Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow 3) by Rainbow Rowell

[Ulysses]

Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow 3)
By Rainbow Rowell
St. Martin’s Press, 2021
Five stars

I don’t know why Rainbow Rowell expresses any surprise that she wrote a trilogy about Simon Snow and his friends from the Watford school—seems to me that these books have been pretty inevitable. The third book exceeded expectations, both in terms of its story and the emotional depths it plumbs. I was happy with the ending, but it sure felt to me like there’s another book waiting to be written. So many questions.

Having survived their adventures in the USA, Penelope, Agatha, Simon and Baz find themselves back in London—with an American friend, Shepard Love. He gets caught up in Penelope Bunce’s machinations because he seems to have been cursed by a demon, and Penelope is pretty sure her mother can fix it. What ensues is cleverly written and funny. These young people are truly endearing.

Compared to the second book, “Any Way the Wind Blows” is not nearly so action-packed, and yet that is a false impression. The aftermath of their American adventure leaves all of our young Watford grads a little gobsmacked, and things just get stranger. Beginning with a prologue in which a mysterious Lady Ruth ponders two magical candles and her lost children, the young people and their non-magical friend get pulled deeper into odd goings-on in the hidden magical world. Simon and Baz have to figure out their relationship, Agatha finds herself dealing with a grim-faced former classmate at her father’s medical practice named Niamh Brody, and Penny needs to deal with Shepard and his curse when her mother refuses to care about a “Normal.”

What is so wonderful about this book is the richness of the author’s exploration of these relationships; but there’s also a gimlet-eyed look at the magical world’s prejudice against “Normals.” Shepard is a remarkable, utterly charming character, and as we (and Penny) get to know him, it becomes clear that the World of Mages’ dismissive position on non-magical folk is not just bigoted, but possibly limiting. Likewise Agatha, the golden girl who lost Simon to Baz, finds herself learning things about Watford from the humorless frowning Niamh that open her eyes to a side of her own magic she’s never appreciated.

The nicest personal close-up is of Baz and Simon’s relationship as it is forced to evolve. Baz, the arrogant, aristocratic rich boy finds himself fighting to keep the magic-less orphaned Simon by his side; and Simon, for his part, realizes that wallowing in self-pity and insecurity will not solve his problems or get him what he really needs. Simon’s ambivalence about his wings and tail provides one of the book’s most beautiful moments, as Baz caresses his boyfriend’s dragon-like features and finds himself appreciating their warmth, their softness, and their physical connection to Simon.

There is a fairly powerful finale to this marvelous book, but it leaves several important things—including Simon’s wings and tail—unresolved. There is more love in the air by the end of the book, and that’s just one reason I found myself not wanting to leave these stories behind. I hope the author carries on. This tale isn’t yet told.