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clevelandy99's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
bybookandbone's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Ugh...
That felt like a complete waste of time.
Ok, so Carry On isn't the worst book I've read this year. There were parts where I really got into the story (what little there was). However... how does this book have so many glowing reviews? It's a mess! I'm going to cover Carry On as a standalone book before I bring up the Boy Wizard in the room...
<u><b>The Confusion</u></b>
I thought Carry On would be a good place to start with Rainbow Rowell because I've only recently tried to expand into contemporary. Boy, did I make the wrong decision. I felt like I'd been dropped into the final book of an 8 book series, where everyone else knows what's going on and I'm the only one out of the loop. 'The Humdrum can transport me to him at any time', Can he? When did that happen? Why doesn't he then??
I was about 200 pages in before I looked up wtf was going on and found out that this book is the fanfiction written by a main character in another one of her books. This is such an interesting, funny concept but it's not mentioned anywhere on the cover that I should have read a different standalone book before this one. As a result, this isn't really it's own thing. It's a sort of fun project for fans. Why this isn't made clear from the get go is baffling.
<u><b>The Characters</u></b>
Simon is a meh protagonist. He's boring and unrelatable (just because he has so little personality, it's tough to understand his motivations).
Baz and Penny are pretty good. I enjoyed their POVs and general interactions with each other and Simon.
Agatha.. Jesus Christ, Agatha. What a wet mop of a character. I absolutely hate that she's essentially a prop to cause drama between Simon and Baz and for Simon to moon over. On top of that, she's completely unlikeable. We're told that she and Simon have a good romance previous to this book but it certainly ain't here now. Why am I meant to care that they break up?
Actually, the drama with Agatha brings me to the next point...
<u><b>The Queer Erasure</u></b>
So this book has been recommended by everyone and their dog every June since it was released. I was a bit put out to see so many of the few negative reviews mention bi-erasure. Early on in the novel I thought 'hmm, just because Simon had a girlfriend doesn't make him not gay, he doesn't <i>have</i> to be bi/pan'. Then I actually got to the m/m romance. Wtf Rainbow Rowel (and everyone recommending this as positive queer rep)?? Baz identifies as queer/gay throughout, so Rowel knows the umbrella term. Yet Simon kisses Baz one time and literally thinks 'this means I'm gay now'. Fucking what?! I'm not saying he had to be bi or pan (from how he's written though, I'd say pan) but there needs to be more self-reflection when he dated a girl for several years and missed her when they broke up. The rush to decide how to identify was jarring and just felt horrible. I'm getting mad again so I'll just stop talking about it now.
<u><b>The Boy Wizard in the Room</u></b>
This is a Drarry fanfic.
You can fight me on it (I've now seen many fans get angry when this is mentioned) but that's what this is. Carry On does not standalone without Harry Potter and that's a serious sign of poor writing. There's so many references to HP, especially early in the book. Even the satirical points are references. Rowel themself considers the whole concept a Drarry story. The more I looked into the Fangirl association, the more I realised that Carry On is meant to be a satire of Harry Potter, being the direct stand-in for Drarry fanfic in Fangirl.
Some characters, magic culture and places are even directly lifted from Harry Potter.
As a result, even when Carry On strikes out on it's own later in the novel, it's almost impossible to untangle yourself from thinking of Harry Potter. I'd love to know if someone who never read or saw Harry Potter read this and thought it was a genuinely well written, complete story? Even if you enjoy it, do you think it's actually a 'good' book.
I could go on at nauseum to explain every little point and sentence that pissed me off but I'll just leave it on this one last point. Like many Drarry fanfics, this appears to have been written for the het female gaze and while this is a nuanced topic not to be labelled simply 'bad', it's regrettable that this is one of the most commonly recommended books during Pride.
That felt like a complete waste of time.
Ok, so Carry On isn't the worst book I've read this year. There were parts where I really got into the story (what little there was). However... how does this book have so many glowing reviews? It's a mess! I'm going to cover Carry On as a standalone book before I bring up the Boy Wizard in the room...
<u><b>The Confusion</u></b>
I thought Carry On would be a good place to start with Rainbow Rowell because I've only recently tried to expand into contemporary. Boy, did I make the wrong decision. I felt like I'd been dropped into the final book of an 8 book series, where everyone else knows what's going on and I'm the only one out of the loop. 'The Humdrum can transport me to him at any time', Can he? When did that happen? Why doesn't he then??
