Carry On in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Oct 10, 2015 Krissy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mm, buddy-read, cover-color-blue, mm-secretly-loved-or-lusted, mm-pgs-500-or-more, lgbtq, cover-color-yellow-gold

Surprisingly good!

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Apr 24, 2015 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, lgbt

When I heard this was being published, I knew I really wanted to read it but I'm not sure that I knew quite what to expect. Yes, the Harry Potter parallels are massive and obvious, yet somehow it manages to be completely its own thing and by the middle I was no longer comparing every little thing to Hogwarts.

It is full of Rainbow Rowell's usual brand of painfully accurate teenage angst, but magnified by the lens of magic and potential Armageddon. Imperfect people just trying their best under hug ...more

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Nov 10, 2015 Julie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Loved this charming story about an outsider finding his place in the world and the people who make it meaningful. Rainbow Rowell managed to grab me from the first page and I was immediately immersed in the story, thinking about it constantly even when forced to do annoying things like work, sleep or interact with people.

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May 28, 2023 Debbie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I went into this book not expecting to like it. My daughter loves this book, and we normally have similar taste, but I know this is basically HP fanfiction with Harry/Draco and I have very strong opinions. But about halfway through it, I knew I was going to happily finish it and read the whole series.

First, the setting: yeah, it feels a little like Hogwarts, with the magical school and the crucible / sorting hat, and the mysterious headmaster who takes a special interest in the most powerful wiz I went into this book not expecting to like it. My daughter loves this book, and we normally have similar taste, but I know this is basically HP fanfiction with Harry/Draco and I have very strong opinions. But about halfway through it, I knew I was going to happily finish it and read the whole series.

First, the setting: yeah, it feels a little like Hogwarts, with the magical school and the crucible / sorting hat, and the mysterious headmaster who takes a special interest in the most powerful wizard, and the prophesies. It felt comfortable, without being quite the same, and it was easy to slip into that reading experience without questioning everything so much. In the flip side, the assumption is that the magickal people in this book are still living with and among the Normal world and that's no big deal. I appreciate the integration.

Second, the supporting characters: As I saw another reviewer write, this book is very much about found family, since the main character Simon is an orphan with no known family. (In that way, he's even worse off than Harry Potter!) Simon's friends and acquaintances are first-rate, as far as description and development go, and each of them could really have had their own full book with a story arc, thanks to the switching narrations of the book.

Third, the romance: I mean, I knew going into the book that there would be a romance and I knew who it would be between. I did not know it would be a slow burn, which is fine, but sometimes tough to follow. The back and forth between the characters was hilarious at some points and frustrating at others - why can't they just accept it and stop questioning things?! - but I was along for the ride.

(view spoiler)

Before I'd even finished the last chapter of the book, I'd borrowed the second book, so I'm along for the full ride, but I don't know where Rowell will go from here, since so many loose ends were tied up. ...more

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