5 Reasons We Can’t Wait to Read Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow Novel, Carry On

Reason #1: It’s a gift to all us Fangirl fangirls
Technically, Carry On isn’t a sequel to Fangirl, but it wouldn’t exist without the world and characters Rowell created in her previous novel. Fangirl is—among many other wonderful things—the story of a girl named Cath (and her twin sister, Wren) who’s a diehard fan of a fantasy series about a boy-magician named Simon Snow (think Harry Potter). In a bit of book(s)-within-a-book alchemy, Fangirl includes excerpts from the seven Simon Snow books, as well as from Cath’s own Simon Snow fan fiction. (Which, incidentally, is called Carry On, Simon.)
Reason #2: It’s a whole new perspective on the Simon Snow world
Fans have wondered whether this means Rowell will be writing an entire book of “fanfic,” Cath-style. But according to her website, she wrote the book as herself, not as Cath or invented Simon Snow author Gemma T. Leslie. In fact, from the description on her website, it sounds like she became a fan of Simon Snow herself as she wrote Fangirl. She says, “I kept thinking about Simon and Baz and the World of the Mages…I wanted to explore what I would do with this world and these characters.”

Reason #3: It’s glorious nerdbait
One of the wonderful things about Fangirl is that the whole book is something of a Valentine to all the mega-fans out there, those of us who spent half of high school (or are currently spending half of high school) holed up with our Star Wars action figures and dog-eared copies of Lord of the Rings, and who’ve read each of the Potter books so many times we can recite whole paragraphs from memory. Being a nerd has never been cooler, and if Fangirl is a celebration of that, then Carry On is the wild fireworks display at that celebration.
Reason #4: We already love everything else Rainbow Rowell has written
And here’s our chance to see her doing something completely different. She’s already conquered realistic YA and some (occasionally magical) adult novels—why shouldn’t fantasy be next? Of course, the book will still have all the wonderful and romantic elements we’ve come to expect from a Rainbow Rowell novel, but with monsters and magic thrown in. What could be better?
Reason #5: This book is a surprise
“It’s quite literally embargoed until its on-sale date of October 6th, which means the manuscript is off limits even to the folks who usually get a sneak peek, like reviewers and bloggers and librarians. So we can only imagine what it’s going to be like. But I’m pretty sure the answer is amazing. Because I’m also pretty sure there’s nothing Rainbow Rowell can’t do.
Carry On hits shelves October 6, and is available for pre-order now.