Review: Carry On

Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: October 6th, 2015
522 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

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 sets 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.

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.

Carry On started out as a fan fiction Cath is writing in Rainbow's book, Fangirl, We all figured it would be just that - fan fiction - until the glorious day Rainbow announced she was writing it and publishing it. We met Simon Snow and his vampire roommate Baz as they migrated the wizarding world and passing classes. It was pretty much Harry Potter but with some guy on guy action and the snippets we got were wonderfully written and intriguing so I was really excited to pick this one up when it hit shelves. I can't say I wasn't flabbergasted since this book is pretty much Harry Potter. But this one stands on its own to me and I enjoyed every minute of it, though I'd still love a Fangirl sequel too.

Simon Snow has just started his final year at the Watford School of Magicks and it's already off to a rough start. His roommate, Baz, hasn't shown up yet and he's being visited by a couple of ghosts. Not to mention he still hasn't perfected his magic and is pretty sure he isn't the real chosen one. Most wizards have life figured out before they graduate. but Simon has no idea what will happen next, he mostly just really wants Baz back.

This story intrigued me from start to finish. There was a lot of action, some spooky moments, and the love between Simon and Baz was magnificent. I love a good story where two people who supposedly hate each other realize just the opposite and fall in love. These two have such a fun relationship. They bicker all the time, Simon is scared to go near Baz's bed yet can't get enough of him. There were scenes that I remembered from Fangirl that made me smile. I love that Rainbow incorporated what we already knew about this series and this fan fiction and turned it into something real. The characters leaped off the pages and even though they bore similarities to real characters from the Harry Potter series, they still held up as their own people.

I love a good magic slash ghost slash love story and Simon and Baz delivered on all fronts. I love that Simon was able to find out who he really could be and that him and Baz were able to realixe their love for each other. They certainly had some swoon worthy moments and Rainbow knows how to write a good kissing scene for sure. I had a lot of fun reading this and it made me want to reread Fangirl so badly but I haven't really found the time to do that yet. Hopefully soon because I miss Cath and Levi as much as I'm sure I'll miss Simon and Baz soon. I'm not going to lie, I've been fangirling over this since it was announced and even though I'm finished it and have many books since it, I'm still all fluttery about these two, just like I still am with Cath and Levi.

“You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'd Recommend to People who Haven't Read YA Contemporary

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where we discuss wonderful bookish topics.

This week's topic is a choose your own. So here's mine:

Books I'd Recommend to People who Haven't Read YA Contemporary 

I've noticed that a lot of people won't read contemporary books. They much prefer something supernatural or with some sort of twist in it to make it more interesting. But then again, everyone has read The Fault in Our Stars, so if you loved that one here are some of my other faves that deal with real life, teen issues:

1. Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schimdt: A great companion to TFIOS, Mia has cancer but she will not let it rule her life. A much happier ending than the latter.

2. Open Road Summer by Emery Lord: A great story about friendship and love and trying to find out who you are.

3. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour: A very likable character in a world I'd love to live in, this book shows that we can't always get what we want but things will work out anyway. 

4. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: A very cute romantic story that will have you hoping for a happy ending. 

5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: For anyone who loves France or is ready to fall in love with France, or really for anyone just looking to fall in love.

6. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: A very good story about love from the wrong side of the tracks and the difficulties that come with it.

8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: A great book for anyone who has ever been obsessed with something, especially good if you've read Harry Potter. Lots of fun with some real life drama.

7. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: A different take in grief, this book paints a way too realistic picture of life after death.

9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver: A book about redemption and trying to make things right even when there's no real way to fix it.

10. Looking for Alaska by John Green: Because if you liked TFIOS, you'll love all of his other books. This is his first and it's pretty amazing.

Top Ten Tuesday: If You Like That, Try This

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we make lists about bookish topics to share around the world.

This week's topic is Top ten books to read if you like these T.V. shows, movies, plays, etc.

If you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer read... Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: Hunters, hunted, lots of puns and snark!

If you like Once Upon a Time read.... The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Fairytales remade into something completely different
                                                           
If you like Pitch Perfect read... This Song Will Save Your Life by Laila Sales: Finding out who you are through music, solo girl making friends

If you like Easy A read... Uninvited by Sophie Jordan: Ostracized for something she didn't do

If you like Mean Girls read... Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers: Mean girls of course!

If you like Romeo and Juliet read... Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: Forbidden love, war between families

If you like The Walking Dead read... The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan: Zombies!

If you like Romantic comedies read... anything by Jennifer E. Smith! Cuteness overload with happy endings

If you like Veronica Mars read... Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers: Girl goes from top to bottom, trying to figure out something that happened to her.

If you like Anything so much you want to watch it over and over again, read... Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This is a must for anyone who is obsessed with anything.

I feel like I could do this all day, there are so many good books and movies out there that relate to each other in on way or another. What's your top ten?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Book Friends

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where we make lists about books and bookish things.

This week's topic is Top Ten Characters Who X (fill in the blank) I'm going to do top ten characters I wish I were friends with (since this week has been all about friends for me!)

