8/10

Carry On is a fantasy book that is based off of characters from Harry Potter, but has a distinct plot. Despite the similarities being very obvious, it is obvious that it is intentional and not an attempt at plagiarism. I was skeptical at first of this book, because I thought it would simply be a rehashing of the Harry Potter series, but the two are very distinct. For those of you who have read J. K. Rowling's series, imagine a slightly more ridiculous Hogwarts where the lives of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are slightly more intertwined. If you have not read the Harry Potter series, imagine a school for magic where the two main characters are constantly fighting and have a lot of unresolved romantic tension between them. Now that the plot summary is out of the way, on to the review. This book exceeded my expectations, mostly because of the above reason about it being different than Harry Potter despite being similar in so many ways. I don't have much to say about the writing style, only that it seems very modern and understanding of what contemporary readers wish to read, rather than conforming to what stuffy old people view as being "good literature". One of the issues I had with the book was that instead of starting at the beginning of the story, it threw you into the middle of everything and proceeded as if you already were familiar with the world. (And knowing Harry Potter didn't help here!) AFter a while, you absorbed all of the various aspects of the fictional world, but it was confusing before that point. Also, something felt a bit off with the pacing, though I can't point out anything specific. However, I liked the romance and felt that it was well-founded, despite not seeing all of the character interactions. All in all, this was an amusing yet serious book that I would recommend to people who like books that take ridiculous concepts and make them serious.

January 23, 2022 Review by Penny