Carry On (Simon Snow, #1) in The Perks Of Being A Book Addict

Feb 22, 2015 Trisha rated it it was amazing

"Everything is a story. And you are the hero."

First, I have to say, I love everything by Rainbow Rowell. I haven't found a story by her, yet, that I haven't loved. And I loved Fangirl, so an opportunity to read more about Simon and Baz, to read how it all started and how it all played out. And I loved them both. I also loved the extra characters, Penny and Agatha, Lucy and Fiona. I was completely swept away by this story. ...more

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Oct 28, 2015 Michael rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2015, fall-reading-2015

If you finished Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl and wondered what it would be like to read some of Cath's Simon Snow fanfic then Carry On will push your buttons in all the right places.

Alas, the Simon Snow aspect of Fangirl wasn't my favorite part of that story -- nor did I necessarily find myself wanting to actually read Cath's final alternate version of the adventures of Simon Snow. So, I guess you could say that Carry On wasn't my cup of tea.

Coming back to school for his final year, Simon Snow has j If you finished Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl and wondered what it would be like to read some of Cath's Simon Snow fanfic then Carry On will push your buttons in all the right places.

Alas, the Simon Snow aspect of Fangirl wasn't my favorite part of that story -- nor did I necessarily find myself wanting to actually read Cath's final alternate version of the adventures of Simon Snow. So, I guess you could say that Carry On wasn't my cup of tea.

Coming back to school for his final year, Simon Snow has just defeated the forces of evil, rescued his friends and is preparing for his great destiny to come. But things are all going as well as it would appear. His girlfriend, Agatha, was seen last year talking in the woods to his mortal enemy and roommate, Baz. And there are forces of evil attacking his school in every effort to kill the anointed magical world savior.

Simon Snow was a thinly veiled Harry Potter stand-in used by Rowell for Fangirl to allow Cath to have a fictional wizard to obsess over and create fan-fiction for without incurring the wrath of J.K. Rowling's lawyers. We got hints about Simon and his world from Cath and her friends. And after reading all six-hundred or so pages of Carry On I feel like a little went a long way.

I never connected with these characters or universe in the way I have with other Rowell offerings in the past. Maybe my expectations were too high after her string of three great books in the last two years. And while I'm not one who would say an author can or should publish the same type of work over and over again, I'm not sure the world of high fantasy mixed with teenage angst necessarily works for Rowell. The authenticity of her characters in her first four offerings was what drew me to them -- something I found distinctly lacking this book.

This is the first time Rowell has let me down -- and based on the reviews I'm seeing on social media and book sites, it's apparently I'm alone in feeling this. It doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for Rowell in any way. It just leaves me feeling disappointed and like I missed something that all the other "cool kids" enjoyed but I didn't. ...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, audible-audio, audio-2015, read-2015

I enjoyed this glimpse into the magical wizard world of Simon and Baz that had been introduced by Rainbow Rowell in Fangirl and found the storytelling from multiple points of view an effective vehicle for adding depth to the story, and in vignettes fleshing out a few more characters than possible in a more straightforward telling. These "child" wizards or mages are not really children at all (as if magical children could be I suppose) but the language is far more mature than the Harry Potter-lik ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Danielle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Wow!
If I'm being completely honest, when I started this book I didn't think I would like it, I nearly gave up, but I stuck with it, and I'm so, so, so glad I did!
What a story! I did end up guessing the ending relatively quickly, but it was so entertaining that I didn't mind. I would recommend this book to everyone who likes paranormal, romance, comedy and older YA. ...more

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Jun 17, 2019 Heather rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: forced-proximity, paranormal, fantasy, contemporary-romance, lgbtq, enemies-to-lovers, ya

Yes, it's HEAVILY influenced by Harry Potter but that didn't bother me in the least. Simon and Baz and Penelope have a lot of things in common with the students at Hogwarts, but are also completely original at the same time.

Themes: magic, saving the world, magical school, vampires, family, ghosts, m/m romance ...more

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