Carry On - Rainbow Rowell

Hi there! I'm Lovella Mole and for today, I'm going to review Rainbow Rowell's book Carry On. I'm sorry if I was gone for too long. School's been such a bitch to me, so I have only quite a small time that I could use for reading. But anyway, it's the Christmas holidays so I actually had time to read books once again. And a lot of people gave me books for Christmas, so more books to review! Yay!

Carry On is a gift given by a friend of mine. I actually told her to buy it for me. I just saw this in the bookstores and read the plot. It sounded like a fan-fiction of Harry Potter, because of the "Chosen One" and all of that. Later, I realized it's somehow connected to Rainbow Rowell's other book, Fangirl. I haven't read that one, and I plan to read that after I'm done with all of my other books.

Just to remind everyone, here's the criteria for my book review:

50 % - Story Itself

30 % - Characters

20 % - Writing Technique

Before I begin, let me also remind everyone that there will be spoilers. So if you hate spoilers, better read the book first and then come back in this book review. Yeah?

CARRY ON BY: RAINBOW ROWELL

STORY

The story is all about Simon Snow, and apparently, he's the "Chosen One" that could defeat the Humdrum. He's in his last year of Watford School of Magicks. When his roommate, Baz, didn't return for the school year, he got worked up. What if Baz was planning something evil? Together with his best friend, Penelope, and well, his ex-girlfriend, Agatha, they have adventures you kind of expect when reading stuff like this.

The first thing I noticed when I started reading this book, is that they're British. I think Rainbow Rowell isn't British (is she?) so it must be hard for her to write characters that has different cultures from her. I also compared this book a lot from Harry Potter. Simon Snow is Harry Potter, Penelope is Hermione, Baz is Malfoy, The Mage is Dumbledore, the Humdrum is Voldemort and Agatha... I really don't know who Agatha must be playing because I'm pretty sure she couldn't be Ron. The similarities were just there: Simon and Harry are both "Chosen Ones" and had a prophecy about them, Penelope and Hermione are both smart and they both are close to the main character, Baz and Malfoy hated Simon and Harry from the beginning, but of course, we eventually learn that Baz has other feelings for Simon, The Mage and Dumbledore are both headmasters of this prestigious magical school and both are very powerful, albeit the Mage isn't as wise as Dumbledore, and the Humdrum and Voldemort both has a connection with the "Chosen One" - like the Humdrum showing Simon's eleven-year-old face with the ball and Voldemort making Harry his seventh Horcrux.

The story started off great. I immediately liked the flow of the story, and how Rainbow Rowell presented the characters. I totally shipped Simon and Penelope from the beginning, and really hoped that Penelope's going to break up with her American boyfriend. (I also shipped myself and Simon, but that's not really important.) I liked how the story is so alike with Harry Potter, but also so different. But everything went downhill when I got to the part where Simon kissed Baz. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with LGBT and stuff like that. My favorite show is Glee, and they support LGBT very strongly, so I don't have any problem with that. It's just that Simon didn't really show any feelings for Baz in the beginning. I get it that he's worked up because Baz didn't show up in the beginning of the school year, but that's because they're nemesis and he's worried that maybe Baz was planning something evil. He kissed Baz because he wanted to shut him up and to stop him from killing himself. BUT that's not enough reason to turn him gay. It was just not. Or maybe I just didn't like the idea of Simon being gay because I have a crush on him (*cries*)

I didn't like the ending. The whole of it. It all seemed so rushed to me. I liked the school, the unforgettable characters, and the witty dialogue. I also like the fact that their spells are unique. In Harry Potter, their spells are in different language like Latin. But in this book, the spells are cliche phrases that Normals speak. For example, Stand your ground! and An Englishman's word is his bond! It's very unique and very entertaining to read. I thought at first their spells are songs, but it's not necessary for it to be songs. Just cliche phrases uttered by Normals. 

