Thursday 27 February 2020

REVIEW: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Pages: 356
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: September 24th 2019
Buy the Book: Book Depository

Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…

So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?

What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…

That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.

They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…

With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has written a book for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And a book for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter.

Come on, Simon Snow. Your hero’s journey might be over – but your life has just begun.

Before we start:
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s proceed with paragraph upon paragraph of my jumbled raving about how much I love this goddamn book. If you’d like a full breakdown of my thoughts on Wayward Son then I have a discussion video over on my channel!


Wayward Son picks up a year after the events that took place in Carry On, with the main characters taking a trip across America. In case you didn’t already know, Carry On is my book soulmate. It’s my One. I’ve spent over four years convincing every person I know to read it. I would throw each and every other book I own off the shelf if Carry On somehow told me to. I’m whipped, your honour.

With that in mind, it’s not exactly surprising that I went completely FERAL over the sequel announcement. I’ve been losing my marbles patiently waiting ever since. With my love for Carry On being so high, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive about jumping into a continuation. We all know how devastating it is when a sequel doesn’t reach our expectations.

Thankfully, I had nothing to be worried about. Though the first few chapters felt quite jarring, it was simply down to the fact that it was WEIRD (the good kind of weird) to have new content after all this time. I settled into the story as soon as they began their adventures in America.


As you may already know, my heart and soul belong to Baz Pitch. He is Up There in my list of favourite characters e v e r. And this book only solidified that fact. HE’S??? SO BRILLIANT. It was wonderful to actually have Baz in the story from the start this time, given that we have to face a torturous 150 pages without him in Carry On. Whilst he was the same hilariously sarcastic, sneering Baz that we know and love, we got to see sides of him that we’ve not been totally exposed to before. He’s much more vulnerable in this book, both in his love for Simon and his concern over his life as a vampire.

Speaking of Simon, let me talk about his journey through Wayward Son. I LOVE how Rainbow handled his situation because it’s the side of characters we don’t get to see often enough. It showcases the trauma he faces after the events in Carry On, the next steps after his Happily Ever After moment, and that’s so important. He’s got a long way to go, but it’s truer to reality.

When it comes to the ladies, I loved Penelope just as much this time around, and I can’t wait to see where her story goes in the next book. Some of the funniest scenes for me came courtesy of her. As for Agatha, I definitely appreciated her a whole lot more in Wayward Son. She’s a character who I warmed to slowly in Carry On. I wasn’t a huge fan of her the first time I read it, but with each reread I came to like her more. In this sequel, I completely adored her. With her wanting nothing more than to live a normal life, I can’t help but feel sorry for her situation.

Sheppard was also a great addition to the story. I loved having a new character to follow! Though it took me some time to decide whether or not I wanted to trust him. Which was probably the case with every single character we met in this book.

  • ROADTRIP. I do love a good roadtrip in a story, and this one is as wacky and wild as you could want. I loved getting to see the American magic system and how different it is compared to what we’re used to in Carry On. 
  • BAZ AND PENNY’S FRIENDSHIP??????? CAN I JUST SCREAM ABOUT HOW ADORABLE THEY ARE?????
  • SNOWBAZ BEING REALISTIC. This isn’t the two of them being cute boyfriends throughout the story. They love each other very much but they have issues to work through and a communication block wall they have to climb over.
  • BAZ IN GENERAL. Not just saying this because I’m biased, honestly. Him learning more about what his life can be like as a vampire is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.
  • FUNNY MOMENTS. I appreciate a book that can break my heart but also leave me laughing out loud. Just like Carry On, this sequel has so many hilarious moments and lines.

Honestly, this story isn’t what I expected a Carry On sequel to be, but that turned out to be one of the things I loved most about it. It tore my expectations to shreds in the best possible way. I’m so grateful to have these characters back in my life with fresh content, and I’m as anxious as I am excited when it comes to the next book. I WANT ANSWERS.

Royal Rating:

3 comments:

  1. I’m glad you loved it! I loved Carry On, but I haven’t gotten to this book yet.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you manage to pick it up soon! 😊

      Delete
  2. Oooh I really want to read this now ! I'm adding it to my TBR :)

    ReplyDelete

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