Carry On || Review || Spoiler Free
It has been a while since I've had so much fun reading a book as I had whilst reading Carry On.
Carry On was a christmas gift to me this christmas and I wasn't planning on reading it right away because I was in the middle of another book that I was really loving. I just wanted to read the first page of Carry On to get a feel for the book, but then, all of a sudden, I was on page 50 and then there was no going back.
I think that says a lot about this book.
Now I think it's important to get this out of the way immediately:
In Rainbow Rowell's book Fangirl the main character, Cath, writes fan fiction about Simon and Baz, who are kind of based off of Harry and Draco from the Harry Potter books. In Fangirl you get to read little experts of Cath's fan fiction. However, Rainbow Rowell fell in love with Simon and Baz after creating the two for her book Fangirl and wanted to give Simon and Baz their own story. That's how this book came about. So yea, they're kind of based off of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, however Baz and Simon are not copies of Harry and Draco. Simon and Baz felt like Rainbow Rowell characters from the first to last page of Carry On. There are definitely strong differences between the Carry On characters and the Harry Potter characters.
Some people also seem to think that Carry On is some sort of Harry Potter parody, but it is not. Carry On has it's own original plot. At the beginning it is indeed very easy to see similarities between the Harry Potter world and characters, but the further you get into the plot of this book, the more it stands on its own.
I have been a big fan of Rainbow Rowell's preview YA works. She writes interesting characters that are often hard to fit into a stereo type. The characters have their own voices and are both flawed but very likeable, in my opinion.
In Carry On she was once again successful in creating characters that I adore. The Carry On cast might even be my favourite cast of characters she's written.
The main group of characters we follow are Simon, Baz and Penny.
Simon Snow is our Chosen One in this story. However, he's not very successful at being a Chosen One. He has the power of a Chosen One, but not the skills. I though it was great to see the story of a Chosen One who doesn't fit the job. Simon is also an all around person. He has a good heart and a very entertaining internal monologue. His voice interested me right from the first page on and I personally just really adore him.
Baz Pitch, or Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch if you will, is amazing. I think that most people who have read this book will come out saying that Baz is their favourite. I can't say I completely agree because I have a really hard time picking a favourite between these characters, but I do really share everyones love for Baz.
Baz is snarky, quick witted and kind of an overall tragedy. There's a million good things I could say about Baz, but I think I'd just end up rambling. Baz really brings a lot to the story, of course plot wise because he is a main characters, but also to the character of this story because his character is so outspoken.
Penelope Bunce is Simon's best friend. She will probably remind mist people of Hermione from Harry Potter, though I was glad to see that she too really was her own character. Penny is ambitious and fierce as can be. She is powerful and actually has the skill to be the Chosen One that Simon is not. To say it bluntly; Penny takes shit from literally no one and I think we all aspire to be like her. I love her.
The plot of this book was so much fun. I hadn't really known what to expect from Rainbow Rowell writing a urban fantasy plot, but I think she did a really good job with the plot. I don't think it really is a typical urban fantasy plot, it actually feels like you're reading a contemporary in an urban fantasy world for a big part of the books, but that did not make the plot less entertaining. Towards the end it started to feel more like an urban fantasy plot and I really like the decision Rainbow Rowell made for the plot.
I read this book in two days, so I think that speaks for how well this book was able to keep my attention. I always cared about what was happening because I always cared about the characters.
I really recommend this book, especially if you are familiar with Rainbow Rowell and have liked other books she has put out. This book just brings a big smile on face and I know I will reread it many times in the future.
Also, for the people who might be wondering, you don't have to read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell first to be able to read this book. The two books stand completely on their own and there won't be spoilers, or things you'll understand less, if you read one book before the other.
If you see any grammar and/or spelling errors, please tell me! English is not my first language, I'm still learning!
Carry On was a christmas gift to me this christmas and I wasn't planning on reading it right away because I was in the middle of another book that I was really loving. I just wanted to read the first page of Carry On to get a feel for the book, but then, all of a sudden, I was on page 50 and then there was no going back.
I think that says a lot about this book.
Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Format: Hardcover
Page count: 522
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis: 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.
Now I think it's important to get this out of the way immediately:
In Rainbow Rowell's book Fangirl the main character, Cath, writes fan fiction about Simon and Baz, who are kind of based off of Harry and Draco from the Harry Potter books. In Fangirl you get to read little experts of Cath's fan fiction. However, Rainbow Rowell fell in love with Simon and Baz after creating the two for her book Fangirl and wanted to give Simon and Baz their own story. That's how this book came about. So yea, they're kind of based off of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, however Baz and Simon are not copies of Harry and Draco. Simon and Baz felt like Rainbow Rowell characters from the first to last page of Carry On. There are definitely strong differences between the Carry On characters and the Harry Potter characters.
Some people also seem to think that Carry On is some sort of Harry Potter parody, but it is not. Carry On has it's own original plot. At the beginning it is indeed very easy to see similarities between the Harry Potter world and characters, but the further you get into the plot of this book, the more it stands on its own.
I have been a big fan of Rainbow Rowell's preview YA works. She writes interesting characters that are often hard to fit into a stereo type. The characters have their own voices and are both flawed but very likeable, in my opinion.
In Carry On she was once again successful in creating characters that I adore. The Carry On cast might even be my favourite cast of characters she's written.
The main group of characters we follow are Simon, Baz and Penny.
Simon Snow is our Chosen One in this story. However, he's not very successful at being a Chosen One. He has the power of a Chosen One, but not the skills. I though it was great to see the story of a Chosen One who doesn't fit the job. Simon is also an all around person. He has a good heart and a very entertaining internal monologue. His voice interested me right from the first page on and I personally just really adore him.
Baz Pitch, or Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch if you will, is amazing. I think that most people who have read this book will come out saying that Baz is their favourite. I can't say I completely agree because I have a really hard time picking a favourite between these characters, but I do really share everyones love for Baz.
Baz is snarky, quick witted and kind of an overall tragedy. There's a million good things I could say about Baz, but I think I'd just end up rambling. Baz really brings a lot to the story, of course plot wise because he is a main characters, but also to the character of this story because his character is so outspoken.
Penelope Bunce is Simon's best friend. She will probably remind mist people of Hermione from Harry Potter, though I was glad to see that she too really was her own character. Penny is ambitious and fierce as can be. She is powerful and actually has the skill to be the Chosen One that Simon is not. To say it bluntly; Penny takes shit from literally no one and I think we all aspire to be like her. I love her.
The plot of this book was so much fun. I hadn't really known what to expect from Rainbow Rowell writing a urban fantasy plot, but I think she did a really good job with the plot. I don't think it really is a typical urban fantasy plot, it actually feels like you're reading a contemporary in an urban fantasy world for a big part of the books, but that did not make the plot less entertaining. Towards the end it started to feel more like an urban fantasy plot and I really like the decision Rainbow Rowell made for the plot.
I read this book in two days, so I think that speaks for how well this book was able to keep my attention. I always cared about what was happening because I always cared about the characters.
I really recommend this book, especially if you are familiar with Rainbow Rowell and have liked other books she has put out. This book just brings a big smile on face and I know I will reread it many times in the future.
Also, for the people who might be wondering, you don't have to read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell first to be able to read this book. The two books stand completely on their own and there won't be spoilers, or things you'll understand less, if you read one book before the other.
If you see any grammar and/or spelling errors, please tell me! English is not my first language, I'm still learning!
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