Overall Score - 45%

CHARACTERS

Simon Snow. He was actually a good protagonist. I like his character, and the way he treats people. I like his relationship with Penelope. The only thing that really disappointed me with this whole book is that he ended up with Baz. As I said earlier, I don't have anything against gay people, but I just didn't like the fact that Simon's gay. There were no hints about him liking Baz even before the kiss. He considered Baz as an evil person, and I also considered Baz him evil from his point of view. But he kissed him. And I thought, "Okay, he kissed him so Baz won't kill himself with his flammability. Sure." But after that kiss, he said he liked the kiss and he wanted more. So I went, "What?!" He turned gay after that one kiss? It was obvious he found the whole thing new and wanted to try. He doesn't have any feelings for Baz except pity and maybe, hatred. Maybe I'm misinterpreting the whole thing here, but this is my opinion. I liked Simon from the beginning of the story, but after that one kiss, I didn't and Baz turned out to my favorite character of the story.

Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch. At first, I hated his character. But then he mentioned that he's hopelessly in love with Simon. And I laughed out loud. I was reading this book alone in the dining room, and laughed out loud. That doesn't happen normally. I wasn't against with Baz's love for Simon. I even thought it was kind of cute! I was just against with Simon's love for him. Anyway, I love Baz's character. I have a love/hate relationship with him. He's funny and he's infuriatingly cute. I find his relationship with his mother touching. I always knew he's not the evil guy, I just didn't trust him in the beginning. Simon used to be my favorite character in the story, but in the end, Baz's my favorite character. I can also relate to him to Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter's nemesis in Hogwarts. I don't read fanfics of Harry Potter, because I didn't like fan-fictions (generally) but I know there are a couple of fanfics about Draco and Harry. So maybe this was a dedication to them? I really don't know.

Penelope Bunce.  She's the Hermione Granger in this one. She loves being right and loves to answer every questions. I love Penelope. Even though she knows her best friend, Simon, is a lot of trouble, she doesn't hesitate to help him whenever he's in need. She's always there to help him. She's my second favorite character. Okay, there are times I may find her annoying, but that's because she's trying to be a know-it-all. I hate know-it-alls because I'm one of them. But overall, I like Penelope. She's a great character and I shipped her with Simon... That was back when he was straight.

Agatha Wellbelove. Let's just pause for a moment and admire Agatha's last name. Wellbelove. That's a very beautiful name. Can you imagine it with my name? Lovella Wellbelove. Okay, maybe not. Too many "love" and it's kind of annoying to say it out loud. I sound like this blonde ditz (lol). Anyway, Agatha. I also didn't like her in the beginning, but as the story went on, I thought that I'm definitely going to be an Agatha when I'm in that story. I'm pretty sure I'm going to run away as far as I could if the Mage tried to kill me. She was just being a human. And she didn't like to be involved with magic. She just wanted to be a Normal, and so tried to live like a Normal in the end. Agatha made her own decision, and that's something most people couldn't do. Even though her parents didn't like that decision (perhaps her mother), she did it because she knows it will make her happy. Go Agatha! 

The Mage / Davy. This guy. The most frustrating character of all. Okay, maybe not. Baz is the most frustrating character, but he's a cute frustrating character. The Mage isn't. He's hungry for power and I don't understand why he has to make sure that the prophecy should come true. Why couldn't he just wait? I feel so bad for Lucy because of what she suffered just to stay with him. The Mage is Simon's father, I knew that from the very beginning, but he didn't even bother telling Simon (did he?) I didn't like this character, not because he's evil. I like evil characters. But the Mage... isn't just what I expected. He's supposed to be a wise evil person, but he just wasn't.

Overall Score - 24%

WRITING TECHNIQUE

This isn't my first book written by Rainbow Rowell. I read Eleanor & Park because a lot of my friends told me it's a "cute book" and I also thought it was. I also didn't like the ending. Let's just say I hate cliff hangers, like the one in Eleanor & Park. Anyway, I like Rainbow Rowell's writing in this book compared to that one. It was written beautifully and wonderfully. I'm not sure if Rainbow Rowell's British. Okay, I'm checking it right now--- Aaand she's not. It's says in her Wikipedia page, "Rainbow Rowell is an American author of young adult and adult contemporary novels." Huh. So she made extensive research to write a British novel with British characters. Cool. It also explains why there are a lot of cliches, like drinking tea and eating biscuits. But it was a good book with witty dialogue. Cheers to you, Ms. Rowell!

Overall Score - 20%

SUMMARY / RECOMMENDATION
To top it all off, my overall score for the whole book is 89%. It's not that low, and it's high. In my school, that's an A so it's not really a bad score. I recommend this book to everyone who loves magic and adventure novels. To everyone who loves Harry Potter, here's the perfect book for you. And if you also write or read one of those Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy love story, this is your dream come true. I'm definitely going to read Fangirl, because Simon Snow is actually part of that book. Rainbow Rowell couldn't let go of Simon Snow's story so she made another novel for it. 

