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valerian_honeybee'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
emilyg0663's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Wayward Son shows Simon, Baz and Penelope in a new light, and a completely different world! If the first book, Simon and Penelope have magic and can hold their own in a fight, Baz too. But here, they are completely unmatched but extremely lucky!! Every situation, every fight, they are either completely defeated or won but beaten up to exhaustion. They are broken and depressed and dragging their feet as they travel through this book, which made me feel helpless.
This makes me extremely nervous for the characters, as they are not good heroes anymore. They can’t do anything right, and even Penelope has no plan which is completely a left field! I actually don’t feel as strongly attached to the characters anymore compared with the first book. <Spoilers> Penelope is an arrogant ‘know it all’ who actually is just a child who knows nothing, Simon is a broken human who has lost his reason for life but is brash and jumps into trouble every second he can. I was absolutely furious with Simon for this, wanted to smack him and tell him ‘sit down!’ And Baz did the most growth as to finding about more about himself, but he’d tided down to my most hated troupe; strained relationships over miscommunication……..
Other thing that stressed me out was the fact that every group hates eachother for biases that they created. Everyone is doing wrong things and blaming the other groups for their misfortunes. It made me realised that there is no good guy in these books, that I don’t root for the vampires, the mages orange creatures. I don’t even root for Simon!
I can’t wait for book 3
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Kidnapping
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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Vomit, Car accident, and Alcohol
breadbees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Self harm, Stalking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
a_islandcriptid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Murder and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Violence, and Alcohol
gothicmoon'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, and Grief
cameronmh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Car accident
annabella's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Grief
anitaxlit's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love the Simon Snow universe. I was already in love with it when reading Fangirl. After it came out, I remember describing Carry On as "Harry Potter for grown up HP fans". Back then I already felt that I preferred this universe, perhaps because it doesn't take itself too seriously, perhaps because it's so much more diverse. Wayward Son cements that conviction.
Here, Rainbow Rowell subverts the "Chosen One" trope beautifully. All we normally see of heroes after they have fulfilled their destiny is an epilogue where they are unbelievably well-adjusted, or years into the future when they have already dealt with their trauma. Wayward Son picks up merely a year after the events of Carry On, and we get to see the effects of what happened in the first book, the loss and trauma that Simon experiences after everything he trusted, everything he thought he was, is destroyed.
Simon crumbles down. Baz is desperate to get through to him. Penny is lost and frayed. Agatha is in denial. They've all lost so much, and they cling desperately to their pasts in need of security. Throughout the book they learn to let go, and by the end I think they're ready to find themselves again and anew—even if they don't know it yet.
The final chapters deserve a special mention for giving Penny a depth I had been missing since Carry On, she's finally depicted as the star we readers knew she was.
I was convinced I wouldn't like Wayward Son as much as Carry On because it hurt so much more to read, but I was wrong. This sequel is, in my opinion, better than the first book. It breaks free from all expectations and invents something new.
I love the Simon Snow universe with all my heart. And I really can't wait to see what's next in Any Way The Wind Blows.
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence and Kidnapping