Marvin
As a person who has never really
been a fan of Fantasy novels, I must say, Carry on, for me, was a very good
read. I took from this text, a lot of teachable moments and life principles
that I am strongly convinced a lot of young readers, when they come across this
text, will pick up the same principles. In this book, Carry On tells the story
of Simon Snow, an orphan, brought up by Normans and living in a children’s
home, accepts his assigned role being known as “the worse chosen one whose ever
been chosen” with a sense of humility. You can tell that Simon loves magic and
the Watford School. Simon says in the text, “Magic, I miss magic when I’m away.
When I’m by myself, magic is something personal. My burden, my secret, but at
Watford, magic is just the air that we breathe. It’s what makes me a part of
something bigger, not the thing that sets me apart…” Simon, however, is unable
to control his magic; which most of the time, does not work for him at all.
This is especially true when he gets into extreme situations of danger, would
lose his cool and release uncontrollable magic which had the power to protect
and destroy anything in its path. His world is then turned upside down as
politicking seems to tear him to pieces and an indistinct figure; “The
Insidious Humdrum” is attempting to drain the world of magic. Because of this
attempt, Simon has to try to pull himself together so that he is capable of
being able to defeat the insidious humdrum. Even though Simon is the main character,
what makes this book “pop”, is the fact that there are many different points of
views used throughout the different characters. This text has been compared to
the popular JK Rowling work, “Harry Potter” and as a result of how well rounded
and less one sided the different character points of views are, it makes you
forget that it can be compared to a Potter book.
The characters seemed very real:
Simon’s best friend, Penelope; Simon’s lady friend, Agatha; (not any relation
to the trunchible in Matilda), His roommate and archenemy, Baz. This book is
one that I would recommend for any young adult who is a fan of fighting scenes,
secrets, humor, a love story and friendships. This book encompasses all of
these things that can draw the reader’s attention and make them feel in tune
with what’s going on. Coupled with the fighting scenes, humor, love, etc., you
can find references of technology, cultural references, sports references, and
x’s and o’s. I am a foodie, so good food references are great for me. I was
feeling the food references. I think young adults could also relate to Simon’s being “the chosen one” and having to meet challenging “unbeatable” odds. They will be right there with Simon on that journey.
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