Wayward Son

Simon, Baz, and Penelope have left their magical school behind and started Uni, sharing an apartment in London and trying their level best to move on from what amounts, essentially, to the years of trauma after trauma that tags along after being (friends/mortal enemies/boyfriends) with a Chosen One. It’s…not going well, it seems, for any of them, and so when Penelope suspects that their school friend, Angela, may be in some sort of trouble in San Diego, she persuades the boys to fly across the pond and then take a good old-fashioned road trip across the US. Will it help Penelope figure out why she can’t figure out What’s Next as easily as she used to? Will it fix what both Baz and Simon both secretly and separately fear is the show more end of their relationship? Will they get eaten by southwestern dragons? Killed by Vegas Vampires? Anything is possible in a convertible Mustang on Route 66, except maybe finding a decent cuppa.

Nearly as brilliant as the first book in the trilogy – I equal parts adore Baz and Simon and want to knock their heads together, and I love that feeling. Long Live the Uncommunicative and Fret/Fraught Gay Boys trope! I love to hate it. show less

What a f**king delight. Funny, snarky, frustrated characters at the beginning of adulthood, deep in the what nexts? And heading off on an ill considered road trip. With magic. It’s perfect.

Audiobook is brilliantly read, Simon is a disaster, Penny’s as assertive as ever, Baz continues to effortlessly stylish and relentlessly confused, and they have a new American friend who annoys them all. And poor Agatha almost escapes, but no, she’s morosely tied into this adventure, too.

Really enjoyed the return of these characters, and the portrayal of magic in America. Once again, Rowell gives you fully realized people, with the good and the bad. Agatha and Penny got just as much care and concern as the boys did, and I loved that Agatha was instrumental in her own rescue at the end. Simon's change from deep depression once in a new environment was a little abrupt, and the boys' relationship was less satisfying (though probably realistic.) I'm sure many people will be frustrated with the ending, but I'm fine with it whether or not there's a third book.

This is the second book in the Simon Snow series, which has a wonderfully strange origin story. Rainbow Rowell invented the world and the characters for her novel Fangirl, to serve as the Harry Potter-esque series the titular fangirl was obsessed with. But she was so taken with them that she then couldn't resist writing their story herself. Or part of it, anyway, as the first volume, Carry On was written as if it were the final book in a multi-volume series that doesn't actually exist. Or maybe a fanfictional version of an ending to a non-existent book series... The levels of meta can make your head hurt, and they amuse me endlessly.

Anyway. This one is set after the big happy ending, and a de-magicked Simon Snow has fallen into show more something of a depression now that he no longer has a purpose in life. So his friend Penelope and his maybe-boyfriend Baz take him on a road trip through America, hoping that will help to snap him out of it. Along the way, of course, they have some supernatural adventures, most of them involving vampires, and end up having to dash to the rescue of a friend they were just hoping to drop in on for a visit.

I loved the previous one so much I basically read it in one sitting. This one wasn't quite as compelling, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Almost more than it feels like I should have, somehow. I mean, there's maybe not huge amounts of substance here, despite a few clever world-building elements. But it's just such a delightfully fast, breezy, fun, oddly cheering read, one that, I think, actually does scratch much the same itch as certain types of well-written fanfiction do.

The ending feels very open for another sequel, by the way, and I'm very much crossing my fingers that we'll get one. I honestly do feel like I could happily read these forever. show less

Penelope takes Simon and Baz to America, first to drop in on her boyfriend (she thinks), Micah, then to visit Agatha in California. Visiting Micah doesn't go as planned, and it turns out Chicago is a three-day drive from San Diego, so the three take a road trip, during which they kill vampires at a Renaissance Faire, get chased into a Quiet Zone by a Normal called Shepard, anger a dragon in the mountains, and find Las Vegas infested with vampires - and that's before rescuing Agatha from a cult of Next Blood - vampires who want to acquire magic.

Speedy and satisfying; I think I liked this one even more than Carry On (and usually I prefer the first, world-building book of a trilogy/series the most). Simon and Baz's romance is troubled, but show more there's still a strong chemistry between them; Penny is out of her element on American soil (and with Micah) and has to face some hard truths and adapt to new circumstances. My only trouble with the book is that it switches frequently between Penny, Baz, and Simon's first-person POV, and it was sometimes difficult to tell whose is whose.

The last page indicates another book to come ("trouble at Watford!").

