Image obtained via GoodReads
[Updated May 2019}
Rainbow Rowell announced that a sequel to Carry On would be released in 2020 titled Wayward Son, and we finally have a release date of September 24th, 2019!. I, and many others, were extremely excited and surprised to hear this announcement. Carry On ended with plenty of questions, but none that had to be answered. The book was an entire story on its own, so news that another book was on the way was even more exciting.
Now that I’ve calmed down a bit from my intense excitement at the news, I’ve had time to think about the big questions I’ve had since I finished reading the first book.
Note: Obviously there will be spoilers for the novel, Carry On, in this post.
1. How will Baz’s family react to the news that he’s dating Simon Snow?
Class differences are a huge theme in the novel. Baz comes from an extremely old family, and Simon decidedly does not. Simon was, for a long time, working with the Mage, who Baz’s family had a great deal of contention with. How will his family react? Will he be accepted, rejected entirely, or somewhere in between? Baz has even mentioned that he didn’t think his family would accept him being gay. I think this is the question I need the answer to most.
2. What are the societal and political ramifications from the revelation about the things the Mage did?
The Mage did a lot of shady things; too many for me to begin to summarize here. I can’t imagine the entire country doesn’t learn about the role he played in the death of Baz’s mother, among everything else. With the class struggles already such a big part of this society, how will this knowledge impact the way the average person lives?
3. Baz and Simon have had a tumultuous relationship over the years. Has that continued into their romantic relationship?
It is simply impossible to believe that these two confessed their feelings and it was smooth sailing from there. First off, that isn’t how any relationship works. Secondly, Baz actively talks about killing Simon in the book. They have a lot of issues to work through -- you can’t just ignore them because you start dating.
4. Baz is a vampire. How does this come into play in their relationship?
Does Baz’s status as a vampire become common knowledge, or is he still hiding it? And how does it complicate not only their relationship, but their lives overall? And yes obviously I want to know if Simon becomes a food source (you all are wondering too).
5. Do Simon and Penny make good roommates? Is Simon planning to move in with Baz?
Depending on how far in the future the next book is set, Simon may already be living with Baz. I actually hope he’s living with Penny. I feel as if the two of them would be great roommates, and plus then we’d get to see the boys transition from boyfriends to boyfriends living together.
6. What happened to Agatha? Did she find the magic-free life she wanted?
I really enjoyed Agatha from a character perspective. She felt like a real person, though not a person I’d want to spend much time with. But her thoughts and desires make sense, and I’m curious to see how trying to live a magic-free life worked out for her.
7. Does Simon ever find out the Mage was his biological father?
I need him to discover this. I’m so eager to see the emotional fallout that would come from this knowledge.
8. What are Simon and Baz doing with their careers?
Simon has no magic and wings and a tail to deal with. Baz seems like he’d get an excellent job, but what is Simon doing?
9. How has Watford changed?
Or has it changed at all? The Mage is gone so of course, something must be different...at least you’d think so. Has the process for admitting students changed? How are classes being run? What new policies are being put in place to keep students safe?
10. How is Simon dealing with not having magic anymore?
Simon had a lot more problems with controlling his magic than the average person, but he still had it and could feel it. Now that he used all of his magic to stop the Humdrum, how is he dealing with life without magic?
Carry On and Fangirl are the books that made me realize that I could write books about fandom. I’d always assumed that this type of book would never be published, but now I’ve taken my idea of a fangirl accidentally finding her way into her favorite book series and created a manuscript with it. And I actually think I can get it published.
What are the questions you want answered in the sequel to Carry On?