melike's review against another edition
5.0
I don‘t know where to begin. I just loved this so so much, I can‘t put it into words. I really did not even expect to like it this much because the beginning was, honestly, quite boring. It did not impress me at all because there was no action, and I just felt like I was reading Harry Potter fanfiction. And then Baz appeared. And everything just went upwards immediately. All the action started, and the plot was really interesting. It got funnier and more suspenseful, and I literally did not want to do anything but read. Also, Simon and Baz. I ship them and love them so much, I could go on forever. They‘re just so adorable and soft and had me laughing and sobbing the entire time. For that reason, I just could not give Carry On less than 5 stars even though I did not like the beginning much; it‘d hurt my heart if I did because I just adored everything else so much.
silquesoleil's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first Rainbow Rowell book, due to the fact that I have only ever heard people bring up her works when certain aspects of it make them uncomfortable - Asian people have taken offense with Eleanor and Park and some fangirls were not so happy with Fangirl - not one person I knew on social media was very passionate about her books in a positive way. Which changed rapidly with Carry On.
Since I haven't read Fangirl, I wasn't familiar with the characters, but they grew on me quick enough. Penny was one of my favorites. I was particularly happy about the way her chubbiness was presented as something that is just as desirable as the golden clean appearance of Simon's girlfriend. (What was her name again? Agatha?)
The world building was interesting too; I am always particularly interested in how the magic works and this linguistic based system was utterly fascinating and entertaining. The plot came together nicely, it took a few turns that I had not expected, the only thing I wasn't too happy with was that the only lesbian couple was just a humoristic footnote which could basically be summed up with 'they have a lot of sex'.
I mean, listen, if you put that much dedication into your gay pairings, you can spare a bit of niceness for the lesbians too. Just saying.
Since I haven't read Fangirl, I wasn't familiar with the characters, but they grew on me quick enough. Penny was one of my favorites. I was particularly happy about the way her chubbiness was presented as something that is just as desirable as the golden clean appearance of Simon's girlfriend. (What was her name again? Agatha?)
The world building was interesting too; I am always particularly interested in how the magic works and this linguistic based system was utterly fascinating and entertaining. The plot came together nicely, it took a few turns that I had not expected, the only thing I wasn't too happy with was that the only lesbian couple was just a humoristic footnote which could basically be summed up with 'they have a lot of sex'.
I mean, listen, if you put that much dedication into your gay pairings, you can spare a bit of niceness for the lesbians too. Just saying.
genem's review against another edition
5.0
Perfect for anyone who absolutely loves the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and absolutely despises the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
daffodill37's review against another edition
I have really mixed feelings on this book...
You know when you go to the fair and you see a really cheap [insert luxury brand here] handbag. So you check it out and upon closer look you see it doesn't have quite the standard of quality you're used to seeing with [luxury brand] and you realize it's just a cheap knock off? The handbag is still pretty. It's just definitely not [luxury brand].
Yea, that's how I felt about Carry On. It's kind of like a knock off Harry Potter.
I do have to say, there are some things I really enjoyed about this book:
-Agatha (She just wants to do her own fucking thing). In that same spirit, Eb and Fiona.
-Nursery rhymes, songs and turns of phrase for spells. This was really fun and cute.
-The fact that all 4 of the friend group were very different people. I liked how their different personalities and goals worked together.
-The mystery of it all. Well, in the first half or so. As it continued to the end it started to get predictable.
-Simon's tail
Things I didn't like
-Simon and Baz's "romance". I didn't really believe it when it happened. It seemed forced and I didn't understand how Simon came to that decision. Then, they kiss ONCE and they're like, welp I guess we're boyfriends now. Seriously, no one does that. Although, at the end it was starting to feel more natural.
-The Harry Potter-ness of it all.
-The author does this really annoying thing where instead of using other adjectives everyone just "says"... "he says", "she says", "I say", "he says", says says says says. Hundreds of times.
You know when you go to the fair and you see a really cheap [insert luxury brand here] handbag. So you check it out and upon closer look you see it doesn't have quite the standard of quality you're used to seeing with [luxury brand] and you realize it's just a cheap knock off? The handbag is still pretty. It's just definitely not [luxury brand].
Yea, that's how I felt about Carry On. It's kind of like a knock off Harry Potter.
I do have to say, there are some things I really enjoyed about this book:
-Agatha (She just wants to do her own fucking thing). In that same spirit, Eb and Fiona.
-Nursery rhymes, songs and turns of phrase for spells. This was really fun and cute.
-The fact that all 4 of the friend group were very different people. I liked how their different personalities and goals worked together.
-The mystery of it all. Well, in the first half or so. As it continued to the end it started to get predictable.
-Simon's tail
Things I didn't like
-Simon and Baz's "romance". I didn't really believe it when it happened. It seemed forced and I didn't understand how Simon came to that decision. Then, they kiss ONCE and they're like, welp I guess we're boyfriends now. Seriously, no one does that. Although, at the end it was starting to feel more natural.
-The Harry Potter-ness of it all.
-The author does this really annoying thing where instead of using other adjectives everyone just "says"... "he says", "she says", "I say", "he says", says says says says. Hundreds of times.
cassidyjennings's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sburleson's review against another edition
5.0
So cute! Absolutely loved this book. Glad I chose to pick it up.
tarannosaurousrex's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
5.0
darkndani's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I could read this again for the first time already. I didn’t expect to love this book, but man did I.