twistsandtomes 's review for:

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

4.0

---

i hate how embarrassed i am about enjoying this but HOLY HELL did i enjoy this. not to beat a dead horse, but it truly is everything i love about Harry Potter while also addressing things HP (read: JKR) neglected. like, hello, let's talk about the trauma that comes with being a Chosen One!!!! give me all of the working through trauma in YA fiction!!! give me all the Chosen Ones going to therapy!!!! the worldbuilding was a little mediocre, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story at all. as the back cover said, i came for the makeouts and stayed for the magic. i've had my issues with Rainbow Rowell the past (she really doesn't know how to write asian characters, or any characters of color for that matter), but this feels like a marked improvement compared to her other work. i am so happy i gave this book a chance.
this is a little incoherent because i literally just finished the book and am feeling the post-story high, but wow i loved this so so so so SO much.
tl;dr: i would die for simon snow. my heart is so full