Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Contemporary YA fantasy with a M/M romance
Short Summary: Simon, Penny, and Baz decide to go on a road trip to see if it will cheer Simon up, but then they find out that Agatha is in danger and she has to be rescued.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death of animals (sometimes somewhat graphic), trauma, depression, alcohol use, violence (not graphic), kidnapping
My rating: 2.5 stars


Characters:

Simon Snow: I didn't like him in Carry On, and I still don't like him now. He doesn't have much personality, he's pretty stupid and annoying, in my opinion, and he didn't really have as much character development as I was hoping for. He's not the worst character I've ever read, though.

Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch (Baz): He was much better in this one than in the first book. I still don't really like him, but I don't dislike him anymore either. He's just okay.

Penelope Bunce (Penny): She's more annoying in Wayward Son than in the first book. She takes over the plot a few times, and

Spoiler

it was really annoying when she kept saying that they should leave Shepherd behind when they obviously needed his help.

Plot:

At least it had a plot at all, unlike the first book, but it's not a particularly good plot. I actually enjoyed it for the first 30% or so, but then it went downhill fast. The plot is really disjointed and all over the place, and the characters' goals were never made clear enough. The ending was very, very rushed, and for the whole last 25%, I didn't care at all and just wanted the book to be over.

Writing:

The writing was fine, better than the first book's, nothing particularly good but not particularly bad either.

Setting:

I actually kind of like the worldbuilding and magic system a bit. The idea that Normals have to use words/phrases enough for them to be used as spells was unique, and the dead zone laws bit was pretty interesting.

Other:

1. Surprisingly enough, the romance was actually okay. I hated Snowbaz in the first book, but in Wayward Son I actually ship them somewhat. I don't know what's wrong with me.

2. The violence to animals was a bit much. I hate reading about animal abuse/death in any way, and although I do understand that Baz has to kill animals to survive, I felt that the animals' deaths were described way too much.

Do I recommend it? Eh, no. I mean, it's better than Carry On, but still not very good.