Carry On

Wow! I don't even know where to start with this book. This was definitely one of my most anticipated books (especially in terms of standalones and not continuing a series). I feel in love with the characters in Fangirl. I obviously loved Cath and Levi, but I also loved the bits we got of Simon and Baz. So a whole 500+ page book about Simon and Baz was super exciting.

I loved that this book starts during their last year at Watford where they have already faced many challenges and overcome them. Instead we get as much information as we need as the story goes instead of a crazy summary of the previous years. Rainbow Rowell did a fantastic job of weaving in the past experiences. I also loved the pace of this book. We got straight to the point without a bunch of world building and explanations.

As soon as I started the book, I already felt like I knew the world. I do not think this was because I was already introduced to the world in Fangirl, I think it was just written well enough to not have a learning curve. There are many similarities to HP but I think that is part of The Chosen One trope and the fan fiction meta aspect of this book.

I will admit my one concern going into this book was the fact that this was a book about fanfiction of a fictional book from a different fictional book (and yes it is that complex). So I was worried it was going to be too much meta but I did not feel that way at all. There was really nothing relating to the original fanfiction from Fangirl other than character names.

I already want to reread this book and I really want to read Fangirl now. Both will probably happen by the end of the year so I can revisit these characters. This book is very different than Rainbow Rowell's other contemporary books, but she did a great job with this fantasy story!