Wayward Son (Simon Snow #2) by Rainbow Rowell
"The story is supposed to be over.
Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…
So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?
What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…
That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.
They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…"
“Simon Snow, it hurts to look at you when you’re this happy. And it hurts to look at you when you’re depressed. There’s no safe time for me to see you, nothing about you that doesn’t tear my heart from my chest and leave it breakable outside my body.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Wayward Son
I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint! I dare say, I enjoyed it more than the first book *GASP* I know! I know! But the things that bothered me about the first one (that it felt so much like Harry Potter during the setup but was clearly not Harry Potter at the same time), were not present in this book. This book stood on its own in a way that I felt the first book didn’t. Plus I’m an absolute sucker for road trip stories. And seeing the gang visit American was amazing. I thought I was going to die of laughter during Baz’s complaining about the Midwest! I loved every minute of this book! And I loved that you get a rare glimpse at what the hero does AFTER the hero’s journey is over. Simon doesn’t have any magic anymore and is dealing with some very real depression now that he doesn’t feel that he has a purpose. And watching Simon and Baz’s relationship through this was simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. I loved it all so much and with that ending, I need the third book ASAP.
Genre: ya, fantasy, lgbtqia+
Representation: gay, bi, queer
Content Warnings: Alcohol (possible alcoholism), Blood, Cheating, Depression, Guns, gunshots, gunshot wounds, Kidnapping