Carry On

Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Type: Hardback
Read: 2nd January 2016 - 6th January 2016
Rating: 5/5
Published: 8th October 2015 by Macmillan Childrens Books (UK)

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savour his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he'll be safe. Simon can't even enjoy the fact that his room-mate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can't stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you're the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savour anything.

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.

This Book. Is. Amazing.
Rainbow Rowell first introduced us to Simon and Baz in the book 'Fangirl'. The main character Cath wrote Carry On fanfiction about the two characters. In that book, i was so-so about the story. I loved the fangirl story, but I was also so torn on the Simon & Baz stuff. It was so Harry Potter.

Admitedly like everyone else, when we found out Rainbow was actually going to write her own version of Carry On, i was excited. Like crazily slow. I just didnt' really have a clue what to expected. Which was good. I pre-ordered the book and was super excited when it arrived. I just kinda never got around to reading it, partly because I was in a reading slump and secondly, the hype. I was scared. What if it didnt' live up to such. I feel bad when that happens.

But alas. I picked it as my second read of 2016 and I don't regret waiting either. This is Rainbows take on the two characters. It's nothing 'additional' to the story in Fangirl. Its completly seperate.

So the story, its fantasy, it's magical and its so not Harry Potter. It's also very british! I loved that so much. Simon Snow is the chosen one, the one who will save the world of Mages, cept he is pretty terrible at controlling his magic. Baz, is his arch enemy, but they have to put up with each other, they share a room. The story takes place in Watford, and the final year at their for both Simon and Baz. When the start of the new school year comes, Simon cant' wait to get back, but when Baz doesnt' appear back at school for well over six weeks, Simon gets worried. But he cant' work out why, is it because Baz is working on ways to distroy him.

The story is told via Baz, Simon, Penny, Agatha and a few other main characters. I liked that alot, it was great to see things from everyones view point. The magic side of the story was great, not eveyone had the same level of power, and it was set in the "normal" world, and the spells were very fun. It was hard to read them without a sing-song voice in your head. The magic spells were your everyday nursery rhymes. And you think by just saying these words, how easy it was to understand what the spells meant.

I loved Penny as a character, she was so there. Just saying it as it was, being all geeky and yet smart and clever. She and Simon together were pure gold. I did love Baz as well. He's sensitive side came out at times and you realise he is just like everyone else. The main draw of this book, which i'm sure the hype was all for is how Baz and Simon getogether. It's a cute romance, its gradual and confuses Simon more than Baz at first. It's addictive. I wanted more of them.

The book moves on fast after the first "book" and you find out the story, who killed Baz' mum and how can the student get justice and why does Simon get caught up in so much trouble. Simon as a character was sometimes annoying. He seemed immature at times and always thought the Mage would be his go to person. The twist is good. I loved it.

However this book is very british, i think i loved it more so because of that. There has been alot of research go into how us Brits are on a day-to-day basis and the things we say. Who our british icons are (yay for the Ant & Dec part) and our swearing (tut-tut!).

I'm glad i went into this book, cautious and without expectation. It exceeded everything I thought it would. Rainbow doesnt' write fantasy books and with this being her first, she got it right. I truely loved the book and would tell everyone worried about it being a HP rip off, to just read it, forget HP as this isn't anything to do with it. The likeness ends pretty quickly!

I want more!!!  

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @RainbowRowell