Carry On

Cover retrieved from Goodreads

Carry On

Rainbow Rowell

St. Martin's Griffin: 2015, 522 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Rainbow Rowell first wrote about Simon Snow and Baz in her novel Fangirl.  In Carry On, Rowell has devoted a full novel to the characters that were only briefly mentioned in Fangirl.  Simon Snow is "the chosen one," the one who will stop the dark force that threatens the world of magic.  Except that he's pretty sure he's not really "the chosen one" since he's terrible at magic and is more focused on why his nemesis for the past seven years is missing from their last year at the Watford School of Magicks.  Baz has his own reasons for missing so much school but he won't share it with Simon.  After all, Baz likes seeing Simon squirm.  There is magic, teen angst, friendship, and relationship drama; after all, they are in high school, even if they have to deal with monsters on occasion.

P.S. I Still Love You

Cover retrieved from Goodreads

P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2)

Jenny Han

Simon & Schuster Books: 2015, 337 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

I highly recommend to those interested in this book to start with the first in the series by Jenny Han: To All the Boys I've Loved Before.  This book immediately follows where the first book left off (in a cliff-hanger, by the way) with high school student Laura Jean trying to figure out her feelings with Peter and with another boy from her past who comes back to into her life due to the events from the first book.  These books are a charming coming-of-age series that follows an innocent, family-driven protagonist who deals with love, heartache, the drama of friends and enemies, and figuring out what it means to grow up.