Carry On, Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow, Rainbow, where for art thou, Rainbow?

You see, Rainbow Rowell might just be our book club’s universal favorite author. Carrie of Normal Level of Crazy and I have read all her books. We talk about them endlessly, getting that glossy-eyed Reader-in-Love look whenever Rowell pops into conversation. So when selecting this month’s read, we thought, “A new Rainbow Rowell book? An easy win, right?!” Wrong. Wrong, shockingly, shockingly wrong…

The scene went down with trepidation. The two of us were sitting over our food court salads in the mall (yup, we are actually that fancy). And The Big Topic was cautiously broached, “So…what did you think of Carry On?” A heavy, pregnant pause…and still, more silence. Neither of us wanted to break our well-established revere for the genius Rowell. Finally, Carrie, being the brave soul that she is, breathed, “No….”. And there it was. The cold hard truth that something our gal had created was not incredibly awesome. The horror!

What was the deal with Carry On and why didn’t we love it?

It reeked of a re-written Harry Potter. This bothered Carrie more than me, because I haven’t read those books (insanity, I know!) Yet having only seen the movies, I still well picked up on the many similarities between the two stories. Carry On was indeed incredibly well written and was an engaging story, but it felt like a cheap sellout to write a copycat tale, especially for Rowell, who has repeatedly proven to have a vast unique creative talent.

The novel was a far break from Rowell’s style. Being that it was well-established as a fictional fan-fiction novel since its conception, we might have expected as such. Yet, it’s a hard break for two middle-age gals who’ve crushed hard on Rowell’s every-day, slightly down-on-their-luck heroines. It felt…weird. Where were the real life relatable characters in whom we could see elements of ourselves? Where were the gals who made our hearts bleed with their sweet passion for life? And what in the world was up with all this sci-fi stuff? It just wasn’t her, our dear, dear Rainbow.

Why was Carry On cool, despite our noted reservations?

The power balance between Simon and Baz. Baz seemed the cool guy–the gorgeous one with all the money, family connections, and in-crowd friends. He was a butt-kicking vampire with nothing to lose…yet all the wind was knocked out of his sails by Simon, the bumbling, messy, seemingly orphaned mess of a boy. A boy with mad magical power who had far more relationship experience than Baz might imagine. What did Rowell do with these two fantastically developed characters? Not only set up a delightful, fun romance, but establish a power-differential between two characters that could only ever be balanced when in cohesion–a very smart, plot-progressing move that entirely engaged the reader. Translation? Rowell has skillz and she knows how to use them–even in the midst of a novel that disappointed many long-term fans.

Once again Rowell showed her carefully honed art of sharing enough of the headlining romance to intrigue her readers, yet left enough respectful space to honor the audience’s imagination and the private sweetness of her characters’ affections. This is such a careful, precious, old-fashioned art that is too rarely seen and we’d be remiss not to give Rowell her due standing O for nailing this once again.

What is the long and the short of Carry On?

If you are anticipating a Rainbow Rowell classic, look elsewhere. If you are up for a captivating, well-executed read, and don’t mind reading more Potter, run to this book!

Despite what sounds like a lot of heavy-handed disappointment, this is a good book!

Questions we’d love to get your feedback on:

Did you like this book? Why or why not?

Do you think Penny’s relationship with that American dude will pan out? (This is pure curiosity on Meredith’s part)

What do you think Rowell will roll out next? Will there be a sequel to the Simon and Baz action?

What was the deal with Agatha? Her vapidness appeared to dominate, but was there more to her character?

What was the connection of the title aside from the end line from Baz? Did “carry on” have larger implications?

What will happen with Simon’s tail? (Again, Meredith’s curiosity rearing it’s pesky head)

Friends, you know we love reading and moreover, we love reading with YOU. Truly, this is what makes our reader-geek loving hearts go-round. So chime in, please, with any and all thoughts you have regarding Carry On, and then…get ready to read December’s pick with us–please welcome Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling!

Spoiler alert! While Rainbow Rowell is our gal, WE LOVE MINDY. Like, a lot. So we’re pretty excited about this book. Scoop the scoop below and know that, as always, there is one FREE COPY of our pick up for grabs. How do you enter? Easy-peasy. If you are 18 or older and live in the continental U.S., just leave a comment on this post telling us why you’d like to get a copy of Why Not Me?

What Amazon has to say about Why Not Me?:

In Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling has solidified her position as “most valuable friend.” Just like Mindy, these essays are exuberantly funny, deeply introspective and refreshingly thoughtful. From her relationship with BJ Novak and the guy who worked for the president, to creating her TV show and announcing the Emmy nominations, Mindy’s just-between-us-friends approach makes you love her just a little bit more after each story, and you’ll even question if Mindy is your soup snake. By all conventional measures Mindy Kaling should not be where she is, and that is the beauty of the stories she shares.

Further spoiler alert: I’ve already read Why Not Me? and while the idea of BJ Novak being Mindy’s “soup snake” makes no sense before you’ve read this book, it makes the most perfect kind of sense after you’ve read it.

Go read this book. You’re welcome. xo.

And of course, happy reading always, friends! Leave a comment to get a free copy!

First image credit: depositphotos.com, image ID:36662141, copyright:alexraths

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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