Book #202 of 2021: Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell (Simon Snow #3) The new Simon Snow sequel is another loose entry in a series that reads ever more like fanfiction of someone else’s work. The previous volume at least had its great American road trip providing a basic sort of structure, but …
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Book #189 of 2019: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell (Simon Snow #2) Somewhat appropriately given the genesis of this series, Wayward Son reads more like fanfiction than a proper sequel to the first novel Carry On. There’s no pressing danger or overarching plot for much of the story, just three friends who still suspiciously resemble …
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Book #168 of 2019: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (Simon Snow #1) In Rainbow Rowell’s 2013 novel Fangirl, her protagonist writes an extensive fanfiction called “Carry On, Simon” about Simon Snow, a popular Harry Potter-esque fantasy series that did not, at that time, actually exist. Rowell later released this follow-up, which is decidedly not that …
Book #155 of 2018: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell This YA love story is a sweet high school romance with realistic, well-drawn characters. I especially like that the two protagonists are not more of the rail-thin, white, conventionally attractive figures that often dominate our media landscape, and that each one has friends and a …
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Book #253 of 2017: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins This collection of holiday love stories from twelve YA writers makes for some cute seasonal fun. “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown” by editor Stephanie Perkins was the clear highlight for me, but Holly Black’s “Krampuslauf,” Laini Taylor’s …
Book #127 of 2017: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell I liked the family drama and some other individual elements in this book, but I really couldn’t stand the main character or her love interest. She’s an introverted college freshman who kisses a guy she thinks is her roommate’s boyfriend and cries when her professor won’t accept …
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