I’ve been simultaneously intrigued and concerned by Carry On ever since its publication was announced. How on earth was this going to work? Was Rowell going to write as Gemma T. Leslie? Would it just be a weak Harry Potter readalike? As it turns out, it worked for me! For one thing, it’s Simon’s final year, ie the story we don’t get any glimpse of in Fangirl. It’s also doing some interesting things with the Chosen One trope, and with Simon’s relationships and friendships–I particularly liked that we get pov sections from Agatha and Penelope, and that they’re allowed to be their own characters with their own arc. Is the plot predictable? Maybe; I certainly saw some aspects coming from several miles away. But at the same time, I felt that we were meant to see them coming, that this is a book very aware of the traditions and tropes it’s engaging with. To the extent that I have reservations, it’s that I’m not quite sure what the subtext is saying, or trying to say, with the conflict between the established families and the Mage. Nonetheless, I found this both enjoyable and effective.

I joined the Rainbow Rowell bandwagon a while ago, when I read and loved Fangirl, so Eleanor & Park has been on the top of my TBR list for a while now. I was just so darn excited for this one! But from the get-go, this book and I... we didn't click.

It started with the slang. I know, what? Well, this book is set in 1986, right? 1986 slang should be different than contemporary slang. Maybe not by much, and maybe not all of it, but some. And yet, the boys and girls cursed and swore same as they would today. And that bothered me to no end! I wanted to feel like I was in 1986. I didn't.

Then there was the love story. I loved the love story in Fangirl. I expected to be similarly bespelled by Eleanor & Park's. Can you sense the 'but I wasn't?' coming? Because I wasn't. It started out good. Them not talking. Then them starting to kind-of-maybe be friends through comics. Then them saying they need each other---wait, what? Huh?

This is insta love. They know almost nothing of each other. They've known each other for such a short while in which they were talking. I'll buy lust. I'll buy attraction. I'll even totally buy them starting to go out because let's face it, when you're sixteen loving the same comic books can totally be a reason to start dating.

But that excessive "I need you's" and "I live for you's"? Were they necessary at that point? Couldn't they have been pushed back eons and be given at a more appropriate time in the plot, where I could believe them?

From the moment those words were uttered, I was over the romance. Big time. I seriously considered DNFing when this line of dialogues continued, but I was so damn interested in Eleanor's family story. I wanted to know what will happen with this heartbreaking background too damned much to give up on the book.

And the ending? I've seen plenty who hated it. I did too, but not on account of Eleanor & Park. No, I disliked the ending because

All in all, this is not the Rowell book I'd recommend. It's not bad, but it's far from perfect.

Have you read 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell yet?