificed himself instead of taking, taking, taking from his son. I wonder how Cath's story ended. I wonder if either Cath's or Gemma's took enough care with Agatha to give her an ending that gave her justice.]
"He's not a monster. He's just a villain.
He's not a villain. He's just a boy.
I'm kissing a boy.
I'm kissing Baz.
He's so cold, and the world is so hot."
"The vibe here is very, Let's kill a virgin and write a great Led Zeppelin album."
"I should have known that this is what it would be like to dance with Simon Snow. Fighting in place. Mutual surrender."
"But maybe I'll honour her memory by fucking right off, the way she tried to. She told me to run."
"Pumpkin mocha breve. I created it myself." [Oh, this was the loveliest way to nod to Cath and Levi. I wonder if Simon's reaction to Baz working at Starbucks is the same as Cath's.]
I knew that the story had been based off of the amalgamation of every chosen one magic stories, but especially HP. I was an avid HP fan, but I wasn't entrenched in the HP fandom. I was, however, entrenched in the Rainbow Rowell fandom. I followed her on twitter, on tumblr, instagram, and I waited with baited breath for any inclination that she would be writing a new story. When it turned out that it was a Simon Snow story, I was so excited. I devoured and reread the passages in Fangirl over and over again, almost as many times as simply reading Levi and Cath's love story. I never really compared it to HP because that just wasn't my life at the time. The most HP fandom activity I was involved in was sometimes reading Marauders headcanons and fancasts on tumblr (no one can light a candle to mid-2010s Marauders fandom, sorry kids). But other than that, for me, Simon Snow was it's own entity. I drew parallels, of course I did, but it meant so much more to me. It felt much more alive.
My reread was simultaneously just as devastating and heartwarming as it had been every other time I've read it in the past. And I read it so often that I memorized exactly what page Baz and Simon's first kiss was on (hello page 342). I never wrote fanfiction for it, but I did read fanfiction, and I did make a handmade card with all our favorite quotes (Rainbow liked it on twitter!), and I made a Spotify playlist that only copied like one or two songs from Rainbow's playlist. Sidenote, thank you Rainbow for introducing me to not only Mitski but also Raleigh Ritchie.
All this is to say that this book and its series means so, so much to me. All of her books do, even the ones I haven't gotten around to yet (and that includes the last book in the Simon Snow series because I'm awful at finishing things). I love that Rainbow manages to make a book that supposed to take place in Simon's last year at Watford so vivid and alive. I love every cliche that Rainbow turns on its head. I love, love, love the ending. And I love that I still have two more books to read!
Quotes! [These are my thoughts] Spoilers beware!
"He is our greatest threat. And you are our greatest hope."
"I was too stunned to respond or to ask any questions. Too young. I just wanted to see the Mage do that trick again, the one where he made a map roll out all by itself."
"Maybe I don't have that sort of love in me- maybe I'm defective." [Agatha my beloved! I'm going to keep reiterating that throughout these quotes- I think she may be my favorite character]
"And the domed ceiling has a mural of Merlin himself calling magic up through his hands into the sky, his mouth open. He kind of looks like the guy who hosts QI." [Well if anyone alive today looks like Merlin, it is going to be Stephen Fry]
"Everyone's still gossiping about where he's been. The most popular rumours are 'dark coming of age ceremony that left him too marked up to be in public' and 'Ibiza.'"
"'Baz...' he says again. And I wait for him to get it out. 'You're- you're wearing jeans.'
"I tilt my head. 'I am. And you're wearing half the country-side.'"
"It wasn't supposed to be me, Natasha. Telling this boy how to make his way in the world. I'm no good at this. Look at me. Thirty-seven years old, rolling my own joints in my dressing gown, eating bikkies for breakfast whenever I manage to get up- I'm a disgrace."
"I look at the three of them again. They look so happy- it's hard to believe none of them are on speaking terms now. I look at Lucy, at the colour in her cheeks and her blue-sky eyes, and slip the photo into my pocket." [I love this scene. I love how much Agatha sees in Lucy, and how inadvertently her relationship with Simon parallels Davey and Lucy's so, so much. I also think it's interesting how in Fangirl, in Gemma's series, Simon finds out the Mage is his dad by the eighth book, but in Rainbow's, he doesn't. I wonder if the Mage ended up being a good guy in Gemma's. I wonder if he sacrificed himself instead of taking, taking, taking from his son. I wonder how Cath's story ended. I wonder if either Cath's or Gemma's took enough care with Agatha to give her an ending that gave her justice.]
"He's not a monster. He's just a villain.
He's not a villain. He's just a boy.
I'm kissing a boy.
I'm kissing Baz.
He's so cold, and the world is so hot."
"The vibe here is very, Let's kill a virgin and write a great Led Zeppelin album."
"I should have known that this is what it would be like to dance with Simon Snow. Fighting in place. Mutual surrender."
"But maybe I'll honour her memory by fucking right off, the way she tried to. She told me to run."
"Pumpkin mocha breve. I created it myself." [Oh, this was the loveliest way to nod to Cath and Levi. I wonder if Simon's reaction to Baz working at Starbucks is the same as Cath's.]
Unable to form words. My mind is blown. I'm dead. Be still my shipper heart! I CAN'T!!!
