JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is an author who has such a long backlist of critically acclaimed books that I’ve been trying to find time to read. Her 2013 young adult novel Eleanor and Park was one of my favourite novels of that year, and Carry On tackles some really necessary and age appropriate themes for a young adult novel.

Carry On is about Simon Snow, aka the worst chosen one to have ever been chosen. He is returning to Watford, a magical school in England for his eighth and final year. And over the first few months of his final schooling year, he is forced to come to terms with himself as the Chosen One, destined to defeat the Insidious Humdrum – a creature creating magical Dead Spots all over England. Additionally, Simon is forced to befriend his nemesis and roommate Baz (who he’s fairly certain is a vampire and is trying to kill him) and has agreed to help Baz determine the cause of his mother’s death, who was the previous headmistress at Watford before the current Mage was instated.

The novel is very refreshing – it’s a witty and wildy fun story. It’s told through several narrative voices, including Simon, his roommate Baz, his friend Penelope, and his girlfriend Agatha. Simon and Penelope’s friendship reminded me a lot of Hermione and Harry’s friendship in Harry Potter.

I was sceptical at first because it sounded like an eerily similar plot to Harry Potter, but Rainbow was able to take a premise and a cast of characters and present them in a unique way. She did a marvellous job of crafting her own magical world using shared elements from Harry Potter and other novels set in magic schools.

Carry On begins after Simon has already spent seven years at this school. So the reader really is thrown into the story and for the first fifty pages, they feel like they don’t understand what’s happening. But that’s the appeal of the novel. You miss that first few years of schooling year where Simon meets all of the other students and bonds with his friends, and you simply find out about previous events from passing comments by the characters. It means the reader is really engaged in the story, but it also provides a lot of comic relief.

Simon is a fantastic protagonist. His girlfriend has just broken up with him, and he doesn’t really have any special magical ability – half of the time, he can’t even make his wand work. He seems a little lost, and unsure, and he’s constantly worried about Baz’s next prank or trick that could get Simon killed. It’s a comedy of errors for Simon, and it’s a series of hilarious plot points for the reader.

The relationship between each of the characters is wonderful. The dialogue is realistic and hilarious, and quite early on in the book Rainbow drops in a major twist that I didn’t anticipate. This is a spoiler-free review so I won’t say it, but Rainbow Rowell really has a way of writing books that you want to read in one sitting because they effortlessly draw you in. She’s a master at crafting three dimensional characters with raw, moving stories and motives that make the reader relate to them.

Rainbow tackles many themes in the novel that are highly necessary for its teenage readership. Two characters in the book are coming to terms with their homosexuality, and Simon of course is trying to understand his role in this magical world (considering he doesn’t really seem to have that much magical ability). This novel pays homage to the Harry Potter series through its structure and plot progression. Both books are set in the United Kingdom and Watford seems to resemble Hogwarts in many ways.

Rainbow Rowell weaves magical fairytale and romance into one story, and before you know it, you’ve read the 600+ page book a lot quicker than you originally thought possible. Carry On is a love story, but also an entertaining young adult novel with lots of mystery. It’s charming, delightful, poignant, laugh-out-loud and just a wonderful read. Rainbow has created warm, fun, complex characters; if you loved Harry Potter and you’re looking for something that feels similar, Carry On comes highly recommended.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough.

Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

I loved this novel – it’s heartbreaking but cute, sad but lovely. The relationship between Eleanor and Park seems organic. They aren’t the typical love interests of a YA novel, and I liked that. They bonded over comic books and music, and barely spoke to each other for the first couple of weeks of knowing each other.

Eleanor’s home life was the heartbreaking part of the story, and Park’s inability to help her was the saddest part of the story. In some way, you feel like they won’t end up together, and you read the entire novel hoping you’re wrong.

The dialogue and social interactions between Eleanor, Park, and the other students at their school is extremely realistic – the trivial issues that face high school students were also on point in the novel. This book is an easy read, and there are short chapters/sections for the reader.

The characters are wonderful – Rainbow Rowell has fleshed them out so they’re believable and realistic and easy to love and care for. And the description in the book is fantastic. Everything is so vividly described, but it’s not over the top. You get just enough information so that the story moves along quickly without you being bombarded by description of people, places, events etc.

I did have one absolute PET HATE with this book, and that was the point of view. The entire novel is in third person, but it switches between Eleanor and Park. This means that although it’s third person, each section focuses on either Eleanor’s feelings or Park’s feelings. And although this would’ve been fantastic if it was in first person, where their feelings can be easily stated, I hated that it was third person. It made things a bit clunky and heavy. Sometimes Park would only have one line (in third person) and then it would switch to one line from Eleanor’s third person point of view, and I’d think ‘what’s the point? why not make this first person and switch between their thoughts with a much smoother transition?’

Anyway, this novel is gripping and lovely and I recommend it to all you YA lovers out there.

My Score: 7/10
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