Wayward Son

Wayward Son is the second title in the Simon Snow series. This is where the main characters get their 'happy ever after' after the traumatic events at the end of book one, but life, of course, is not that simple... Simon has changed, he seems to have not only lost his magic but is slowly losing the will to carry on. He won't get off the sofa, go to college and is backing away from his relationship with Baz. It's taking all the spells that Penny and Baz can cast on him to get him through each day. Is it all over for Simon Snow?

Penny decides a change of scenery is what is needed so magically books a trip to America, not only to boost Simon but to see her boyfriend and catch up with Agatha, whether she likes it or not. However, like every good road trip things do not go according to plan, as America is not what they expected. English spells don't seem to work, vampires are all over the place, in the open using the Las Vegas strip as a buffet, strange mythical beings chase them and a dragon wants to keep them for dinner! Oh, and a Normal (Shepherd) wants to be their guide, can they trust him? Wow, what a road trip this is turning out to be. This sequel book is about discovery, how you cope after a trauma, about who you are when everything you believed about yourself has changed. It's also about how you pick yourself up and continue and trust the people that love you.

Wayward Son has is packed up with lots of action and adventure, sometimes gruesome and often hilarious but are all suitable for the 14+ reader and would be a great title for books clubs. It's once again told from different perspectives which develops the characters and makes the plot entertaining and pacy. The author, cleverly, once again leaves the reader with a cliffhanger or two making the reader eager for more. What will Simon do in the next instalment? Will Baz and Simon finally call themselves a couple? Will Agatha stick around long enough to help them save Watford from whatever is attacking it? Will Penny finally find a spell that will get rid of Simon's dragon wings and tail. I personally can't wait to find out.

368 pages / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+

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 . . .

Wayward Son is the sequel to Carry On and to be honest although I hadn't read it, in hindsight I actually wish I had. You can read Wayward Son as a standalone novel, I did and I loved it but there were several times when I found myself feeling sure that certain things would have made more sense if I knew more about the characters.

Wayward Son is a fun and crazy magical romp across the American West - it's asking to be made into a film or Netflix series, it had such a filmic quality to it, and I couldn't put it down! The characterisation was brilliant, the interaction between them all was so spot on and the road trip itself was so much fun - the descriptions, the costumes - it all played out in perfect technicolour in my head!

I'm now going to read Carry On and hope and pray for a third opportunity to catch up with Simon, Baz, Penny et al - there has to be a sequel! There must! Get this into the hands of your 14+ readers who love a good story!

368 pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Lucy Georgeson, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 11+