squinnittowinit's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book reads at first like an excellent Harry Potter parody, lightheartedly poking fun at the plot holes and loose worldbuilding moments of the HP series as the main character, Simon Snow, recounts his misadventures (a humorously self-aware reskinning of many HP plot points) at his magical school during years 1-7.
I was ready for this book to be a Harry Potter parody and nothing more the entire way through (and would have loved every minute of it), but I was very pleasantly surprised to find an actual, original plot that played very well with the humorous setting and premise. The plot and the surprisingly complex characters took this book from parody to a genuinely gripping Harry Potter rewrite that successfully delivered a more complex (and plausible) plot, alongside characters that were more flawed yet more understandable at the same time.
I felt like this book was wholly satisfying as a standalone. I don't really feel any need to read the sequels, though I'm sure I'll get to them someday. For now, I'm left with that same soul-satisfied feeling that I get when I've just finished a 100k word fanfic with no tags and I can't remember what it was like to have ever not known about something so wonderful.
4.5 stars because of complete bi erasure and minor racism (not the inclusion of it in the world but rather minorly problematic descriptions/inconsistent descriptions of poc by the author)
I was ready for this book to be a Harry Potter parody and nothing more the entire way through (and would have loved every minute of it), but I was very pleasantly surprised to find an actual, original plot that played very well with the humorous setting and premise. The plot and the surprisingly complex characters took this book from parody to a genuinely gripping Harry Potter rewrite that successfully delivered a more complex (and plausible) plot, alongside characters that were more flawed yet more understandable at the same time.
I felt like this book was wholly satisfying as a standalone. I don't really feel any need to read the sequels, though I'm sure I'll get to them someday. For now, I'm left with that same soul-satisfied feeling that I get when I've just finished a 100k word fanfic with no tags and I can't remember what it was like to have ever not known about something so wonderful.
4.5 stars because of complete bi erasure and minor racism (not the inclusion of it in the world but rather minorly problematic descriptions/inconsistent descriptions of poc by the author)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Animal death, Biphobia, War, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Classism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Confinement, Stalking, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Racism, Ableism, and Infidelity
Bi erasure details:Spoiler
Once Simon allows himself to voice his feelings for Baz, he almost immediately questions if this makes him gay, an already tired question. He ends up not answering that for himself, continuing to wonder several more times to the end of the book. Never once does he even consider that he could be bi, despite having had a girlfriend before. It is perfectly acceptable for Simon to not know what labels he wants to use for himself, or to never subscribe to using labels, and it would also be acceptable for Simon to determine that he isn't actually attracted to girls after all, but by only including the words "gay" and "straight", it makes it seem as though Simon can only be one of those two things, which is harmful to other LGBTQIA+ identities like bi and pan.Spoiler
Mostly my issue is with Baz's physical description being inconsistent. Baz is described as having red-gold skin before becoming a vampire, as his mother was Egyptian. Most of the time, as a vampire his skin is described as "gray", which is a great way to describe someone being bloodless without changing their skin tone (because skin tone isn't really determined by whether your body has blood in it or not). However, there are a few times where Baz is inexplicably described as having "white" skin in reference to his vampirism. It reads like Baz was originally written to have the race-erasing white skin of classic vampires and then the author decided to update the description to the better "gray", but didn't catch all instances.erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a title that I heard of through Lighthouse Library Bookclub (it was a previous fiction read from Sept, 2021). I found this book a little hard to get into at first. It felt a little like reading a later work of Rick Riordan's in the way that it referred to previous adventures of the characters from time to time, and left me wondering what I had missed. I went back to listen to the first hour of the audiobook on 125% and then I felt a bit more grounded. This was not a title that I could make the most of if I wasn't concentrating on it.
++edit to add++ After writing this review I stumbled upon an article that describes how this book fits in with its previous books.. which don't exist. Rowell writes "a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series".
https://lithub.com/how-rainbow-rowell-weaponized-fandom-for-good/
++
The story deals with a couple of lads at a Magic-School, who are roommates, constantly paranoid about each other and secretly-notsosecretly plotting to kill each other. Their relationships is utterly dysfunctional, which is possibly one of the weirdest and truest part of the story. Mostly teen stories come across as a bit simple and based in pointless misunderstandings, but this enemies to lovers plotline felt a lot more like my memories of highschool, which were a twisted mess of love and hate. Don't call me emo.
