And, wow, am I grateful I did.
Carry On is a fantastic novel, especially considering it's Rowell's debut fantasy. While I loved pretty much everything in it, the real standout areas were the fun and fluffy plot elements, the character dynamics, and the world's ability to fully transport you.
This is not a book meant to bog you down. Even though it has serious parts, like every good novel should, there's not a single dull or stressful moment. Reading this book—I'm not even exaggerating—was bliss. When I started it, I had just gotten off of a long list of very high stakes books. I'd forgotten that sometimes a book makes you happy, through and through, the entire time, even when the characters are in trouble (shocking I didn't get that with fantasy war novel Rule of Wolves). Even most rom coms can't do that for me anymore—I get so wrapped up in the characters that the inevitable end-of-act-two fall breaks my heart.
Carry On was almost like high-quality fanfiction. Every scene felt like a gift, like Rowell wasn't afraid of recognizing exactly what the reader wants in the story, and then giving it to them without fail. Maybe it was because Carry On started as a vessel for a fanfic plotline in Fangirl, and fanfic is by definition what the reader wants to see happen to the characters.
I also think that Rowell wrote one of those rare books where what the reader wants never interferes with what the story needs—maybe because, in her own words, this is just a twist on the classic chosen one story, a melting pot of all her favorite elements combined with her characters. Basically, she picked what she liked—what readers like—and let the rest fall from the picture. What was left was a fangirl's dream, a thrilling and romantic novel with fast-paced drama and characters I could get behind.
But a book is more than its plot elements—the characters are just as important, if not more, and when I praise the characters in this book, I really mean it (not that I don't mean it with other books, of course). Without even realizing it, I went into Carry On expecting to not like anyone all that much—except Baz, who I've heard too many and also not enough good things about. There weren't really any characters I actually knew about, though, so Simon got the brunt of my pre-dislike.
In my head, Simon was a bit of a knock-off Harry Potter (Carry On fans please don't come at me, he was originally in Fangirl as a knock-off Harry Potter), and I'm not Harry's biggest fan. I don't hate him or anything, he's just a bit boring. I never even read all the Potter books, just saw the movies (a sin, I know), but he's way too basic for me. I don't know, maybe I struggle reading fantasy novels about men. Anyway, after expecting Simon to bore me, realizing he was funny and interesting was a pleasant surprise.
Honestly, all of the characters were a pleasant surprise in this book, even Baz, who I knew I would like but wasn't sure I would love. I adored them all fully, immediately (except Agatha, but we'll get into that in a moment). When Baz started talking about Simon being his rock while he was kidnapped then went "and I'm hopelessly in love with him," I died. I just cannot, that was the most adorable thing ever. Baz understood the assignment the whole book, I swear to god.
Penny was also really cool. Most of the time, she was the smartest person in the room, something Simon could not usually appreciate because he kind of didn't understand anything, but Baz recognized Penny as the genius she was, which was so nice to read, after so many novels pushed the "smart girl" aside as a vessel for an info dump (a boring trope that was much more common in 2015, when Carry On released).
The only character I didn't like—hated, in fact—was Agatha. She was so selfish the entire book. I understand that she wanted a normal life—I would, too, in her situation. I understand that her parents have never exactly been loving or present. I even understand that she didn't know what to do with Simon, or whether she should break up with him at all. What I don't understand is why she thought everyone's lives should revolve around her when Simon literally thought making it to 20 would be lucky. And he should care that she wants to be shallow with her Normal friends and doesn't want to even try being friends with Penny, the only magician giving her the time of day? Agatha only loved herself. She might've believed she loved Simon as a friend, but she didn't. When his life was on the line, she ran the other way without hesitation, not even considering if someone was going to come help him.
But I did love to hate her, so she had that going for her.
The only character I think was pushed a little too far to the side was Lucy. The reader learned Simon's whole backstory, but he never did. It was all just a little incomplete for me, something I wouldn't have a problem with if it wasn't originally released as a standalone. It's supposed to be the big finale after, like, seven books of fighting. Why isn't every string neatly tied? Why didn't I finish feeling like the characters finally have peace, or at least manageable lives? Seeing them move into an apartment isn't enough for me—give me six months after that, if necessary, but prove to me that the characters will be happy. Convince me Simon and Baz will work through saving the world and being a vampire and having wings. It's hard to accept an ending that feels like someone slapped "and then they all lived happily ever after" on the page and called it a day. I don't want to be told that—I want proof.
Anyway. I guess it's a good thing she decided to write two more books, so that Lucy can come back and tell Simon where he came from.
One aspect that doesn't need any work is the world's ability to transport you. I won't sugarcoat it (when have I ever, on the blog), the world itself wasn't the most fascinating or original. I didn't hate it, but I didn't feel like I knew it, either. So I guess maybe it wasn't the whole worlds doing the transporting—maybe just Watford and Baz's house. Either way, Rowell does a fantastic job drawing the reader in. At first, when I was still skeptical about Simon, characters saying "sod off" ripped me out of the world so that I heard the phrase in Spike's voice (yes, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer—it was practically his catchphrase). It wasn't necessarily Rowell's fault that I left the story, but it happened nonetheless. As Carry On continued, however, I was inside of it, fully emerged in the world and their drama. At one point, when Lucy said everything happens in sevens, I was confused because that's my lucky number, and usually things happen in sevens in my life because I make them happen in sevens. Then my (very distractible) brain traveled to Christianity's fixation on the number six, and it struck me that Christianity and religion in general felt impossibly far away. Rowell pulled me into her story so much that I struggled to fully comprehend my own. The rest of the world being perfectly developed just didn't seem all that important to me after an experience like that.
Overall, this was an outstanding fantasy debut and a terrific novel in general. I'm so excited for Any Way the Wind Blows in July and know that every single one of these characters has so much potential. Huge shout-out to Julia for introducing me to Baz and Simon and Penny—like many things, she loved it first but welcomed me into it anyway, so thank you. Until next time, keep reading, readers.