10 Things We Need Explained In The Sequel To ‘Carry On’

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?

Why I Still Love YA at 27

I love reading YA books. There has been a lot of debate over the years whether or not adults should read YA literature. My immediate response is to say that people should read whatever they want, but I also think the subject is worth discussion. What defines YA as a genre? Why do some adults enjoy reading YA so much? I can only speak for myself, so here’s why I still love YA at age 27, and why I think other adults should still give YA a chance.

1. For the most part, I find it difficult to find adult novels that entertain me. So many adult bestsellers are thriller and mystery novels, and I just have no interest in the genre. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve read some amazing literature aimed at adults, and I’ve been particularly obsessed with memoirs lately. But when I go to a bookstore and all the best sellers are thrillers, it doesn’t inspire me to dive into the fiction stacks.

2. There’s so many genres within the YA genre itself. I can pick up realistic fiction while also finding an urban fantasy I want to check out in one trip. I’ve read about fictional battles with cancer and about wizards in magical schools. There’s a lot to choose from, and I’ve found that YA literature is a bit less formulaic than their adult genre counterparts.

3. Also, I find that YA has a lot of fresh ideas, particularly when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy. I’m a sucker for dystopian fiction, and YA has so much of it. I don’t always want to read, say, high fantasy. And again, I’m not saying the sci-fi/fantasy section at bookstores is bad, simply that I enjoy the YA fiction counterpart.

4. I can relate more to characters who are 17 than I can to characters in their forties. While I have a lot of the “real life” problems that older adults struggle with, I find that my mindset does not often align with the mindset of these characters. Maybe it’s because I’m a millennial? While reading YA yes, I may agree with the parents or think a romance is unrealistic, but it is still fun, and I can understand both perspectives now that I am older.  

5. There are YA novels have some of the most interesting, beautiful writing I’ve seen. I read a lot of literary fiction in college, and I often felt the plot was put on the back burner for flowery descriptions and metaphors. YA can still have that beautiful prose, but it never sacrifices the plot for it.

6. YA allows for so much escapism. That’s not just because, say, the story takes place on a different planet where every twelve years people lose all their memories. YA also really gets into the emotions of a character. Teenagers often don’t think an analytically as adults do, and it becomes easy to get swept into their emotions. Additionally, reading about a crisis in a YA novel feels a bit less hopeless than reading about one in adult fiction.

7. I still find YA novels to be more accessible. General fiction in bookshops gives you a huge mix of reading materials. When browsing sci-fi, you often have to search for the first in a long series of novels. Though this could be the fault of how bookstores are organized more than anything else.

8. Even though the subjects can often be heavy, YA just makes for a less intense read. I’m not always in the mood to read deeply intellectual texts. Sometimes, I just want to breeze through a fun book. Lolita was a fascinating read, but the translated work had small font, a fantastic vocabulary, and required much more close reading. On the whole, YA is easier to read.

9. Some of the most amazing, inspiring messages come from YA novels. Sure, you can look at the surface of a YA novel and describe the plot easily, but a close read can also bring about more complicated themes. And while I don’t hate ambiguous endings, it sure is nice to finish a book that feels very complete.

10. I just enjoy them, and really, I think it is ridiculous that people can be such snobs about the types of books other people read. I don’t enjoy thrillers, but that doesn’t mean the genre has no merit. I just don’t find it very interesting. We all have our tastes.

So yes, next time I take a trip to the bookstore I’ll probably pick up John Green’s new book (I do have OCD, after all), as well as When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (because clearly, my OCD needs more mental fuel for my fear of cancer). And I am proud of that.

What genres do you read? Do you have a favorite YA novel? Let me know in the comments!