The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth LaBan

Hi, I'm Lovella Mole and welcome to my book review of The Tragedy Paper written by Elizabeth LaBan. This was actually a book that was suggested by my classmate. She doesn't know that I write book reviews, since I did not tell any of my friends that I do. I'm a secretive person that way. Anyway, we exchanged books - I let her borrow Don't Look Back, the previous book I recently reviewed and she let me borrow this one. And hey! This was not written by a Jennifer, which makes me happy. Although, Jennifer Weiner, who wrote the first two books I reviewed, was mentioned on the cover along with her comment, "A beguiling and beautifully written tale of first love and heartbreak." Okay, even though a Jennifer didn't write this, a Jennifer commented about it. When will the curse of Jennifers end? (Haha, that actually made me laugh.)

I'm going to write this review very quickly since it's already 8:33 PM in my time, and I still have school tomorrow. I'm writing this one down because I'm reading another book. And if I'm going to wait for the weekend to come, I might forget the happenings of the The Tragedy Paper. It is a teen fiction/young adult novel. So, let me start off with reminding everyone about the criteria:

50 % - Story Itself

30 % - Characters

20 % - Writing Technique

Let the reviews begin! Oh, and I almost forgot: Spoilers Alert. You've been warned.

THE TRAGEDY PAPER BY: ELIZABETH LABAN

STORY

Before I make my comments about the story, let me just say that I love this book's title. It really caught my attention and it's very unique. I just so love it. 

So, anyway, the story is all about a senior guy named Duncan Meade who goes to Irving School, which is a boarding school. The previous seniors who occupied their rooms always leave a present behind. Duncan unfortunately (or fortunately?) got the room of the albino kid from last year named Tim Macbeth. The present he left for Duncan were CDs. And no, not the kind where you play music. Tim recorded his story with the girl named Vanessa Sheller and what happened throughout their short-lived relationship. In a way, Tim had given Duncan a love story, which is the biggest gift of all. At first, Duncan was skeptical about receiving such gift, but when he listened to Tim's story and how he narrated it, a connection formed between the two.

I loved the story. It's very unique (just like the title), and I finished it for four hours. That's how I love it. If I read a book and never take a break, then you would know that I am completely engrossed with the novel. This just proved it. My classmate who gave me the book was shocked to learn that I was already finished reading while she didn't even started Don't Look Back. But I told her I fell in love with the story, and it got me hooked. Big time.

It may have the same technique just like Thirteen Reasons Why, a novel written by Jay Asher. I haven't read that novel yet, but I heard from my friends that it's all about a girl who recorded her story using a tape and then committed suicide. I don't know if that's correct, since I only heard stories about it and I haven't read it. If it is, it's true that it's quite the same with this book. The main characters from those books received tapes/CDs of other people's story and then feels a connection to it. 

The story has also a great school. I love great stories with great places. It makes me want to go there. Just like the Harry Potter series, I wanted to go to Hogwarts. And when I read Anna and the French Kiss, I wanted to go to School of America in Paris. And when I watched Dead Poets Society, I wanted to go to Welton Academy, too, even though it's a boy school. In this case, I wanted to go to Irving School. It's just a beautiful place, and I could imagine studying there and writing my own Tragedy Paper. I have a lot of things in my mind to write about tragedy, believe me. And a teacher like Mr. Simon is always a good thing!

I love Tim Macbeth. I know Duncan is the main character, since he's the one in the present time, but I love Tim more than him. Tim is such a great guy, that I also fell in love with him. Forget about Vanessa, Tim. Please love me. I don't care if you're a blind albino dude. I love you. (Okay, I know I'm a weird person but yeah, I fell in love with some book characters once in a while. It just happens.)

And speaking of falling in love with Tim, I love his relationship with Vanessa. They're so perfect and oh-so good. I love their chemistry and I couldn't help but smile to myself whenever I read some of their scenes. Though their time is only short, I love it. But, I didn't like Duncan's relationship with Daisy. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two of them. It may be because the author reserved the whole romance thing for only Tim and Vanessa. But she should've made Duncan and Daisy have a good relationship, too. They only have a few scenes together, so I didn't really get why Duncan was so head over heels with this girl.

