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A review by labunnywtf
Carry on by Rainbow Rowell
4.0
200th book of 2015, people. Break out the party hats and let loose the conga rats.
And of course, NO ONE would let me read this book in peace. Reading at home is difficult when you're only there (and conscious) three or so hours a day. Reading in my car at work only works if no one's invited me to lunch. And if I stay, people all around me who have ignored me for the last few months I've worked there are all talking to me now.
One week until I get canned, and you people NOW figure out that I'm interesting? Damn you all.
So, I devoted a day and a half of my weekend to this, and thank you, Rainbow Rowell, for making a very thick book a very fast read.
In my review of [b: Fangirl|16068905|Fangirl|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355886270s/16068905.jpg|21861351], I demanded someone point me to the Simon Snow fanfiction. Because I know fandom, and I know it exists in droves for everything from TV to music. I never did end up hunting it down, but I definitely wanted more of Simon and Baz.
Needless to say, when I heard she was making a stand alone, I was tickled bright pink. I was concerned, naturally, because Simon Snow = Harry Potter, and it takes reading 7 big books to fully appreciate good Harry Potter fanfiction.
This is AU Harry Potter. To the extreme. It's literally impossible to read this and not draw comparisons. Which is all good and well, unless you get aggravated that it's AU Harry Potter fanfiction published as an original story. I've read the other reviews complaining about this, and drawing comparisons to certain other authors who've wanked out their own fanfiction (fanfiction based on their own shitty book, no less, Meyers, you right cunt).
But I don't see that being a problem here. Rowell wrote a book about being part of a fandom. For all of us fanfiction nerds out there who understand the absolute glee that is reading a story set in your favorite chosen universe with your favorite characters, and twisting and playing with them. Making up your own plots which aren't anywhere near the original creator plots, but are what you dream could happen to them.
Publishing a book of fanfiction based on a book about fanfiction? It's meta as fuck, and it's fun. And I hope Rowell enjoyed herself through the process.
I was a big fanfiction reader back in the day. My poison was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And my favorites were almost always slash (Giles/Oz, forever, for life). I didn't read HP fanfiction, I think I've read literally a handful. But I saw the appeal of Harry/Malfoy. Yes, yes, I did. And when reading Fangirl, it was easy to picture them.
Needless to say, that's what I imagined here.
The plot is weak, and very thin. All of the characters are pretty one dimensional, not entirely well plotted out. But again, seven Harry potter books vs one Simon Snow fan novel.
This is why it feels real as a work of fanfiction. Because fans don't flesh out the phlebotonum. They don't have to. I also noticed that, though this takes place entirely in the UK, there are several spots where the British spelling isn't used.
This could be an actual error on the part of Rowell/the editors, but I hope they never fix it. Because that's what happens when Americans write fanfiction using Britspeak. We don't always get that part right.
The way to enjoy this is to treat it as what it is. It's fanfiction. It's not a book that stands on its own, you have to read Fangirl first (and I will be listening to the audiobook of Fangirl now that I've finished this). If you didn't enjoy the Simon Snow bits of Fangirl, you will not enjoy this.
But maybe you will. Maybe, if you have read and enjoyed fanfiction, especially Harry Potter fanfiction, you'll recognize enough to really enjoy this world.
And of course, NO ONE would let me read this book in peace. Reading at home is difficult when you're only there (and conscious) three or so hours a day. Reading in my car at work only works if no one's invited me to lunch. And if I stay, people all around me who have ignored me for the last few months I've worked there are all talking to me now.
One week until I get canned, and you people NOW figure out that I'm interesting? Damn you all.
So, I devoted a day and a half of my weekend to this, and thank you, Rainbow Rowell, for making a very thick book a very fast read.
In my review of [b: Fangirl|16068905|Fangirl|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355886270s/16068905.jpg|21861351], I demanded someone point me to the Simon Snow fanfiction. Because I know fandom, and I know it exists in droves for everything from TV to music. I never did end up hunting it down, but I definitely wanted more of Simon and Baz.
Needless to say, when I heard she was making a stand alone, I was tickled bright pink. I was concerned, naturally, because Simon Snow = Harry Potter, and it takes reading 7 big books to fully appreciate good Harry Potter fanfiction.
This is AU Harry Potter. To the extreme. It's literally impossible to read this and not draw comparisons. Which is all good and well, unless you get aggravated that it's AU Harry Potter fanfiction published as an original story. I've read the other reviews complaining about this, and drawing comparisons to certain other authors who've wanked out their own fanfiction (fanfiction based on their own shitty book, no less, Meyers, you right cunt).
But I don't see that being a problem here. Rowell wrote a book about being part of a fandom. For all of us fanfiction nerds out there who understand the absolute glee that is reading a story set in your favorite chosen universe with your favorite characters, and twisting and playing with them. Making up your own plots which aren't anywhere near the original creator plots, but are what you dream could happen to them.
Publishing a book of fanfiction based on a book about fanfiction? It's meta as fuck, and it's fun. And I hope Rowell enjoyed herself through the process.
I was a big fanfiction reader back in the day. My poison was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And my favorites were almost always slash (Giles/Oz, forever, for life). I didn't read HP fanfiction, I think I've read literally a handful. But I saw the appeal of Harry/Malfoy. Yes, yes, I did. And when reading Fangirl, it was easy to picture them.
Needless to say, that's what I imagined here.
The plot is weak, and very thin. All of the characters are pretty one dimensional, not entirely well plotted out. But again, seven Harry potter books vs one Simon Snow fan novel.
This is why it feels real as a work of fanfiction. Because fans don't flesh out the phlebotonum. They don't have to. I also noticed that, though this takes place entirely in the UK, there are several spots where the British spelling isn't used.
This could be an actual error on the part of Rowell/the editors, but I hope they never fix it. Because that's what happens when Americans write fanfiction using Britspeak. We don't always get that part right.
The way to enjoy this is to treat it as what it is. It's fanfiction. It's not a book that stands on its own, you have to read Fangirl first (and I will be listening to the audiobook of Fangirl now that I've finished this). If you didn't enjoy the Simon Snow bits of Fangirl, you will not enjoy this.
But maybe you will. Maybe, if you have read and enjoyed fanfiction, especially Harry Potter fanfiction, you'll recognize enough to really enjoy this world.