Carry On in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Sep 29, 2015 Chessa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-favorites-2015

I didn't think I was in the mood for this, but I was VERY wrong. I could BARELY put it down. It is so fun, so angsty, funny, swoony (is that a word?). Some things I saw coming, others were a complete surprise. I love being able to be surprised!

I wish this was a series so that I could look forward to more and more. Alas.

Love, love, love. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2016 Chris Burd rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi_fantasy

I have not read a book that left me feeling sad when it ended in a very, very long time. I loved everything about the universe, the plot and the character voices. Especially the character voices. (Rainbow Rowell is generally brilliant at writing vivid characters, but she outdoes herself in this one.)

I know there's something that I should say or consider about the fact that it clearly started as Harry Potter fan fiction, or at least was heavily influenced. I started to look up more information on ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 22, 2015 Marci rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Rainbow Rowell can do better. Still confused about the fan fiction element. How is it possible that it's not Harry Potter fan fiction? Supposedly the fictional character that wrote it lives in a world where Potter and Snow both exist as popular fiction series, which I don't buy.
Beyond that, the plot is thin and relies on an audience that loves characters from a series that doesn't exist because we aren't supposed to see them as Harry Potter characters.
I like all of Rowell's other work but this w ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 21, 2015 Jenny rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read Fan Girl a year or so ago and while it didn’t rock my world like Eleanor and Park, I enjoyed it and I remember finding the fan fiction that the main character wrote kind of interesting—in a Harry Potter meets . . . well, fan fiction kind of way. By the way, if you haven’t read Fan Girl, there are spoilers ahead about the two main characters so “carry on” at your own risk.

Rainbow Rowell found the dueling teen wizards that her character riffed on in Fan Girl so interesting that she decided I read Fan Girl a year or so ago and while it didn’t rock my world like Eleanor and Park, I enjoyed it and I remember finding the fan fiction that the main character wrote kind of interesting—in a Harry Potter meets . . . well, fan fiction kind of way. By the way, if you haven’t read Fan Girl, there are spoilers ahead about the two main characters so “carry on” at your own risk.

Rainbow Rowell found the dueling teen wizards that her character riffed on in Fan Girl so interesting that she decided to give Simon Snow and Baz the full-on book treatment. For me, the result was both fun and vaguely unsatisfying and I’m having a hard time figuring out why exactly. The nature of fan fiction (and I say this as someone who has read only a little of it) is that it builds off worlds that someone else has created and often spin the characters and plots off in alternative ways. This always makes me think of those episodes of Supernatural where Sam and Dean meet rabid fans of their fictional selves, fans who have been devouring alternative tales of Sam and Dean’s incestuous love for each other. But I digress. Though fan fiction is often a tribute to its source material, it can never quite break free of the original, and this book has that feeling too.

So, this is basically Harry Potter’s “chosen one” scenario, with Simon Snow playing the role of Harry, melded with a romance novel, where Baz is the brooding and sarcastic hero who dares not reveal this feelings. There is the smart friend (a la Hermione), Penny, but also Agatha, Simon’s girlfriend of the last few years. Oh yeah and Baz is a vampire.

There is a lot to like here. Rowell does a nice job of throwing us into what is basically Book 4 or 5 of the series while also building up the back story of Watford, this Hogwarts-like school, and Simon’s past experiences there. It becomes clear that this isn’t exactly Hogwarts, and the Mage, the magician who brought Simon to the school many years ago, is definitely not Dumbledore. Simon’s relationship to his own magic is one of the most interesting things about this story. On the other hand, though there are mysteries to be solved and sacrifices to be made, ultimately the story felt like a vehicle for Simon and Baz to engage in a typical romance relationship dance—with lots of leaning in and pulling away. That’s not a bad thing but it felt like some of the most interesting stuff had already happened in an earlier book.

Though I enjoyed reading this book, I kept wondering how Rainbow Rowell might have been freed by fully creating her own “chosen one” scenario instead of riffing off of a riff off of Harry Potter. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 06, 2015 Elizabeth rated it it was ok · review of another edition

If Harry Potter roomed with Draco, and was rewritten by fanfic writers who wanted a Harry/Draco mashup, you'd get Carry On.

Meh. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 01, 2018 Emily rated it liked it · review of another edition

Honestly not sure how to rate or talk about this rtc

Like · see review

Sep 30, 2015 Julia rated it liked it · review of another edition

I wanted to like this more than I did. It wasn't bad, just not as amazing as Fangirl. Or Harry Potter. And I wanted it to be both of those things. Those are high expectations for any book. I still love Rainbow Rowell and I hope she writes a Fangirl sequel, or even "Simon Snow and the Mage's Heir." ...more

Like · see review