This book mainly revolves around the interactions of four characters. Unfortunately, one character doesn’t show up until late in the book and is basically a living spoiler. Because of this, he’s getting cut from the character descriptions.
Simon Snow is our delightful main protagonist of this “Chosen One” story. In every Chosen One story, there is an unbeatable antagonist who can only be defeated by a single prophesied Chosen One. Because of this, the main protagonist is often given game-breaking levels of magic, an inane ability to beat more talented peers simply because said of raw power, the tendency to be the center of the universe. Simon Snow fulfills everything accept the last one. While he does attract trouble and attention, he lacks the leadership and ability to command the story. Despite being the Chosen One, his voice is no more important than those of his companions. This allows us to see Simon through the lens of many different characters. We can see his flaws, strength, and quirkiness in ways that would have been impossible otherwise.
Penelope is the voice of reason, the Hermione of this Harry Potter fanfiction. She is widely regarded as a powerful mage and consistently among the top in her class. Like Hermione, she uses her magic to help the hopeless main protagonist and, over the years, she has grown to care for him deeply. Despite the suspicions of other characters, she seems to maintain a completely platonic relationship with Simon. Instead, she uses her blunt nature and intelligence to keep the other characters focused on their task.
Agatha was supposed to be the Ginny Weasly, the princess to the story’s knight, the girl for our Chosen One. But things are never that simple with Rainbow Rowell. Within a few chapters its established that her long, several year relationship with Simon Snow is broken. She is always around when Simon gets in trouble, and now, she is tired: tired of fighting, tired of the weight that comes with being the main protagonist’s girlfriend. All she wants is peace, something you can never get around a chosen one.
Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a beautiful parody of the chosen one trope. Many “Chosen One” stories share the same themes. There is an overpowered main character prophesied years in advance, a flagrant disregard for the supporting cast around them, a singular evil entity, little moral grey areas, and an annoying tendency to bend the story so it only revolves around the main character (the “Mary-Sue”). The story is always plot driven, and the pacing is always fast, leaving little time to question the morality of characters and situations.
Thankfully, Rainbow Rowell takes it upon herself to break almost all these stereotypes, providing an interesting perspective on the genre as a whole. The first thing she does is slow down the plot immensely at the beginning. This allows the story develop complex and interesting characters before picking up the pace later in the story. Although the beginning is slow, there is plenty of intrigue and complexity to carry the story the first 150 pages. After that, the story picks up immensely and rockets to an exciting, almost frantic ending.
One of the best parts of the story was the characters. Instead of having a plot driven story where the plot throws Simon Snow into trouble, we have a very character driven plot. All of the characters are unique and well-crafted. They have their own voice, motivations, and interesting relationships with other characters, but, as Simon is the Chosen One, he is never far from view. Simon Snow is described as having unimaginable amounts of magic power that flows out of him in waves. . It is impossible to ignore and impossible for Simon to focus, but can command earth-shaking power, especially when he “goes off” or basically explodes magic. A character this bombastic obviously carries a lot of weight in the minds of others. They never fail to mention how powerful he is, but also give him personality. Readers rarely get to see main protagonists through the eyes of others, and as a result, it is easy to forget those other characters and forget the impact the main character has on others.
One thing that seems lacking is the world building. The world building was not lacking, but without knowing information about the book ahead of time, it is easy to see the story as a shallow Harry Potter rip-off. Many fantasy-school books try to do something unique with their school system, but almost everything about Watford reminds readers of Harry Potter. Going into this book blind makes the Carry On feel like a book that is trying, but failing to be Harry Potter. However, knowing it is a homage allows the similarities to be seen in a more nostalgic like and draws emphasis to the unique aspects of the story.
For example, the magic system is based on the power of phrases and casting comes from personal heirlooms rather than wands. This provides a more modern and more interesting twist on a magic and makes for an interesting layer to the story.
Of course, no Rainbow Rowell book is complete without romance. Although it takes a while to establish and build, the romance is absolutely delightful and wonderful to read.
I give this 517 page book 5 stars.