1. Zuzana (Daughter of Smoke and Bone) She is adorable and feisty and I feel like we'd get along great.

2. Kaylee (Soul Screamers) only because I want to be her.

3. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) I'd never have to be scared because she'd have my back. And I feel like I could get a smile out of her.

4. Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars and the Thousand Dollar Tan Line) Because who wouldn't want to hang with Ronnie?

5.  Sophie (Hex Hall) Everything about her. I love her.

6. Cath (Fangirl) We could just read all day and Levi would bring us coffee, yes? Yes.

7. Annabeth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) I could certainly learn a thing or two from Annabeth, and maybe she'd lend me her hat every once in awhile.

8. Lola (Lola and the Boy Next Door) She could make me outfits, I could help her pick out wigs! I would have so much fun raiding her closet!

9. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles) I want all the ladies in this book to go out for a drink with me, but Scarlet is my soul sister.

10. Becky (Confessions of a Shopaholic) Need I say more? Let's go shopping!


What's your Top Ten Tuesday and which girls would you love to be BFFs with?

Review: Fangirl

Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: September 10, 2013
Hardcover, 433 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . . But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.


Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.


For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

There are not enough words in the english language to explain how much I adored this book. Everything from the characters to the plot were unique and real. Cath is a lot like most of the people I know - scared about change and takes solace in reading and writing and escaping the real world. She's a fangirl. She loves Simon Snow and writes fan fiction after fan fiction about Simon and his nemesis, Baz, where she can create a world of her own within a world already made for her. Cath and her twin sister, Wren, used to write the fics together, but then college starts and everything changes. Wren decides she wants to branch out and not be roommates with Cath as promised. So she ends up on her own, not sure if she can handle everything that goes along with it. She isn't sure if her roommate, Reagan, even likes her, and Reagan's boyfriend, Levi, is annoying and always seems to be around. Classes start taking their tole and the only thing that keeps Cath going is her fan fiction and the anticipation of the final book in the Simon Snow series.

This is just a book following the first year of college for a girl who doesn't make friends easily. There is nothing special about Cath. She is not drop dead gorgeous, nor does she wear nice clothes and go out to parties. But even though this is an ordinary tale, it left me feeling like I'd just entered a magical world and didn't want to come back to reality. Rowell has a way with words and just as in Eleanor & Park, those words took normal lives and made them unforgettable. I related to Cath in more ways than one. The feelings Cath goes through are ones I've been feeling all my life. School is hard, especially when you need to go through it on your own, and sometimes making friends isn't as easy as they say it is. It's easy to hide behind a computer and a screen name and write about a world that you know people will love. Fan fiction is Cath's escape, and we all have one of those. 

The secondary characters are just as strong and likeable as Cath is. Wren goes through the change of being in college the opposite way of Cath, drinking and partying, which is a completely normal way to try and find your own identity. Cath makes friends with a guy in her writing class, Nick, who helps her venture out of her writing habits as they teach each other new skills. Then there's Levi. Levi is the perfect counterpart for Cath. He is friendly with everyone he meets and forces Cath to leave the shell she's put around herself. He enjoys her writing and lets her read to him. Their relationship starts out like most real relationships would - as friends. But there's no looking past the chemistry between these two and the moment they finally get together is a breath of fresh air. 

This book is not all fun and games though, it's realistic in many ways. Cath has a lot of mother issues and her father isn't very stable, especially with the girls at college. It's heartbreaking one page, then fills your heart right back up on the next. It captures the essence of college, of finding out who you really are, and how change can be a good thing. This will be the book of a generation, a book for girls who hide behind books until their brave enough to enter the real world. And, hey, it's not so bad most of the time, but I'll never leave my books behind. 

“She didn't have words for what Levi was. He was a cave painting. He was The Red Ballon. She lifted her heels and pulled him forward until his face was so close, she could look at only one of his eyes at a time. "You're magic," she said.” 

“Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,” Wren said. “It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.” 

Top Ten Tuesday: Anticipated Fall Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.

This week is all about the books on our Fall TBR lists, be they books actually released around now or just books we are planning to read. My list is a mixture of both.

1. Allegiant by Veronica Roth: Pretty sure this is on everyone's list!
2. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black: I just won a copy of this, can't wait to read this new tale of vampires! 3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: I've been hearing amazing things about this book, so there' no doubt I'll pick it up!
4. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano: Her writing is amazing and this new series sounds fantastic!

5. This Song Will Save Your Life by Laura Sales: This looks like a nice change from other contemporary books. Music, DJs, and all that jazz.
6. Champion by Marie Lu: Prodigy broke my heart and I know this one will probably not repair it, but I can't wait to see how this series will end!
7. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan: This series is so good and each character is perfectly crafted. Yes, I want to see what will happen to Percy and Annabeth, but that's not the only reason I'm excited for this book. I feel like this will be a game changer and Riordan never disappoints!
8. Resist by Sarah Crossan: One of my new favourite dystopian series about a world without oxygen.

And two that I still haven't read but will very soon!

9. Frostbite by Richelle Mead: I fell in love with Vampire Academy and once I get my hands on this book, I'll fly through this series!
10. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: This book has been popping up around me a lot lately, so it's been bumped up my list and will be consumed very shortly.


Are any of these of your list? What other new books should I be dying to read? Let me know!