The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
waterbear0821's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
I am a Rainbow Rowell stan and Snowbaz obsessive so I know my perspective is biased, but Wayward Son deserves so much more love than it gets. The whole premise of âwhat happens after the happy ending, when the dust settles and you have to figure out how to live again?â is just brilliant and beautiful. And itâs clear how much Rowell loves these characters. Normally I get so frustrated by the romance trope of âpoor communication skills as plot deviceâ but in Rowellâs hands we really see and understand how these characters we love struggle with their trauma and the ways they feel about themselves. Plus this book really fleshes out Penelope and Agatha in lovely, complicated ways. Also I love a road trip novel. Iâm from Nebraska, lived in Chicago, I love Las Vegas and Iâve made that whole trip many times, so the whole book is just a nice shot of nostalgia for me. Also Euan Morton narrates and is just phenomenal.Â
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Xenophobia
julia_snowangel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
emilyg0663's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
This book is dark! Be prepared to be at the edge of your seat the whole time, and be desperate for the third book afterwards.
 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. Even the finale was crazy because they completely got lucked out with the Talkers just randomly showing up. It wasnât completely random as itâs all Agatha was talking about in the book, but damn! They are all bleeding and in pain at the end, which doesnât make it feel like a victory at all!!
This makes me extremely nervous for the characters, as they are not good heroes anymore. They canât do anything right, and even Penelope has no plan which is completely a left field! I actually donât feel as strongly attached to the characters anymore compared with the first book. <Spoilers> Penelope is an arrogant âknow it allâ 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 âsit down!â And Baz did the most growth as to finding about more about himself, but heâd tided down to my most hated troupe; strained relationships over miscommunicationâŚâŚ..Â
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 donât root for the vampires, the mages orange creatures. I donât even root for Simon!Â
I canât wait for book 3
 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 canât do anything right, and even Penelope has no plan which is completely a left field! I actually donât feel as strongly attached to the characters anymore compared with the first book. <Spoilers> Penelope is an arrogant âknow it allâ 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 âsit down!â And Baz did the most growth as to finding about more about himself, but heâd tided down to my most hated troupe; strained relationships over miscommunicationâŚâŚ..Â
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 donât root for the vampires, the mages orange creatures. I donât even root for Simon!Â
I canât wait for book 3
Graphic: Gore, War, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Minor: Kidnapping
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