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erebus53's review against another edition
- 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
++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.
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gore, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Ableism, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and War
Moderate: Alcohol and Eating disorder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Deportation, and Medical content
ajsterkel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It turns out that Carry On is ridiculous, but it’s ridiculous in the most epic way possible. Seriously, this book is over 500 pages, and I blew through it in two days because I loved it so much. I want to talk about everything in this review, but I can’t because of spoilers. (And the review would be ten pages long.)
So, Carry On is the final book in the “fictional” Simon Snow series from Fangirl. Simon is a wizard in his final year of magic school, and he has a lot of problems. He’s struggling in his classes, being ignored by his mentor, arguing with his girlfriend, and being harassed by his evil vampire roommate, Baz. To make things worse, Simon is the Chosen One who is supposed to save the magical world.
This book is a standalone, so you can read it without reading Fangirl. However, if you haven’t read Harry Potter, you might miss a lot of the humor. This book feels like a Harry Potter parody. That’s why I love it so much. I’m a fan of anything related to Harry Potter, even parodies.
Rainbow Rowell does amazing things with fantasy tropes. This book really lets you see how ridiculous and overused some of them are. Rainbow Rowell flips the tropes on their heads. Simon is an incompetent Chosen One. Baz is a loveable villain. The magic system is silly. The witches and wizards drive cars, own laptops, accidently forget their wands at home, rely on Google to solve their problems, and talk like modern teenagers. This book is full of literal laugh-out-loud moments. Like all of Rainbow Rowell’s books, the dialogue and characters are on-point.
Other than Simon and Baz, my favorite character is Agatha. I like that she doesn’t want to be Simon’s sidekick or his happily ever after. She knows herself, and she knows what she wants in life. I also really like Baz. This story is told from multiple points-of-view, and his was my favorite. He’s hilariously sarcastic.
There is a love story in this novel. I’m not the biggest fan of romance in books, but this one didn’t bother me. The book has enough politics and mystery to keep the love story from being the only focus of the plot. I also care about the characters enough that I didn’t mind seeing them fall in love.
I can’t find too much to criticize. If this book doesn’t mesh with your sense of humor, you might have a hard time “getting” it. I wish the ending had been a little clearer. I wanted more explanation about a few things. Also, some of the first-person POV voices sounded very similar, so I sometimes had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to remember whose POV I was in. None of those issues are big problems for me. I enjoyed this book.
If you’re a fan of Rainbow Rowell, fantasy fiction, or Harry Potter, you need to read Carry On.
Moderate: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Death, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Grief, and Violence
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Alcohol, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
frannyd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Suicide, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, Biphobia, Classism, Murder, Violence, Death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, and War
owlqueen10's review
- 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
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Body horror
sabinehunter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, Bullying, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
breadbees's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, War, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Blood
Minor: Animal death and Classism
kaitbeth's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Vomit
kamiellen's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Bullying, and Grief
Minor: Blood, Abandonment, and Homophobia