Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Carry On

The only thing stopping me from really liking this book is that one of the main characters is an unapologetic bigot and this is never addressed or treated with the seriousness it should be.

SO, on to my more in-depth thoughts on the book. I thought the beginning was fairly strong. I really liked Simon’s POV and while the world-building could be a bit of an info dump, I didn’t fully mind it and thought Simon’s inner monologue made it rather funny. I thought Simon’s break from the traditional chosen one of selflessness and martyrdom was a nice change, I like that he wanted to be selfish and have his own life. I liked the women characters in the book for the most part, but it didn’t feel like the book could quite decide if being fem was a good thing or something to be shamed. The relationships felt realistic and I enjoyed getting into their dynamics. As for our other leading man, Baz, I thought his POV was hilarious. He’s so wildly dramatic is was fun to listen to. He’s funny and sarcastic, but more aware of his feelings and (mostly) how to handle them as opposed to Simon, which was a nice change. I thought the foreshadowing of the book was extremely well done and none of the twist were particularly dissatisfying and I thought every one made sense.

While the world building isn’t really something you can look at too hard, I don’t mind it, especially when it lends to interesting dynamics between characters and (sometimes) nuances in their world views and the conflicts happening. It made me wish the nuance could be carried into more things and when it wasn’t it fell short. A handful of things in the book were presented as shades of grey, but others were stark black and white with no variation in between and that felt like a bit of a let down.

Finally, there were a handful of more problematic things that made me dislike the book and kinda cemented for me that I wouldn’t be continuing the series, which is disappointing because I think the books have a lot of potential. To start with, Baz and his family are horribly bigoted and this is never addressed. It’s mentioned a few times, but this never gives Simon pause in making out with Baz nor does he bring it up as a sort of “hey this is a really shitty way of thinking and I want to see it change because I’m not going to date a bigot.” It’s largely swept under the rug by the end of the book unless Baz wants to angst about being a vampire. Furthermore on the topic of Simon and Baz’s relationship, I hated the way Simon’s sexuality was treated. Every character seems to drive home he HAS to either be straight or gay as if sexuality isn’t a spectrum and there aren’t other sexualities out there that he could be. As someone who themself is queer and is attracted to multiple genders, it was upsetting to read about these characters ignoring that and insisting Simon must be one or the other. Finally, there’s the book’s inconsistent treatment of femininity. It was strange to me the only opening feminine character was often depicted as a mean girl who did very little to help or care for her friends and it was never clear if Penny’s blatantly misogynistic views on felinity and women who want to be feminine were being supported by the author. Perhaps some of these are remedied in the later books, but they just left a sour taste in my mouth for the first one and have deterred me from continuing the series.

Overall, I think the book was just okay, but was held back by a handful of iffy writing decisions and the seeming pushing of some questionable views.

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bornachoker's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This was a cute read. I felt like the pacing was a little off, but I enjoyed the characters and the humorous tone. Also, is bisexuality not a concept in this book at all haha.

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squinnittowinit's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book reads at first like an excellent Harry Potter parody, lightheartedly poking fun at the plot holes and loose worldbuilding moments of the HP series as the main character, Simon Snow, recounts his misadventures (a humorously self-aware reskinning of many HP plot points) at his magical school during years 1-7.

I was ready for this book to be a Harry Potter parody and nothing more the entire way through (and would have loved every minute of it), but I was very pleasantly surprised to find an actual, original plot that played very well with the humorous setting and premise. The plot and the surprisingly complex characters took this book from parody to a genuinely gripping Harry Potter rewrite that successfully delivered a more complex (and plausible) plot, alongside characters that were more flawed yet more understandable at the same time.

I felt like this book was wholly satisfying as a standalone. I don't really feel any need to read the sequels, though I'm sure I'll get to them someday. For now, I'm left with that same soul-satisfied feeling that I get when I've just finished a 100k word fanfic with no tags and I can't remember what it was like to have ever not known about something so wonderful.

4.5 stars because of complete bi erasure and minor racism (not the inclusion of it in the world but rather minorly problematic descriptions/inconsistent descriptions of poc by the author)

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erebus53's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense

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

3.75

This was a title that I heard of through Lighthouse Library Bookclub (it was a previous fiction read from Sept, 2021). I found this book a little hard to get into at first. It felt a little like reading a later work of Rick Riordan's in the way that it referred to previous adventures of the characters from time to time, and left me wondering what I had missed. I went back to listen to the first hour of the audiobook on 125% and then I felt a bit more grounded. This was not a title that I could make the most of if I wasn't concentrating on it.

++edit to add++ After writing this review I stumbled upon an article that describes how this book fits in with its previous books.. which don't exist. Rowell writes "a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series".
https://lithub.com/how-rainbow-rowell-weaponized-fandom-for-good/
++

The story deals with a couple of lads at a Magic-School, who are roommates, constantly paranoid about each other and secretly-notsosecretly plotting to kill each other. Their relationships is utterly dysfunctional, which is possibly one of the weirdest and truest part of the story. Mostly teen stories come across as a bit simple and based in pointless misunderstandings, but this enemies to lovers plotline felt a lot more like my memories of highschool, which were a twisted mess of love and hate. Don't call me emo.

I think the stand-out bit of Simon Snow's world is the way that the magic works. It is triggered not necessarily by ancient dead languages but by living ones. Concentration and intent is coupled with incantations that come from clichés, catch phrases, idioms, and commonly known poems and songs. You can literally throw up a wall to protect yourself with "Can't Touch This!"... though it may only be powerful against people who are familiar with the song. It feels a lot like "Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board" only with common memes and quotes. They actually use "These aren't the droids you're looking for" to hide things from people's perception... and as phrases pass out of common use, so do their potency for weaving magic.

The evil baddy in the story is a mysterious force that swallows magic, and leaves the world mundane in its wake. Simon and his best friend Penelope, work with their friends (and enemies) and for much of the time nobody knows who is allied with whom... And at the equinox, ghosts come back to tell people the things that they think are most important to pass on to their still-living loved ones, which spices things up a bit with revelations, spilled secrets and quests. The Principal of the school is in a simmering conflict with the aristocracy of the magical world, as he wants to provide magical training regardless of lineage, to anyone with the talent.

As far as the story is concerned, the characters are a hot mess. The kids rely on the guidance of teachers, who are about as messed up as they are themselves, which means that adult support is not all it cracked up to be, though it's cool if you have a kickarse punk-rock Aunty who can bust you out of trouble when you are in too deep. The characters are a diverse ethnic mix, and the depiction of how Penny copes with her best friend's casual Racism about her looks and South Asian background rings true.

Ghosts, Vampires, Pixies, Numpties, Worsegers (like Badgers..only...) populate this world replete with silly wordplay and a main character who didn't find out that any of this existed until he was 11. This is a very queer love story, and I like the characters, even if they are jerks.
Well worth the read if you have the patience for being dropped in at the deep end.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

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gooseboy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

to be honest, the ending was a little rushed, and the romance kinda came of nowhere!

i think i would've loved to see a bit more obvious build-up for simon.

however i went into Carry On hoping to find easy reading similar to my favorite fan fictions, and by god i found what i wanted! super heartwarming, and incredibly funny.

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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

5.0

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