Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

NOTE: This review will contain NO SPOILERS,  but if I add a spoiler there will always be a note of warning.

Example: SPOILER

(writing of the spoiler{s})

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Title: Carry On

Author: Rainbow Rowell

# of pages: 517

My rating: 5/5 stars

I got this book at the perfect time! I was in a reading slump and it was near the end of the month. For some reason the end of the month is my favorite time to read, I don’t really know why but it is.  Anyways, I love this book! I have flipped through it a couple of times since having read it all the way through. I’ve only read one other book by Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl.  I was not sure about reading this because I felt like it was going to be a large fanfiction from Cath’s point of view from Fangirl. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the book does not feel like a fanfiction at all!

The characters felt easy to understand and connect with and the plot, while it was slightly predictable, had twists that kept you thinking and trying to figure out. I’m the person that will be watching a movie and tell everyone what I think the end will be no matter how predictable it is. I think it’s just that I like to figure things out. I don’t really know though.

The book is broken up into sub-books or parts. There are a total of 4 sub-books and an epilogue. The only draw back that I had, was the first book. I felt that it was a little slow and not as fast pace as the next three could be considered. Throughout the story you felt like you were there and in their world. This is one of the first books that I feel like I have read in a while that deals with teenagers in a real aspect and has them react as a normal teenager would.  That may be my favorite part other than the love aspect of the story. I hate insta-love, and was happy to see that this book moved slower. Though anyone who has read Fangirl will know who ends up in the relationship it was nice having to sit and wait, or even begin to question if Rainbow Rowell went in a different direction.

The character perspectives also did an amazing job because they didn’t feel rushed or over connected. Each character had their own lists of amazing qualities, and each had their downfalls. For most of the story the characters each felt like their own, it never felt as though they were being forced to think or share something for the reader’s benefit.

My overall two favorite things from this novel was 1. The way they cast spells, and 2. the way their magical world interacts with the real world. For the former POSSIBLE SPOILER the way that they use famous phrases and clichés as spells made me so happy. It gave it that small feel of being a book full of nerdy references, while still keeping a serious tone about the world of magic.  For the latter I loved how they interact with people who have no magical abilities. The fact that they do not consider themselves (or try not to) above others shows a large amount of respect. END POSSIBLE SPOILER.

This book was so fun-loving and entertaining with all of its magic and love stories. I recommend anyone who loves cute yet action packed stories to give this a try!

5/5 STARS