I was about 200 pages in before I looked up wtf was going on and found out that this book is the fanfiction written by a main character in another one of her books. This is such an interesting, funny concept but it's not mentioned anywhere on the cover that I should have read a different standalone book before this one. As a result, this isn't really it's own thing. It's a sort of fun project for fans. Why this isn't made clear from the get go is baffling.
<u><b>The Characters</u></b>
Simon is a meh protagonist. He's boring and unrelatable (just because he has so little personality, it's tough to understand his motivations).
Baz and Penny are pretty good. I enjoyed their POVs and general interactions with each other and Simon.
Agatha.. Jesus Christ, Agatha. What a wet mop of a character. I absolutely hate that she's essentially a prop to cause drama between Simon and Baz and for Simon to moon over. On top of that, she's completely unlikeable. We're told that she and Simon have a good romance previous to this book but it certainly ain't here now. Why am I meant to care that they break up?
Actually, the drama with Agatha brings me to the next point...
<u><b>The Queer Erasure</u></b>
So this book has been recommended by everyone and their dog every June since it was released. I was a bit put out to see so many of the few negative reviews mention bi-erasure. Early on in the novel I thought 'hmm, just because Simon had a girlfriend doesn't make him not gay, he doesn't <i>have</i> to be bi/pan'. Then I actually got to the m/m romance. Wtf Rainbow Rowel (and everyone recommending this as positive queer rep)?? Baz identifies as queer/gay throughout, so Rowel knows the umbrella term. Yet Simon kisses Baz one time and literally thinks 'this means I'm gay now'. Fucking what?! I'm not saying he had to be bi or pan (from how he's written though, I'd say pan) but there needs to be more self-reflection when he dated a girl for several years and missed her when they broke up. The rush to decide how to identify was jarring and just felt horrible. I'm getting mad again so I'll just stop talking about it now.
<u><b>The Boy Wizard in the Room</u></b>
This is a Drarry fanfic.
You can fight me on it (I've now seen many fans get angry when this is mentioned) but that's what this is. Carry On does not standalone without Harry Potter and that's a serious sign of poor writing. There's so many references to HP, especially early in the book. Even the satirical points are references. Rowel themself considers the whole concept a Drarry story. The more I looked into the Fangirl association, the more I realised that Carry On is meant to be a satire of Harry Potter, being the direct stand-in for Drarry fanfic in Fangirl.
Some characters, magic culture and places are even directly lifted from Harry Potter.
As a result, even when Carry On strikes out on it's own later in the novel, it's almost impossible to untangle yourself from thinking of Harry Potter. I'd love to know if someone who never read or saw Harry Potter read this and thought it was a genuinely well written, complete story? Even if you enjoy it, do you think it's actually a 'good' book.
I could go on at nauseum to explain every little point and sentence that pissed me off but I'll just leave it on this one last point. Like many Drarry fanfics, this appears to have been written for the het female gaze and while this is a nuanced topic not to be labelled simply 'bad', it's regrettable that this is one of the most commonly recommended books during Pride.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
dottiewankenobi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I don't have the brain cells to write a review yet but I will say this: I love u Lucy u deserved better
---
after rereading, I've moved this down from 4 stars to 3.75. some aspects of this book are very enjoyable (the banter, for instance, always got a laugh out of me, andLucy's relationship with Simon and the world around her always made me cry ) but on the whole... I think there are pacing issues (especially the part where book four began and we immediately jumped into a horror show without a real bridge between the two sections ). I think Rowell was sometimes trying to say something and she didn't get her point across well if at all. I did enjoy that the characters were flawed, but I wasn't as keen on how that was poked fun for us readers without really being acknowledged in the story, much less dealt with. I enjoyed this more on my first read and while I still had a fun time this round, I saw more flaws popping up as I went. it dampened my enjoyment a lot ://
---
after rereading, I've moved this down from 4 stars to 3.75. some aspects of this book are very enjoyable (the banter, for instance, always got a laugh out of me, and
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Animal death
Minor: Homophobia
aplatt's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was an easy and entertaining read. A well executed enemies-to-lovers story, you spend a god portion fo the book waiting for them to finally wake up and admit their feelings. The plot, though predictable, has enough elements to keep you entertained. I found the plot to be appropriately described as a story about a magical "chosen-one" trying to solve a ghostly mystery with the looming threat of an un-knowable big bad and political turmoil as the backdrop.
This story give off heavy Harry Potter vibes, more specifically heavy Harry/Draco vibes, so if that's not your cup of tea you might not enjoy.
This story give off heavy Harry Potter vibes, more specifically heavy Harry/Draco vibes, so if that's not your cup of tea you might not enjoy.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse
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