Title : Carry On
Author : Rainbow Rowell
Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin
Total Page Numbers : 528
Genre : Fantasy / Romance / Contemporary / YA
ISBN : 978-1-250-04955-1
Rating (Out of 5 Stars) : 5
Summary of Book:
In Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl we got a taste of Gemma T. Leslie’s and Cath’s version of how the story of Simon Snow should have gone… In Carry On, Rainbow shows us her version of how the story should go.
Simon Snow is your typical Chosen One; He’s got a kick-ass sidekick Penelope and a girlfriend named Agatha. He’s got a few enemies, one being his roommate Baz, and of course the magic-sucking beast called The Insidious Humdrum. The only problem is… Simon is quite-possibly the worst Chosen One to ever exist. His roommate is missing, probably scheming to kill him, his relationship with this girlfriend is going downhill and The Insidious Humdrum is still on his trail! Carry On brings you through Simon’s most action packed final year at the magic school Watford, where ghosts roam, monsters lurk and love exists in the most impossible of circumstances.
What I Thought:
There is a REASON that this book has 5 stars, I loved the crap out of it the whole time I was reading it! To begin I was a bit confused on some of the words and terms that were used. It really was like you were just being thrust into this world and these problems that were going on under your nose. I had read Fangirl prior to this so I understood (or remembered) most of what was going on. I do think that it would be best to read Fangirl before reading this book because it will give you a bit of insight on what kind of story this is, but I don’t think it's completely necessary because this book is completely different. Obviously people are going to look at this book and think, This is just really fancy Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy fanfiction, but trust me, it’s not. It’s all it’s own and it’s magical and lovely and everyone will love it. That’s it for the non spoiler section! If you have not read this book then please do not keep reading the review. Thank You! Okay so, Simon and Baz are my new main OTP because why not they’re so adorable!!! I had been told in advance that Carry On was a gay love story and in the beginning, Baz doesn’t even show up and Agatha was really winey so I automatically didn’t like her at all, and I didn’t want her and Simon to end up together. In the beginning, I can’t really explain it, but I was in LOVE with Baz. For the most part of the first 3rd of the book, all Simon thinks about is about all the stuff that Baz has done and how obsessed he is with finding him so in turn, I get obsessed with him too. I’m sitting there in anticipation waiting for Baz to finally show up! And when he does, oh Lord, I could just imagine him throwing open the doors and sauntering in like, “Sup, guys. You thought I was gone? HA!” It was amazing ahhhh! He is my favorite character by far. He’s the sassiest one and the he’s that kind of character that looks like he could kill you but he’s actually just a marshmallow. When I read his first POV, I was dying! He admits he’s in love with Simon and it’s the cutest thing ever! But then I was also scared because what if Simon doesn’t like him? But like I said, I had already heard that it was a love story between Simon and Baz so I was hoping like crazy that they began to like each other. And then… we get to the part where Simon gives his power to Baz and I’m thinking, Is that why Simon can’t control his powers? Is that why he and Baz were brought together as roommates their first year? Because Simon can’t control his power unless he gives it to Baz? And then Baz is yelling to not hurt it and you get to see how both of the characters are under pressure. I think that one of my favorite scenes is when they try the thing again and Baz says Twinkle twinkle little star. It’s like they’re having a moment and they both feel safe with each other and they are able to work together… It’s the first “love” scene as I would put it because I was squealing like crazy. When Simon, Baz, and Penelope all team up to find Baz’s mom’s killer, it feels so perfect, I don’t know how to even explain it just that it feels so right. Baz and Penny really connected I think in the Book Three section of Carry On, like they seemed to accept that they were actually pretty similar. Baz says, “You should come to Hampshire.” (pg. 272) and I immediately start to fangirl because this is basically what we’ve been waiting for the whole time, right? For Baz and Simon to be at home alone together. I got really disappointed and then it got so much better because the first thing Simon thinks to do in the situation where he found more information was, Oh, I’ll just go to Baz’s house, he invited me right? And then Baz says “Snow” and then Simon says “You’re wearing jeans.” The cuteness level goes through the roof. And I began to once more freak out when Baz wanted to die and the whole “you’re flammable” joke got serious. Baz in his head was saying he was going to kiss Simon before he died and then SIMON KISSED HIM!!! It was beautiful and it was everything I was waiting for and they are just the best. Simon is just so comfortable with the fact that Baz is a vampire through all of this. He just knows that Baz wouldn’t bite him and then how he spells a deer to come to Baz so he can drink from it and Simon just stands there grinning while Baz says “Don’t watch.” is just hilarious. The causality of their kissing and talking about vampires is very comforting and frankly ADORABLE. So when The Insidious Humdrum comes and “bewitches” Baz I was kind of really confused with everything that happened afterwards. So the Mage is actually Simon’s father, Lucy is Simon’s mother and she’s dead and she was the second ghost that came to Simon - not Baz’s mom, and The Insidious Humdrum is actually the “emptiness” or the “hole” left behind by the usage of all the magic from Simon? Whew, I think that’s it? I really liked the contemporary feel of the world. They had cell phones and pop culture integrated into the story and I liked the way the magic worked. I mean, when you put meaning and feelings into the words they become magic. So, essentially, words are magic. Which is a really good moral to put into the story and it’s actually very clever if you think about it. When some words or phrases lose meaning, so do the spells, and if you make a word or phrase more “known” then it becomes magical. Okay, so overall I loved the love, the mystery, and just this whole book overall. I don't know what else to say but that Rainbow is a genius and her name is on my most favorite writers list! Please read this book because it is SO worth it and you will love it all the way through.
