Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

 

Summary from Goodreads:

In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong.

In Any Way the Wind Blows, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha have to decide how to move forward.

For Simon, that means deciding whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages -- and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough.

Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet.

This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest.

Carry On was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings. About catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.

Review:

This was the book I needed to get me out of my novel-reading slump. I guess I can count on Rainbow Rowell to do this. I read this giant 573 book in about a day. And it’s not because the plot was fast-paced…I definitely think this was her slowest plot to date (though it does pick up in the second half).

Weirdly, not a lot happened…It was more about the characters than it was about what was going on in the world. Did this bother me? Maybe for five seconds, when it looked like Simon was breaking up with Baz for no apparent reason that made any sense. It just felt like Rowell was almost just trying to come up with stuff to say? But, then, Simon realized what an idiot he was being, and everything worked itself out for me.

I feel like a lot of things happened in book 2 that did not really get addressed in this book 3, but that’s okay. What book 1 and book 2 were missing were all the romance scenes Simon and Baz deserved. And I can say this: book 3 finally gives us the romance. There was so much romance, I almost couldn’t handle it. All the slow, pent up, waiting Baz had to do finally, finally become worth it!

The story at Watford and with Penelope and and Shepard gets more interesting toward the end. And I enjoyed the plot with Agatha toward the end too. But, let’s face it,  I was mostly rushing through the pages, anxiously awaiting more time with Simon and Baz finally having a relationship together -one un-interrupted by Las Vegas vampire cults or other crazy adventures.

Rainbow Rowell knows how to write characters extraordinarily well. I feel like I know all of the characters of this book, like they are real people. I already felt this way. But after this third book, I feel this way even more. And then the other thing Rowell is a master of is romance. That one scene in the truck in book 2 was just a tiny prelude to the magical moments of this book.

To think this all started with Fangirl is just remarkable. I do feel like I have a couple of unanswered questions left at the end. Was that intentional? But, for the most part, I loved this ending. I loved the character development. I loved the chance to see the characters working on their own. I loved the romance. I loved going back to the school it all started in. I have this urge to go back and re-read everything starting with Fangirl. I might have to do that soon. I give this a 10/10.

Monster Friends by Kaeti Vandorn

Summary from Goodreads:

Two friends: one big, one little. One old, one young. One grumpy, one cheerful. Both: MONSTERS! From the author of Crabapple Trouble comes a sweet and fun-filled chapter-book graphic novel, with a charming cast of adorable monsters.

Reggie's plan is to spend the whole summer brooding over his latest adventure gone wrong. But his friendly and curious neighbor, Emily, won't let him sit alone and unhappy in his house forever! Despite their differences, these two monsters make the perfect pair of explorers. And with a map to make, a beach party to plan, and a sea monster to find, Reggie will have to learn to talk about his feelings and let new friends in!

With bright, gorgeous art by Kaeti Vandorn, Monster Friends features the cutest, fuzziest monsters you've ever seen.

Review:


As I said on Gooreads, I read this because of how adorable the cover was. The book was just as, if not more adorable. If you want something cute and fluffy to read about little monsters who go on adventures, pick this up. It will take about an hour to read the whole thing.

There was something both completely fresh and new about the fluffy monsters of this book, and something entirely familiar. It had the old school vibes of something classic like Frog and Toad. The two unlikely friends were meant to learn and grow with each other in a similar way to the classic pair: Frog and Toad. Yet, the seemingly random, and uniquely friendly monster characteristics were unlike anything I’ve really seen before in past kids books.

One character has these super skinny long legs that pop out as needed. The other looks like a giant floppy bunny/dog hybrid. There’s a giant tiger bus that carries monster kids around the forest (and reminds me of something from My Neighbor Totoro. And there’s also mythological monsters like sea serpents (who turn out to be not so mythological…)

The pages are bright, colorful, and whimsical. The facial expressions on the characters are easy to understand. There aren’t a lot of words, which makes this a good book for younger readers or even readers new to the graphic novel format. The story was mostly about friendship and coming to terms with a few things about themselves. Overall, it’s just a sweet, fluffy story. The plot wasn’t anything remarkable. But the cute pictures and sweet character traits will stick with you after you finish it. I give it an 8/10.