Wayward Son – Rainbow Rowell

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wayward Son is the second book in the Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell. Although I enjoyed the first book in the series, it wasn’t as well fleshed out as I felt that it could have been because we were thrown into a fictional world eight school years in without the backstory that would allow us to connect with the characters in the way that we should. It was so heavily inspired by Harry Potter and the Chosen One trope that she didn’t have too much of her own flair and style in the story. I felt that this book was so much more original and as a result was so much more enjoyable to read.

After the great battle of the first book, Simon and his friends must leave Watford and have real lives without the constant threat from the ‘big bad’ in their world. The story started off slowly as the characters are reintroduced to the reader and we follow them during their normal lives – but as soon as Penny suggests an all American road trip, the pacing picks up. This was a very character-driven story, which helped me enjoy it more because I felt that I was able to experience the character development that was missing in the first book and grew to like these characters, their banter, and their histories.

I really enjoyed the banter between the characters and Rowell’s witty writing shone in this book. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, although there were a few times when I wasn’t sure which character he was voicing (Penny, Baz, or Simon) because sometimes they became muddled. It’s a little problematic when you can’t tell his male voice from his female one and you spend a few minutes thinking that Penny is waxing poetic about something only to realize that it was Simon that whole time. Oops.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot more than the previous book in the series and I’m actually looking forward to seeing where their adventures take them next.

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