Simon Snow is the Chosen One. He goes to Watford School of Magicks, and he is the Mage's Heir. Everyone knows him. But his life is pretty complicated: something is going on with his girlfriend Agatha, he has to always be on guard against the Insidious Humdrum, and his evil git of a roommate Baz seems to have disappeared and must be plotting his demise. Long lost loved ones start appearing as ghosts, and it seems things are not about to get any easier for Simon.

I've been in a bit of a slump regarding YA fiction lately so I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon Rainbow Rowell's Carry On. I feel like it has restored my faith in good, entertaining young adult literature that doesn't spell things out but actually allows a reader to have their own thoughts and opinions (and on top of that is laugh-out-loud funny which is always good in my book).

The characters were really the best thing about Carry On - they're all a bit hopeless, some of them are silly, stubborn, annoying, some are too proud for their own good... It's a lovely, realistic mix of characteristics and I truly enjoyed reading about Simon, Baz, Penny, Agatha, the Mage, Lucy... They were all so interesting! They had their own stories - their own motivations, their own backgrounds. The change in narrator was always quite refreshing, and I looked forward to learning more about each character. Baz was my favourite from the moment I first read his full name. I figured Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch had to be pretty awesome to live up to that name. Then he actually turned up and I loved him even more.

The very obvious similarities to Harry Potter were something I wasn't sure I would enjoy but I actually found them hilarious in a 'oh, I see what you did there' kind of way. And the romance! I think this may be one of my favourite portrayals of a relationship in a long while - it was so funny, and they're both a bit broken, and the dialogue was just - just everything I wanted. And it didn't take over the plot, it just added to it and worked perfectly! The humour was also just the kind I enjoy, and I appreciated all the british-isms scattered in the text! Made me laugh, especially when it was things I actually say, in real life.

I'm so pleased and happy I decided to read this. It has really made me look forward to reading more of Rainbow Rowell's work! If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have coffee with my friends and try to convince them to give this book a go.