To put it simply, I love the story. Brava, Miss LaBan.

Overall Score - 48%

CHARACTERS

You know the rules, people. Only the main characters, so I'm not going to include Daisy and Tad.

Tim Macbeth. As I said earlier, I love his character. He's my favorite character in the novel. This is my first novel where an albino guy is one of the main characters. Actually, it may be my first novel with an albino person. So I was kind of intrigued by how they live and how other people treat them. He's a mysterious type kind of guy. The kind of girl where every girl would fall in love with. Just like Edward Cullen from the Twilight Saga. It may not be obvious, but I was once a very huge Twilight addict. Please, I was thirteen once, too. He's also a gentleman, and I love how he treated Vanessa while she was sick and throwing up. If I get sick and started throwing up, I want Tim to be by my side. I'm also sad how he ended up being blind. I didn't know if all albino people had problems with their eyes. As I said, this was my first novel about an albino person, so I'm pretty ignorant about those kind of people. 

Duncan Meade. At first, I thought of him as a weak person. I had no idea why I thought about that, I just did. I also thought that he's a very frustrating character. Sometimes, I just don't get what the hell is his problem. I am not too happy with how he treats Daisy. I just don't like his relationship with Daisy, period. He doesn't call her all summer and then suddenly wanted to be with her in the first day of school. Oh-kay, man. Whatever floats your boat. I love the way how he connected with Tim through the CDs, though. And in the last part where he let Daisy listen with him was actually kind of cute. So I'll give him points for trying.

Vanessa Sheller. She's a John Green kind of girl. And by that, I mean she's like John Green's leading girl characters. She's like Alaska from Looking For Alaska or Margo from Paper Towns. She's wild, she doesn't listen to anyone, and she's spontaneous. I always love those kind of girls. It makes me want to be like them, too, since I'm not wild and I'm so not spontaneous. I don't listen to anyone, though, which may makes me sound like a bitch (people may agree with me in this one haha). Anyway, I liked her from the beginning but then grew annoyed with her when she can't just break up with Patrick even though she clearly has feelings for Tim. Why the hell would she kiss him back if she didn't have any? And besides, who was there for her when she was sick? Tim. And I know she stood by Patrick because his mom just died, but that's not reason enough. He was an asshole, and he doesn't deserve her. I'm so sad that I didn't get much about her after what happened in her accident. I wanted to know if she met up with Tim again or something. Can somebody please write a fan-fiction about this? Or better yet, Miss LaBan, can you please make a small story about this one? Pretty please?

Patrick Hopkins. I am totally confused about his character. Was he a good guy or a bad guy? From the very beginning, I knew he's going to be a distraction from Tim and Vanessa's relationship, so I was confused if he was just being nice with Tim or just being plastic/fake about it. In the end, though, he was an asshole. I thought he was being an asshole because his mother died, but it wasn't just that. Why didn't Vanessa break up with him sooner?! Ugh. The story could be so different if Vanessa just left him. It could even have a happy ending if she did left Patrick! Damn.

Mr. Simon. I'm not sure if they mentioned his first name (or last name? Hmm...) in the book but I just want to say that I like this man. I'm not even sure he's part of the main characters. I just wanted to include him because I like him a lot. He's the kind of English teacher everyone would love. You would totally not fall asleep in his class, I assure you. He reminds me of John Keating from Dead Poets Society. 

Overall Score - 26%

WRITING TECHNIQUE

This is my first book from Elizabeth LaBan and it was a great one! I love how she uses simple words that gives powerful meanings. I was so surprised how awesome it turned out to be. I'm pretty sure that this is going to be adapted into a movie someday. And when that day comes, please, please cast a good actor as Tim Macbeth. He doesn't have to be really good-looking. Just a good actor that I think could portray the things I like about him. I will be looking forward for more, Ms. LaBan, which is why I'm giving you a perfect score in this particular criteria.

Overall Score - 20%

SUMMARY / RECOMMENDATION

The overall score of this book is 94%. This is my first book that I'm going to give in the 90-range and I think it deserves it. It's a beautiful book, and I recommend this to everyone. If you're a teenager, an adult, or even in your eighties, you should read this book. It doesn't talk about teen romance. It talks about tragedy and happiness. It's a mix of both. It's about learning from one person's mistake. It's about life.