Wayward Son

Wayward Son is book two of the Simon Snow books (currently, planned as a trilogy but Rainbow Rowell has said she isn't saying goodbye to Baz). You could also say it's book three because we meet Simon and Baz in the novel Fangirl. Honestly, I think it's necessary to start with Fangirl even though they are totally different types of novels. We meet Simon and Baz in the middle of their story in Fangirl. The journey is glazed over, leaving us to experience their quest's conclusion in the novel Carry On. But, it isn't the end. What happens after the Chosen One completes his task? Is it happily ever after? How do you live in this new world without the only meaning you've ever been given? Is love enough? As with Carry On, each chapter is from show more a different point of view.

Simon Snow says, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." Simon believes Baz loved him for his legendary chosen-ness, his beyond-magic power. Simon possesses no power, no magic and wasn't much of a chosen one--did he even accomplish some great deed because of amazing abilities? Simon feels that Baz sees a loser; in Simon's eyes, he showed Baz that his foretelling fizzled, so Baz couldn't possibly want to stay with him. They should break up--Simon can do it. Baz thrives in this new life and doesn't need a do-nothing in it. Baz, however, wants Simon to get off the sofa, to communicate, to connect with him. He worries.

Agatha runs. She leaves her wand in England and moves to America. How does one find oneself? In stories, it's often through a journey, a trip, a difficult situation, or via a mirror--forced to see oneself. Agatha seeks herself by leaving everything she knows behind. She followed an expected path and desires to make her own path without expectation or because of who she knows or is. She's made one friend and is excited about a week in the desert for a big party. Her friend, Ginger, obsesses over climbing up in a group--seems to be some kind of nutrition/health thing, similar to a pyramid scheme. Now, they are going on a retreat to "level up" instead of party. Agatha quickly discovers that this group presents danger, but her wand is in England.

When she doesn't hear back from Agatha, Penelope convinces Baz and Simon that they absolutely must go check on Agatha. No discussions of "Agatha doesn't like you, Penny," dissuades Penny. Besides, Penny would like to see Micah, her boyfriend. Therefore, they'll fly to Chicago and then drive on over to San Diego. Penny always possesses the answers and never doubts herself. When Micah breaks up with her, Penny's world collapses; she's forced to look at herself and see if her plans have been based on reality/love/convenience?

Thus, our journey begins. Anytime people travel, think "journey motif." You "journey" from something to something. I laughed when the characters realize that the United States is HUGE compared to England. Penny thought they could drive to San Diego in a few hours. Their 30-hour trip allows for a lot of discovery. The US possesses creatures and magic they've never experienced--this is a wild land where creatures could escape the confines of the old world. There's space and land and sky. American has room for different cultures creating a diverse country and no cohesive control of magic or its creatures, unlike England where magic stays controlled. Simon's journey seems to have something to do with freedom. He loves being able to fly and see the land--he's fascinated by everything he sees. Meanwhile Baz finds America dead, lacking beauty, burning hot, and never ending. He does, however, journey to knowledge about vampires that helps him accept himself. Penny doesn't trust herself anymore, after the breakup with Micah, so she fails to come up with a plan. Even if she could, the land, creatures, and country varies so from England, that she wouldn't know what to plan. Her journey involves finding her purpose--her direction. They have help: Shepard. A human, Shepard knows things. He becomes the guide through the magical world of America. We certainly haven't seen the last of him--he has his own secrets we only barely see at the end of the novel.

Finally, they reach the end of the journey: rescue Agatha. Agatha would roll her eyes--why do they always feel they have to rescue her? She hates this identity thrust on her. She does need to be rescued, unfortunately. It's dangerous. It's nothing like England. Agatha's journey ends with the knowledge that running didn't solve her problem. She still has to find herself no matter where she is. That's the thing about journeys--in some books, the characters find themselves through the experiences while in others, the characters find that no matter where they go, they take themselves. Until they face themselves, they can't move on. Simon finds freedom and a direction. Agatha finds that she has power and needs to return home and face herself to move on. Baz discovers knowledge about vampires that frees him from what haunts him about hurting people. Penny discovers that she may not have all the answers, but she has power and wants to wield it to make the magical world safe.

I absolutely loved reading this novel in one day. I laughed so much at how Baz really hates America while Simon absolutely loves it. I love Agatha and Penny's relationship. I love how Rainbow Rowell makes America "small"--in the sense that they seem to travel in a bubble as they go down the highway, for we don't see "our" America--it's the undercover, magical America. Our new character, Shepard, brings a new twist to everything. Hopefully, he's part of a future romance. Rainbow Rowell commented that this Baz is the "star of Wayward Son." We definitely see him discover truths and gain confidence. I don't know--something to consider as you read it. In the end, I was smiling. A new adventure awaits and I can't wait! show less

NGL, after reading the sequel to another beloved YA book and being disappointed (if curious you can probably find my review somewhere in my YA list, but this isn't about that), I was afraid this might be another author who listened too much to her squee'ing fans. So happy to say that Rainbow Rowell is true to her story and herself and chose not to create extended fanfic. This is a story about what happens after the hero's journey, where the heroes may still heroes or--maybe not so much anymore, all wrapped in a new adventure in the very different magical land of big and wide USofA.

Even under the best of circumstances, couples don't communicate. So I am glad she tackled the truth of broken people suffering from complete and utter loss, show more severe PTSD, childhood scars, who love each other and still fail. Love does NOT conquer all. At least not yet. It shouldn't and the reward will be extra good.

If I knew there was going to be a third book I might have waited a little while longer to read this one. It is going to be a long wait. show less

I am SO UPSET RIGHT NOW!!! What was that ending?!?!? Are Baz and Simon gonna be okay? Will Simon ever actually be able to heal from his PTSD and Trauma? Will Baz ever learn to be a vampire without killing or Turning people? Will Penelope figure out what to do with her life? Will Agatha ever be happy? Will we see Shephard again and learn more about his curse? Will Rainbow Rowell ever let us live? Gosh, what a beautifully written book, but I am furious!! I just want them to be happy!! And I want to know if we will have another book because that ending certainly calls for one!! I need more people to read the book and be miserable with me, asap.

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.

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