“Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell: The Vampire Love Story No One Knew They Wanted

Ever since the release of Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, the topic of vampires has been brushed off as ridiculous in the young adult genre. While Twilight has a large fanbase, many people tend to find it overdone and categorize vampires as melodramatic. Many readers stray away from novels when they realize they are vampires. That was until Rainbow Rowell’s new vampire novel.

Rainbow Rowell is one of the most popular young adult authors. She wrote Eleanor & Park (2012), which was a #1 New York Best Seller, and Landline (2014), one of her two adult fiction novels.

In 2013, Rowell released Fangirl, a novel about introverted Cath who is beginning her freshman year of college. Cath is a fan of Simon Snow, a book series that is essentially the equivalent to Harry Potter in the Fangirl world. In Fangirl, Cath is writing a popular fan fiction called “Carry On, Simon”. Even though Cath’s story was over, Rowell wasn’t done with Simon’s. Before every chapter, there was a small blurb discussing the fan fiction written, the series itself, or fan fiction written by her sister. Rowell enjoyed writing these blurbs so much that she decided to write a spin off based solely on Simon.

On October 7th, 2015, Rainbow Rowell released her first fantasy novel, Carry On, a story about Simon Snow, the worst chosen one who has ever been chosen, at least that’s what his roommate, Baz, says.

The novel begins with Simon heading towards the Watford School of Magicks for his last year. He is listing the things he misses most about Watford; this gives readers the background knowledge they need. Carry On is like the last book of a series, so they need this information to understand the story.

Similar to her hit novel, Eleanor & Park, readers follow not only Simon’s point of view, but many other characters as well. All of these characters have diverse personalities and goals of their own. For example, Penelope, Simon’s best friend, has the goal to protect and help her best friend as best as she can. This is why she is unsure how to feel when the two of them begin to work with Baz, Simon’s mortal enemy.

We follow as Simon, Penelope, and Baz try to figure out the truth about Baz’s mother’s death. Simon and Penelope begin to learn more about their mortal enemy. While Penelope is still unsure if Baz is to be trusted, Simon trusts him. This trust develops into more.

While the main genre isn’t love, it is definitely a large element in the novel. Baz and Simon trying to figure out where they stand is exactly what you’d expect out of a Rainbow Rowell novel. Only this time around, instead of it being contemporary, it’s fantasy.

Even though the novel has some Harry Potter undertones, it’s still a great read and very original. For example, the magic she created is so different; at first it’s strange. It takes time to understand the magic and to take it seriously since she derives the phrases from songs, poems, and catchphrases from the “Normal” world. After reading more about it, readers begin to understand and come taken with the magic.

After the novel, readers close the book shocked from the big plot twist no one saw coming. They reread sections, even the whole novel, to try to understand what just happened. Rowell has a talent of making her audience want more.

Carry On is full of magic, mystery, comedy, love, and tragedy. For her first fantasy novel, Rainbow Rowell did an amazing job. She perfectly combined her usual style of writing with a “magickal” world.