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ARCHIVE - BOTM discussions > Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - December 2015

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message 1: by Kristie, Moderator (Retired) (new)

Kristie | 5930 comments Our BOTM for December is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. Please discuss here and remember to use spoiler tags as needed, as everyone may start at different times and reads at different speeds.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Book Summary
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.


message 2: by Alice (new)

Alice Haefeli | 2 comments So I'm halfway through the book and I really enjoy it but also can't stop comparing it to Harry Potter. Like every aspect.


message 3: by Kristie, Moderator (Retired) (new)

Kristie | 5930 comments I've heard that too. I've seen people questioning if it is Harry Potter fan fiction, which supposedly it's not.


message 4: by Suzanne (new)

Suzanne | 2453 comments I've heard the same thing. I'm on the library waiting list, so maybe I'll see for myself :)


message 5: by Silvia (new)

Silvia Turcios | 395 comments I am waiting for my copy too, but I am not surprised at all to hear that Carry On seems like a fanfiction of Harry Potter, I mean in Fangirl sounded like that, but that's Ok for me at least, I like to read fanfiction and I like Harry Potter, so I guess I will like it :D


message 6: by Kristie, Moderator (Retired) (new)

Kristie | 5930 comments I loved Harry Potter, so hopefully if it sounds like fan fiction, I'll still love it.

I'm not sure I'll get to this in December, though I'd like to. It's a bit of a busy month and my reading has been slow lately. I'm still finishing up all my November reads. I'm off to a good start though...I haven't even started the book and I've already had to look up what a "git" is. lol


message 7: by Anika (new)

Anika I'm currently half way through Carry On and am enjoying it. When I first read Fangirl the comparisons to Harry Potter were as if Simon Snow was an exact copy of HP! However I am enjoying Carry On a lot and since I am a major Potterhead it's rather entertaining to compare the two.


message 8: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments I really enjoyed this book. For the first few chapters I couldn't help but compare it to Harry Potter - the similarities are striking. Once you get through the first part and into the story more, that all falls away and it's a great page-turning read. I did feel that, having read Fangirl, I knew some of what was going to happen. In some ways it might have been better if I hadn't read Fangirl first.


message 9: by Suzanne (new)

Suzanne | 2453 comments My library book hasn't come through yet. Just curious - we saw a lot of this story in Fangirl - are some of the passages the same?


message 10: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments Suzanne wrote: "My library book hasn't come through yet. Just curious - we saw a lot of this story in Fangirl - are some of the passages the same?"

It's been a while since I read Fangirl, Suzanne. I couldn't say for sure whether any of the passages were the same; if they were it didn't stand out for me. It was more that I knew part of the outcome for Baz and Simon from Fangirl. That didn't make it less of a good read though.


message 11: by Suzanne (new)

Suzanne | 2453 comments Thanks Mary-ellen! I'm still 4th on the list - but I'll get there. I may get tempted enough to just buy it instead :)


message 12: by Kristie, Moderator (Retired) (new)

Kristie | 5930 comments I haven't gotten to this one yet and I haven't read Fangirl, but I'm pretty sure that the author answered a question somewhere (can't remember where I saw it...maybe on the book page??) and stated that this is not the story that the MC was writing in Fangirl.


message 13: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments I hope the other three people are speed-readers Suzanne ;)


message 14: by Christina (new)

Christina Test (christinatest) So I just found out that Carry On its a fanfic of a fictional fandom written by a fictional character in Fangirl. The fandom does parallel HP in the broadest sense. I saw it described as basically described as Harry and Draco are now lovers. It seems to me to be one of those parodies they do so often for movies (ie: scary movie, superhero movie, not another teen movies). I don't think I will be reading this one afterall.


message 15: by Reyes (new)

Reyes (reyessf) I suppose it's inevitable to compare 'Carry On' to the Harry Potter series, but personally I don't think it's fanfic at all... I quite enjoyed the story, my only complaint is that the end felt too rushed - I think the plot relies heavily on the romance and that part of the story is closed beautifully, but I wouldn't have minded a couple more chapters to develop the mystery a bit more. The writing was brilliant as usual :)


message 16: by Christina (new)

Christina Test (christinatest) Reyes wrote: "I suppose it's inevitable to compare 'Carry On' to the Harry Potter series, but personally I don't think it's fanfic at all... I quite enjoyed the story, my only complaint is that the end felt too ..."