I think the stand-out bit of Simon Snow's world is the way that the magic works. It is triggered not necessarily by ancient dead languages but by living ones. Concentration and intent is coupled with incantations that come from clichés, catch phrases, idioms, and commonly known poems and songs. You can literally throw up a wall to protect yourself with "Can't Touch This!"... though it may only be powerful against people who are familiar with the song. It feels a lot like "Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board" only with common memes and quotes. They actually use "These aren't the droids you're looking for" to hide things from people's perception... and as phrases pass out of common use, so do their potency for weaving magic.
The evil baddy in the story is a mysterious force that swallows magic, and leaves the world mundane in its wake. Simon and his best friend Penelope, work with their friends (and enemies) and for much of the time nobody knows who is allied with whom... And at the equinox, ghosts come back to tell people the things that they think are most important to pass on to their still-living loved ones, which spices things up a bit with revelations, spilled secrets and quests. The Principal of the school is in a simmering conflict with the aristocracy of the magical world, as he wants to provide magical training regardless of lineage, to anyone with the talent.
As far as the story is concerned, the characters are a hot mess. The kids rely on the guidance of teachers, who are about as messed up as they are themselves, which means that adult support is not all it cracked up to be, though it's cool if you have a kickarse punk-rock Aunty who can bust you out of trouble when you are in too deep. The characters are a diverse ethnic mix, and the depiction of how Penny copes with her best friend's casual Racism about her looks and South Asian background rings true.
Ghosts, Vampires, Pixies, Numpties, Worsegers (like Badgers..only...) populate this world replete with silly wordplay and a main character who didn't find out that any of this existed until he was 11. This is a very queer love story, and I like the characters, even if they are jerks.
Well worth the read if you have the patience for being dropped in at the deep end.
++edit to add++ After writing this review I stumbled upon an article that describes how this book fits in with its previous books.. which don't exist. Rowell writes "a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series".
https://lithub.com/how-rainbow-rowell-weaponized-fandom-for-good/
++
The story deals with a couple of lads at a Magic-School, who are roommates, constantly paranoid about each other and secretly-notsosecretly plotting to kill each other. Their relationships is utterly dysfunctional, which is possibly one of the weirdest and truest part of the story. Mostly teen stories come across as a bit simple and based in pointless misunderstandings, but this enemies to lovers plotline felt a lot more like my memories of highschool, which were a twisted mess of love and hate. Don't call me emo.
I think the stand-out bit of Simon Snow's world is the way that the magic works. It is triggered not necessarily by ancient dead languages but by living ones. Concentration and intent is coupled with incantations that come from clichés, catch phrases, idioms, and commonly known poems and songs. You can literally throw up a wall to protect yourself with "Can't Touch This!"... though it may only be powerful against people who are familiar with the song. It feels a lot like "Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board" only with common memes and quotes. They actually use "These aren't the droids you're looking for" to hide things from people's perception... and as phrases pass out of common use, so do their potency for weaving magic.
The evil baddy in the story is a mysterious force that swallows magic, and leaves the world mundane in its wake. Simon and his best friend Penelope, work with their friends (and enemies) and for much of the time nobody knows who is allied with whom... And at the equinox, ghosts come back to tell people the things that they think are most important to pass on to their still-living loved ones, which spices things up a bit with revelations, spilled secrets and quests. The Principal of the school is in a simmering conflict with the aristocracy of the magical world, as he wants to provide magical training regardless of lineage, to anyone with the talent.
As far as the story is concerned, the characters are a hot mess. The kids rely on the guidance of teachers, who are about as messed up as they are themselves, which means that adult support is not all it cracked up to be, though it's cool if you have a kickarse punk-rock Aunty who can bust you out of trouble when you are in too deep. The characters are a diverse ethnic mix, and the depiction of how Penny copes with her best friend's casual Racism about her looks and South Asian background rings true.
Ghosts, Vampires, Pixies, Numpties, Worsegers (like Badgers..only...) populate this world replete with silly wordplay and a main character who didn't find out that any of this existed until he was 11. This is a very queer love story, and I like the characters, even if they are jerks.
