10 Reasons Rainbow Rowell’s Fantasy Fangirl Spinoff Carry On Is a Must-Read

The spells are a word nerd’s dream
In contrast to the addictive fun of Potter’s Latinish incantations, or, say, the intricate realism of magic-making in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Rowell imagines a magic powered by Smiths lyrics, sayings, Bible verses, clichés, any kind of mundane phrase or truism given power by common usage. This leads to spells like “A little bird told me” (summoning avian messengers), “see what I mean” (allowing you to write in the air), and “U can’t touch this” (a barrier spell that only works if the person [or creature] you’re casting against happens to know the song).
In addition to being awesome, this genius magic system neatly solves the persistent question of why all-powerful magic folk are content to live quietly side by side with the normals: Rowell’s mages need to be steeped in rich, ever-evolving language in order to work their spells. Phrases are imbued with magic by their constant use, then pass out of fashion and lose their power. The better a magician is with language, the stronger a spellcaster they are. And the more engrained into the hivemind, the more powerful the words: nursery rhymes in the right hands can “turn back an army.”
Simon and Baz’s first-person narration
This is a fantasy novel based on a fictional series taking its cue from the megafame (and rabid fandom) of Harry Potter—of course readers will be parsing it for similarities and allusions to Rowling’s timeless series. But Rowell’s decision to tell the story largely from Simon and Baz’s perspectives, in their voices, distances it immediately not only from Harry but from the two versions of Simon Snow seen in Fangirl. Carry On‘s versions of Simon and Baz are intimate. Darker. Their magic is leavened with hunger and self-doubt, and narration that’s funny, searching, and sad (Simon), or a messy mashup of whip-smart arrogance and bitter self-deprecation (Baz).
The complicated relationship between Simon and Baz
Says Penelope Bunce, when Simon’s looking to bitch about his dastardly roommate: “I really, really hate to talk to Simon about Baz. It’s like talking to the Mad Hatter about tea.” And how could you not be obsessed with the person you believe yourself destined to kill, after spending eight years rooming together, magically blocked from harming a hair on each other’s heads? When Baz doesn’t return to the Watford School of Magicks for their final year, the mystery of where he is drives Simon half-insane. Is he really worried about what his roommate might be plotting behind the scenes…or does his tireless fascination with all things Baz have a sweeter explanation? Once Baz does show up, the boys’ electric bond is just as irresistibly push-pull as you want it to be, sprinkled liberally with squees.

The dialogue
Rowell is the queen of great dialogue, that always reads like the best overheard conversation ever. Now imagine the conversational possibilities between teenagers with the power of world-rending magic! There’s talk about crushes, kisses, the uncertain future…and numpties, vampires, and wizardly power surges. When the person you’re falling in love with (have fallen in love with) has magic leaking out his ears, or is possibly a vampire, or is definitely the mage you’re most likely to murder, the conversation gets really good.
The pop culture
It’s fun reading a fantasy novel that drops a reference to Def Leppard three lines after a line about centaur racism. Carry On exists firmly in our world—or at least right beside it—and it’s a fun, funny jolt every time Rowell reminds us.
The peeks at other characters’ perspectives
Rowell is a deeply compassionate writer, and Carry On gives voice to more than just Simon and Baz. We get to hear from Simon’s girlfriend, Agatha, on what it’s like to be the girlfriend of the Chosen One, and not so sure you want to be magical at all. And Watford headmaster the Mage, on the frustrations of knowing a boy—a damaged, green boy—is your world’s greatest hope for salvation. And Penelope, a brilliant magician who could give Hermione a run for her money, on trying to keep the faith and build your own life when your best friend is doomed to die—and to possibly take you with him.
Her sense of humor turned on the magical world.
Here’s Baz, er, Tyrannus Basilton Pitch, on the dangerous objects in his family’s dark estate: “Even some of our cookbooks are banned. (Though it’s been centuries, at least, since the Pitches ate fairies.) (You can’t even find fairies anymore.) (And it’s not because we ate them all.)”  Though Simon’s sense of humor gets a little battered by circumstance, Rowell’s never flickers. (And neither does Baz’s.) (I love Baz.)
The shades of gray in the magical conflict.
The World of Mages is being terrorized by the Insidious Humdrum (AWESOME VILLAIN NAME), which eats magic and appears to be a force of pure evil. But neither side of the magickal world’s civil war is rendered in black and white. On one side are the Old Families, bigoted magic-mongers as obsessed with power and purity of blood as your average Malfoy. On the other side is the Mage who threw them out of power, a shadowy zealot whose restructuring of the magical world when he came to power left a swathe of enemies in his wake. Simon and Baz aren’t true believers, they’re teenaged boys who’ve been trained to think they have no choice but to serve as foot soldiers in the war.
The little details that make the world sing
In Rowell’s world of mages, female magicians do the proposing. Magicians don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, they use everyone else’s, from Stevie Nicks to Aleister Crowley. There’s the once-in-a-generation parting of the Veil (this is a much, much bigger detail), which allows ghosts to talk to their bereaved from beyond the grave, and all the practical complications that entails. And then there’s the menagerie of magical creatures, including ne’er-do-wolves and worsegers (“like badgers, but worse”). I won’t be alone in wanting to read more stories set in this intricately created world. (Confidential to Rowell: Keep On Carrying On: The Penelope Bunce Story is a book I would absolutely read.)
The love story.
As if I’d ruin it for you. There will be swoons!
Carry On is on sale today!