Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell

When I finished Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, I remember whimpering to a friend, "The book was great, but I want to read the ones about Snow and Baz!" Rainbow Rowell heard my pain, (or actually felt her own, according to the author's note) and decided to explore the world of Simon, and Baz, and Penelope, and Agatha. Fun!

Someone, somewhere, is going to make comparisons to another school or two for young people with magical abilities, but it won't be me. Rowell's school, magical system, and characters are all their own folks, not a carbon copy among them. She builds the tension between characters, shifts it, creates more edginess, and it's a great ride. Somewhere, someone's gonna be upset how she spun out the characters' relationships, but it won't be from this corner of the reading world. My only complaint is that while the character interactions were well-explored, I would have liked a bit more about the magic of the version of world in which the story was set. (Of course it's entirely possible I am dense, or still recovering from illness, and missed some valuable information.) But even so, this was a good read, and I applaud Ms Rowell for bringing her fictional-fictional characters into their own.

Tags: a-favorite-author, didn-t-want-to-put-it-down, grandgirl-nonsparkly-fodder, i-liked-it, magic, read, read-in-2015, satisfying, thank-you-charleston-county-library, vampires-ghosts-and-other-creatures, will-look-for-more-by-this-author, ya-lit