Well worth the read if you have the patience for being dropped in at the deep end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gore, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Ableism, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and War
Moderate: Alcohol and Eating disorder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Deportation, and Medical content
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, Biphobia, Classism, Murder, Violence, Death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, and War
kaitbeth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Vomit
kadtide's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Classism
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
krup's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Emotional, beautiful and captivating. Other than the beautiful characters, this book breaks down the whole "the chosen one" trope and looks into the trauma, pain and real life of a character in this situation
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I like this book, but it works better as a sequel. It’s a lot of showing “oh wow Baz and Simon don’t get on…oh man it sucks that Baz literally almost took your magic away…man it sucks that your relationship is super complicated…” hence why when Baz confesses to the audience it’s very jarring.
I’m expected to believe this character I just met is telling me that actually he’s been in love with Simon the whole time? Where?? It’s very half baked. I like the magic, I like the stories woven together, I like the final fight, I like Simon. I love the shade thrown at Dumbledore! but honestly it’s like being thrown in at the deep end. I wish this was a quadrilogy. But I’m not interested in Wayward Son or AWTWB so I guess this is where we part ways SnowBaz.
I’m expected to believe this character I just met is telling me that actually he’s been in love with Simon the whole time? Where?? It’s very half baked. I like the magic, I like the stories woven together, I like the final fight, I like Simon. I love the shade thrown at Dumbledore! but honestly it’s like being thrown in at the deep end. I wish this was a quadrilogy. But I’m not interested in Wayward Son or AWTWB so I guess this is where we part ways SnowBaz.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
myarae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief
clevelandy99's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
bybookandbone's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Ugh...
That felt like a complete waste of time.
Ok, so Carry On isn't the worst book I've read this year. There were parts where I really got into the story (what little there was). However... how does this book have so many glowing reviews? It's a mess! I'm going to cover Carry On as a standalone book before I bring up the Boy Wizard in the room...
<u><b>The Confusion</u></b>
I thought Carry On would be a good place to start with Rainbow Rowell because I've only recently tried to expand into contemporary. Boy, did I make the wrong decision. I felt like I'd been dropped into the final book of an 8 book series, where everyone else knows what's going on and I'm the only one out of the loop. 'The Humdrum can transport me to him at any time', Can he? When did that happen? Why doesn't he then??
I was about 200 pages in before I looked up wtf was going on and found out that this book is the fanfiction written by a main character in another one of her books. This is such an interesting, funny concept but it's not mentioned anywhere on the cover that I should have read a different standalone book before this one. As a result, this isn't really it's own thing. It's a sort of fun project for fans. Why this isn't made clear from the get go is baffling.
<u><b>The Characters</u></b>
Simon is a meh protagonist. He's boring and unrelatable (just because he has so little personality, it's tough to understand his motivations).
Baz and Penny are pretty good. I enjoyed their POVs and general interactions with each other and Simon.
Agatha.. Jesus Christ, Agatha. What a wet mop of a character. I absolutely hate that she's essentially a prop to cause drama between Simon and Baz and for Simon to moon over. On top of that, she's completely unlikeable. We're told that she and Simon have a good romance previous to this book but it certainly ain't here now. Why am I meant to care that they break up?
Actually, the drama with Agatha brings me to the next point...
<u><b>The Queer Erasure</u></b>
So this book has been recommended by everyone and their dog every June since it was released. I was a bit put out to see so many of the few negative reviews mention bi-erasure. Early on in the novel I thought 'hmm, just because Simon had a girlfriend doesn't make him not gay, he doesn't <i>have</i> to be bi/pan'. Then I actually got to the m/m romance. Wtf Rainbow Rowel (and everyone recommending this as positive queer rep)?? Baz identifies as queer/gay throughout, so Rowel knows the umbrella term. Yet Simon kisses Baz one time and literally thinks 'this means I'm gay now'. Fucking what?! I'm not saying he had to be bi or pan (from how he's written though, I'd say pan) but there needs to be more self-reflection when he dated a girl for several years and missed her when they broke up. The rush to decide how to identify was jarring and just felt horrible. I'm getting mad again so I'll just stop talking about it now.
<u><b>The Boy Wizard in the Room</u></b>
This is a Drarry fanfic.
You can fight me on it (I've now seen many fans get angry when this is mentioned) but that's what this is. Carry On does not standalone without Harry Potter and that's a serious sign of poor writing. There's so many references to HP, especially early in the book. Even the satirical points are references. Rowel themself considers the whole concept a Drarry story. The more I looked into the Fangirl association, the more I realised that Carry On is meant to be a satire of Harry Potter, being the direct stand-in for Drarry fanfic in Fangirl.