No it actually is a fanfic. It is written by the main character in Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. She is writing Carry On throughout the Fangirl story. It is true that it is not HP fanfic. It is Simon Snow fanfic which is what parallels the HP universe. You should read Fangirl and then it will all make sense.


message 17: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments Wow! Thinking about this does my head in a little. I've read both books and I don't see Carry On as fanfic at all. The main character in Fangirl wrote fanfic, but it was purely fictitious, just a made up element of that particular story. The author of Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell, then went on to develop Simon and Baz in a whole new story of their own which is Carry On ... but she created them originally, so in my mind it isn't fanfic - they're her very own characters in an entirely new story. If anything, I'd call it a spin-off. Whatever anyone chooses to call it though, both stories are great!


message 18: by Christina (new)

Christina Test (christinatest) It is all a little confusing.


message 19: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments It is! :)


message 20: by Tracey (new)

Tracey | 90 comments Whether or not this is a fanfic from a previous book, or a fanfic of HP, I think there is definitely some inspiration from HP in there.

I do feel like the beginning of the book is a bit confusing. I'm having trouble figuring out where this book is heading.


message 21: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments I felt the same way at the start, Chase. It was worth hanging in there though.


message 22: by Reyes (new)

Reyes (reyessf) Mary-ellen wrote: "Wow! Thinking about this does my head in a little. I've read both books and I don't see Carry On as fanfic at all. The main character in Fangirl wrote fanfic, but it was purely fictitious, just a m..."

That's exactly what I meant! Definitely worth reading in any case :)


message 23: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments Reyes wrote: "Mary-ellen wrote: "Wow! Thinking about this does my head in a little. I've read both books and I don't see Carry On as fanfic at all. The main character in Fangirl wrote fanfic, but it was purely f..."

I know Reyes. I was totally agreeing with you. :) I was trying to add an explanation for why it isn't fanfic. I think if you haven't read both books it's easy to jump to conclusions based on all the posts. I'd hate to think anyone might miss out on a good book because they assumed it was something it isn't.


message 24: by Reyes (new)

Reyes (reyessf) Mary-ellen wrote: "Reyes wrote: "Mary-ellen wrote: "Wow! Thinking about this does my head in a little. I've read both books and I don't see Carry On as fanfic at all. The main character in Fangirl wrote fanfic, but i..."

I'm so sorry! I know you were agreeing with me, I was trying to thank you for explaining my point far better than I did, but now that I have re-read my comment I realize it came out wrong :( so sorry about that! English is not my first language and sometimes I have trouble getting my thoughts across


message 25: by Mary-ellen (new)

Mary-ellen (missy666) | 545 comments Reyes wrote: "Mary-ellen wrote: "Reyes wrote: "Mary-ellen wrote: "Wow! Thinking about this does my head in a little. I've read both books and I don't see Carry On as fanfic at all. The main character in Fangirl ..."

No need to apologise Reyes. I'm good. I was worried that I had offended you. Too funny! :)


message 26: by Silvia (new)

Silvia Turcios | 395 comments I have just started with Carry On and I am enjoying very much the story. I do think the story started as a fanfic, because the world itself is too similar to Harry Potter's world, the background, the situation; however, the story is completely different and for me it has won his own value. It really doesn't matter if it's technically a fanfic or not, the heart of the story is genuine and so far is really good.


message 27: by Silvia (new)

Silvia Turcios | 395 comments I finished it and loved it!


message 28: by Kristie, Moderator (Retired) (new)

Kristie | 5930 comments Glad you loved it, Silvia!


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