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“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.”
Book Synopsis
Carry On is a modern fantasy novel set in England. Simon Snow is the chosen one, prophesied to defeat the greatest evil the World of Mages has ever faced. This evil, known as the Insidious Humdrum, is mysterious – no one except Simon and his best friend, Penelope Bunce, has ever seen him! Yet his presence can be felt everywhere, sucking magic out of the world like holes in the ozone layer.
I’ve been meaning to read this book for ages, since I’m always on the lookout for LGBT+ reads. Rainbow Rowell has been on my radar since Fangirl was published back in 2013, but I didn’t pick up any of her books until I read Eleanor and Park a couple years ago – and loved it. I’d heard good things about Carry On, and I was not disappointed.
The writing style is typical for Rowell, with short chapters and different characters’ viewpoints broken up under headings. When it was published it was meant to be a standalone book, but it is written like it’s the last book in a series. The book is peppered with references to events that happened in the past that we didn’t read about. I thought this was handled well.
As you’ve probably heard, this is a gay love story as well as a fantasy adventure. The romance was sweet and believable, though there were fewer makeouts than I was lead to believe. When the makeouts finally happened, they were cute as heck. If you enjoy enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, you’ll enjoy this!
Each character was unique, believable, and very human (even when they weren’t human at all). My personal favourites were the main trio (Simon, Baz, and Penelope), Ebb the goatherd, Nicodemus, and Baz’s aunt Fiona. My biggest character criticism is Agatha. While I understand where she was coming from, I feel like every other character was necessary to the plot except Agatha. She could have been cut out and the book would not have changed. It doesn’t help that she just wasn’t likeable. She gets kudos for stealing the dog, but that’s about it.
I loved the wackiness of the magic system, where common phrases, song lyrics, and lines of poetry can become spells if they are repeated enough by people to gain power.
If you’re looking for a good, lighthearted read, I definitely recommend this book! It’s not without bloodshed but has less death than other books in the fantasy genre. I look forward to reading the sequel, Wayward Son, which came out in September 2019.
Have you read Carry On? What were your thoughts? Let me know down below!