Some characters, magic culture and places are even directly lifted from Harry Potter.
As a result, even when Carry On strikes out on it's own later in the novel, it's almost impossible to untangle yourself from thinking of Harry Potter. I'd love to know if someone who never read or saw Harry Potter read this and thought it was a genuinely well written, complete story? Even if you enjoy it, do you think it's actually a 'good' book.
I could go on at nauseum to explain every little point and sentence that pissed me off but I'll just leave it on this one last point. Like many Drarry fanfics, this appears to have been written for the het female gaze and while this is a nuanced topic not to be labelled simply 'bad', it's regrettable that this is one of the most commonly recommended books during Pride.
That felt like a complete waste of time.
Ok, so Carry On isn't the worst book I've read this year. There were parts where I really got into the story (what little there was). However... how does this book have so many glowing reviews? It's a mess! I'm going to cover Carry On as a standalone book before I bring up the Boy Wizard in the room...
<u><b>The Confusion</u></b>
I thought Carry On would be a good place to start with Rainbow Rowell because I've only recently tried to expand into contemporary. Boy, did I make the wrong decision. I felt like I'd been dropped into the final book of an 8 book series, where everyone else knows what's going on and I'm the only one out of the loop. 'The Humdrum can transport me to him at any time', Can he? When did that happen? Why doesn't he then??
I was about 200 pages in before I looked up wtf was going on and found out that this book is the fanfiction written by a main character in another one of her books. This is such an interesting, funny concept but it's not mentioned anywhere on the cover that I should have read a different standalone book before this one. As a result, this isn't really it's own thing. It's a sort of fun project for fans. Why this isn't made clear from the get go is baffling.
<u><b>The Characters</u></b>
Simon is a meh protagonist. He's boring and unrelatable (just because he has so little personality, it's tough to understand his motivations).
Baz and Penny are pretty good. I enjoyed their POVs and general interactions with each other and Simon.
Agatha.. Jesus Christ, Agatha. What a wet mop of a character. I absolutely hate that she's essentially a prop to cause drama between Simon and Baz and for Simon to moon over. On top of that, she's completely unlikeable. We're told that she and Simon have a good romance previous to this book but it certainly ain't here now. Why am I meant to care that they break up?
Actually, the drama with Agatha brings me to the next point...
<u><b>The Queer Erasure</u></b>
So this book has been recommended by everyone and their dog every June since it was released. I was a bit put out to see so many of the few negative reviews mention bi-erasure. Early on in the novel I thought 'hmm, just because Simon had a girlfriend doesn't make him not gay, he doesn't <i>have</i> to be bi/pan'. Then I actually got to the m/m romance. Wtf Rainbow Rowel (and everyone recommending this as positive queer rep)?? Baz identifies as queer/gay throughout, so Rowel knows the umbrella term. Yet Simon kisses Baz one time and literally thinks 'this means I'm gay now'. Fucking what?! I'm not saying he had to be bi or pan (from how he's written though, I'd say pan) but there needs to be more self-reflection when he dated a girl for several years and missed her when they broke up. The rush to decide how to identify was jarring and just felt horrible. I'm getting mad again so I'll just stop talking about it now.
<u><b>The Boy Wizard in the Room</u></b>
This is a Drarry fanfic.
You can fight me on it (I've now seen many fans get angry when this is mentioned) but that's what this is. Carry On does not standalone without Harry Potter and that's a serious sign of poor writing. There's so many references to HP, especially early in the book. Even the satirical points are references. Rowel themself considers the whole concept a Drarry story. The more I looked into the Fangirl association, the more I realised that Carry On is meant to be a satire of Harry Potter, being the direct stand-in for Drarry fanfic in Fangirl.
Some characters, magic culture and places are even directly lifted from Harry Potter.
As a result, even when Carry On strikes out on it's own later in the novel, it's almost impossible to untangle yourself from thinking of Harry Potter. I'd love to know if someone who never read or saw Harry Potter read this and thought it was a genuinely well written, complete story? Even if you enjoy it, do you think it's actually a 'good' book.
I could go on at nauseum to explain every little point and sentence that pissed me off but I'll just leave it on this one last point. Like many Drarry fanfics, this appears to have been written for the het female gaze and while this is a nuanced topic not to be labelled simply 'bad', it's regrettable that this is one of the most commonly recommended books during Pride.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia