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meduse_jalouse 's review for:
Carry On
by Rainbow Rowell
My original 5 star review still stands; however, Carry On didn't have much reread value for me (like most fanfic, if I'm being honest--and I would know, because I was using this book as a kind of Drarry methodone to get me back on the "real books" train so I don't completely miss my goal this year). The beauty and charm of this book is how often it diverges from "the done thing" in YA and goes straight where a fanfic author might--having to stay at someone's house over the holidays, for instance. Elevating the role of "canonically" minor characters. Small misunderstandings that lead to dramatic confessions. It's surprising and lovely, but without the element of surprise it's just a clever and well written story that reminds me of the Good Old Days of Drarry (circa 2008). Nothing wrong with that, but I wish I could read it for the first time again.
Original review from October 2015:
[KILL BILL SIRENS]
THIS BOOK. This. Book.
This book was so much better than I was prepared for; it was everything I wanted A Hero At The End Of The World to be, and yet somehow even more original, charming, and hopelessly queer. Reader, the sexual tension in the first half of this book nearly killed me. (I am weak.)
But first things first: Carry On is the full-length, uncut, uninterrupted fanfic that Cath was writing during the course of Fangirl. It is about Simon Snow (an off-brand Harry Potter) going through his last year at school trying to take down the Big Bad and realizing that he is in love with his posh, beautiful roommate Baz, who is also a vampire and is also, vaguely, Draco Malfoy. It is an adventure story with a colorful and new-yet-somehow-familiar ensemble cast and a lot of interesting ideas. It is very true to both Fangirl and fanfiction as a genre. It is EVERYTHING.
My only small quibble is the somewhat lengthy and saccharine ending (compared to, well, everything else). But knowing what I know about Fangirl and about, well, fanfic authors generally... even this wasn't out of character. The pumpkin coffee was a nice touch.
If you like Rainbow Rowell, epic fanfiction, fun adventure stories, magical worlds that might exist side by side with ours, and/or were ever, ever, ever even a little bit a Drarry shipper, you will love this book.
Original review from October 2015:
[KILL BILL SIRENS]
THIS BOOK. This. Book.
This book was so much better than I was prepared for; it was everything I wanted A Hero At The End Of The World to be, and yet somehow even more original, charming, and hopelessly queer. Reader, the sexual tension in the first half of this book nearly killed me. (I am weak.)
But first things first: Carry On is the full-length, uncut, uninterrupted fanfic that Cath was writing during the course of Fangirl. It is about Simon Snow (an off-brand Harry Potter) going through his last year at school trying to take down the Big Bad and realizing that he is in love with his posh, beautiful roommate Baz, who is also a vampire and is also, vaguely, Draco Malfoy. It is an adventure story with a colorful and new-yet-somehow-familiar ensemble cast and a lot of interesting ideas. It is very true to both Fangirl and fanfiction as a genre. It is EVERYTHING.
My only small quibble is the somewhat lengthy and saccharine ending (compared to, well, everything else). But knowing what I know about Fangirl and about, well, fanfic authors generally... even this wasn't out of character. The pumpkin coffee was a nice touch.
If you like Rainbow Rowell, epic fanfiction, fun adventure stories, magical worlds that might exist side by side with ours, and/or were ever, ever, ever even a little bit a Drarry shipper, you will love this book.