Quotes

Was Simon supposed to see it coming? He doesn't see anything coming! He's taken aback by Tuesdays! (Penelope, 13)

But it was a mistake thinking of that as an end. There is no end. Bad things happen, and then they stop, but they keep on wreaking havoc inside of people. (Penelope, 14)

Simon's never said it, but Baz has: "You think you're always right, Bunce."
So what if I do? I usually am right. It's just good sense to go through life assuming that I am. It's the law of averages. Better to assume I'm always right and occasionally be wrong than to fiddle about doubting myself all the time....I'm very good at thinking! (Penelope, 89)

He's coming into himself. And I'm coming apart. (Simon, 104)

"If you got a glimpse into a secret world, would you pretend it hadn't happened? Or would you spend the rest of your life trying to find a doorway?" (Shepard to Penelope, 159)

Simon was like a nuclear missile with self-esteem issues; it was exhausting. (Agatha, 174)

"What can I do to convince you that I don't mean any harm?"
"What can I do to show you that you do harm even if you don't mean to?" (Shepard and Penelope, 263)

Fighting doesn't feel good anymore. It feels like breaking something because you don't know how to fix it. (Baz, 298)

My job is getting up.
My job is going down.
With a fight. (Simon, 329)

Go ahead and shoot me. This isn't my favourite shirt. (Baz, 332) show less

In the aftermath of defeating the Mage and Simon losing his magic, things are not going well. In a desperate bid to break him out of his patterns, Penny decides to take Simon and Baz along with her on a road trip to America to see her boyfriend, Micah, and to check on Agatha. However, upon their arrival nothing goes the way Penny anticipated, Baz's magic seems to be on the blink, and only Simon seems to be enjoying himself. And then all hell breaks loose threatening Simon and his friends. Again. As always.

Solid follow-up with plenty of fun building of the world based on the implications of the rules of magic in the universe that Rowell has created. There's also great exploration of the emotional ramifications of what comes after the show more big, life-altering showdown. Fun, queer, and action-packed YA fantasy that will please fans of the first book. show less

Everything was a story. And Simon was the hero. He saved the day. That's when stories end - with everyone looking ahead to "happily ever after.”
This is what happens if you try to hang on after the end. When your time has come and passed. When you've done the thing you were meant to do.

I loved [b:Carry On|32768522|Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)|Rainbow Rowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481729252l/32768522._SX50_.jpg|43346673], even if not everyone did. It totally worked for me...every campy, angsty moment of it. This one took a little while to grow on me. It starts with Simon lying on the sofa. Not metaphorically. Literally.

Simon Snow is lying on the sofa.
Simon Snow is pretty much always lying show more on the sofa these days. With his leathery red wings tucked up behind him like a pillow and a can of cheap cider hanging off his hand.

It's been a year since the events of Carry On and Simon is severely depressed. He has no magic and no direction. His relationship with Baz has fizzled to almost nothing. Penelope and Baz worry about him, but don't know what to do, until Penelope comes up with the idea of a road trip across America, to see first her boyfriend in Chicago and then Agatha in California.

“Ha! Does Agatha know we're coming?"
"It'll be a surprise!" Penny says.
"Surprise!" Baz singsongs. "It's your ex-boyfriend and his boyfriend and that girl you never liked very much!"

What could possibly go wrong? Besides everything?

America is a land of unorganized magic, loosely governed by treaties amongst the magical creatures: "Speakers" (AKA Mages) who function without any formal structure or educational system, vampires, half-animal creatures, chaos demons, dragons, and others who have fled the persecution of the old world for the lawlessness of the new. Throw in two brilliant magicians (one of whom is also a vampire) and a depressed former magician with a giant pair of wings, none of whom understand the culture of 'Murica, let alone the sheer size, and nothing is going to go right. Oh, and Agatha has somehow gotten herself involved with a sinister new-age cult.

The more things fall apart, the more entertaining they become. Sometimes all the angst becomes too much (fueled by the alternating 1st person POV chapters), but I adore Baz and there are a few new characters Shepherd, the normal, who should play into book 3, and Lamb, the ancient Vampire King, who really needs his own book that I very much enjoy. The ending is a cliff-hanger and I can't wait for [b:Any Way the Wind Blows|52190991|Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3)|Rainbow Rowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610744543l/52190991._SY75_.jpg|73610676]! show less