Carry on : : the Rise and Fall of Simon Snow

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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 starts 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"-- Provided by publisher.

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Good submitted by jessicazhang on June 18, 2016, 4:28pm This book is extremely touching and one of my favorite books of all time

Harry Potter pastiche is readable, but not epic submitted by Library Lindsay on June 23, 2016, 8:18am Rainbow Rowell's take on "Carry On" is hard to understand. Readers pick up at the end of a grand Harry-Potter-like saga. "Chosen one" Simon Snow is in his last year of magic school and - in fitting with the genre - has to make amends with his girlfriend, figure out what his enemy/roommate Baz is plotting, and defeat the Insidious Humdrum that has been causing havoc since his first year of school.

Those who have read Fangirl are familiar with "Carry On" as an epic (imaginary) fanfiction written by the character Cath Avery. In the world of Fangirl, Gemma T. Leslie is the next J.K. Rowling and is about to release the last book in the Simon Snow series. Excerpts of "Carry On" appeared in Fangirl between chapters.

However, Rowell's "Carry On" is not meant to be read as if it were Cath's story. Instead, Rowell takes the imaginary series by Gemma T. Leslie and Avery's fanfiction and spins them into her own stand-a-lone novel.

Rowell tries to create both a romance and a fantasy epic. The book is very readable and banter-filled; Rowell really is good at prose. Both Snow's antagonistic relationship with Baz and loyal friendship with Penelope are strong character duos. However, without six book setting the groundwork the stakes aren't high enough for the reader.

The book is fast-paced and the courageous characters encounter their fair share of action. But, for me at least, the tone never quite hit serious and suspenseful. Since we just meet the characters as they are grown and so involved with the issues of their world, their problems and adventures come across as off-beat and almost campy.

I enjoyed Harry Potter and I think I would have enjoyed the "World of Mages" more if it had been given time to breathe and grow with the characters.

Fan-Fic Tribute submitted by sdunav on June 27, 2016, 8:48pm Just plain fun, lots of it with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

A Cure for your HP Hangover submitted by LibraryLiz on July 22, 2016, 7:33pm If you're missing the wizarding world, and want some more teenage wizard struggles, Simon Snow is your guy. This book has just as many crazy creatures as Rowling's Hogwarts, and it has the added bonus of not just seeing the story from the main protagonist's view. You get to look inside the minds of his rival, his best friend, his girlfriend, his mentor, and ghosts! If you want another book to escape the muggle world with, this is a good fit.

SO FREAKING BEAUTIFUL submitted by Corgo0828 on June 17, 2018, 3:41pm This is one of the best books ever!

Completely sucked into the action submitted by alleywater on July 22, 2018, 8:56am Great fun from start to finish. The story follows Simon, the flawed main character, through his last year at school and dealing with his horrible roommate Baz. I read through this book so quickly that a couple of months later I felt like I needed a reread just to get all of the glorious details.

love this book! submitted by RowPio on June 24, 2019, 10:08pm Even though the Harry Potter look alike parts are almost cringy to read, I loved the plot and can not wait for the sequel! SnowBaz is cannon!!!

Love it! submitted by ljoyclifford on March 10, 2020, 7:42pm I got this book at the end of the summer game book/prize card, took a bit for me to get interested then got sucked in! I am going to check to see if the next book in the series will be on the cart of books this summer- but I know it's available to request here.

SUCH A GREAT AUTHOR submitted by Nay7 on August 16, 2020, 12:01am LOVE THIS BOOK