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Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)

Rainbow Rowell,

Jim Tierney (Illustrator)

Start date: November 1, 2015

Finish date: December 1, 2015

Discussion: CARRY ON

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CARRY ON

CARRY ON (SPOILERS)
By April (Aprili… · 6 posts · 125 views

last updated Mar 17, 2018 01:09PM

CARRY ON (NO SPOILERS)
By April (Aprili… · 1 post · 35 views

last updated Oct 31, 2015 03:07PM

What Members Thought

Sep 22, 2015 Aleshia rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Though this is a "stand alone" novel, I am glad I have read both Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling because otherwise I may have been a bit lost. The plot is that it is the final year at a magical boarding school and Simon Snow is The Chosen One-- the one who will put an end to the Insidious Humdrum, the evil that is eating away the magic of the magic world. Simon has an intelligent side-kick, Penny, a graceful girlfriend, Agatha, and an archrival for a roommate, Baz (wh Though this is a "stand alone" novel, I am glad I have read both Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling because otherwise I may have been a bit lost. The plot is that it is the final year at a magical boarding school and Simon Snow is The Chosen One-- the one who will put an end to the Insidious Humdrum, the evil that is eating away the magic of the magic world. Simon has an intelligent side-kick, Penny, a graceful girlfriend, Agatha, and an archrival for a roommate, Baz (who is also a vampire and currently missing at the start of the book and driving Simon crazy about it). The Mage is the headmaster of the magic school and is also the leader of the magic world. He acts as a mentor towards Simon.

It plays so much off Harry Potter that I don't think it stands quite on its own. I feel like the reader needs prior exposure to a school of magic with a chosen one to really understand what is going on. On top of that, the actual plot is just too cliche. (view spoiler) If this was the 8th and last book of a well loved fantasy series and that was the plot outcome I would be so displeased as a reader! The plot stands just fine on the fact that it is a standalone, which it is, but at the same time its supposed to represent something more than that, which it doesn't.

Despite that, I still really liked the book. I was just adsorbed by the characters. I think Baz has the best introduction of any character ever. I love how he pokes fun at Simon. I like how Penny is Ron and Hermoine wrapped in one character so she's smart and a great friend who doesn't mind breaking the rules and her loyalty means everything. Simon's all right and I like Agatha's ending (view spoiler) We get a really interesting way of telling a backstory (view spoiler). I like how magic spells can be catch phrases that can also lose power over time as people stop using them (think of the memes and the power they could have!) It was a quick read and I was giving it 4 stars until I got to the plot resolution where it was falling quickly to three, but the overall readability of it was still very good and I really like the alternating points of view to give the story a good pace. I really liked reading it but I only liked/tolerated the actual plot. I'll give it 4 stars. ...more

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Oct 14, 2015 Madelene G rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Five amazing stars! It's was such an amazing read, with great characters and a plot you never got tired of. I wasn't sure when I first started this that I would like it, but I did, I more than liked, I so loved this book. ...more

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Nov 16, 2015 Jemma Heather rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this. It was amazing. It was so well written and entertaining. I loved the characters especially Baz! The world pulled you in straight away. I loved how they did spells as well. They use phrases or popular words used in language which determines the power of the spell. Just everything was amazing and perfect!! This is my second Rainbow Rowell book. I read Fangirl a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. It became one of my favourite novels. But i was wrong. I fell hard for th ...more

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Jun 09, 2015 Jessica G rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

...so this happened.

As many people know, I wasn't a fan of Fangirl when it came out. I felt like the balance between the main character's life and her fanfiction wasn't quite right. Even though I classify myself as a 'fangirl' I didn't feel that I related to the main character...and if I did, it was barely.
Carry On focuses on only the fanfiction from Fangirl and OH GOSH, was that a good idea.
I'm generally not a fan of straight fantasy...(That wasn't on purpose I swear, hahaha) but this was some ...more

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