The Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell has been one of my favourites for a long time, and it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I picked up the third and final book, Any Way the Wind Blows. Thankfully, I had no reason to fear – this is the kind of finale that fans dream about! It has as much heart as Carry On (and as much heartbreak as Wayward Son), an exciting new mystery for our heroes to solve, and more romantic tension than should be feasible for two characters who are already in a relationship. Any Way the Wind Blows is Rainbow Rowell at her best and a worthy send-off for the Watford gang.
Rainbow Rowell
This book picks up where Wayward Son left off, with Simon, Baz, Penny, Agatha and new addition Shepherd being urgently called home to London in the aftermath of their battle with the NowNext vampires. There is plenty of drama back home, with Baz forced to deal with issues in his own family just as Simon decides it’s time for him to move out of the flat and give up the world of mages for good. The boys are thrown together again when they uncover a new mystery concerning wannabe ‘Chosen Ones’ that have been cropping up all over the country, with one in particular amassing a cult-like following. Meanwhile, Penny is determined to rid Shepherd of his demonic curse for good, seeking help from her reluctant parents, and Agatha tepidly returns to the world of magic by working at her father’s veterinary clinic and befriending Niamh, an awkward and taciturn schoolmate from Watford.
Any Way the Wind Blows feels reparative in the best way. It’s about moving forward when our stories don’t turn out how we expect, never giving up, and taking a chance on something new even when it scares you. The big evils of the previous books, while present, take a backseat to the far more insidious enemy Simon faces – how he feels about himself after defeating the mage and losing his magic, and how this affects his relationships with those around him. It is hugely rewarding to watch him confront his trauma head-on, and seek help from the people he loves. Rainbow Rowell’s talent, for me, has always shone through her carefully crafted characters and their relationships with one another. She leans into this here, exploring the depths of Simon’s thoughts and feelings, and his relationship with Baz as they tentatively try to heal and move forward.
I had a smile on my face for at least two thirds of this book’s 574 pages, and the other third was only when I was, inevitably, crying. The length, almost double that of Wayward Son, gives the story and characters space to stretch their wings (get it, because Simon has wings? No?) and explore deeper emotional threads. I honestly still can’t believe that this series has reached its conclusion, and I’m already itching for a reread. I would have quite happily sat with these characters indefinitely, reading about their adventures and relationships and heartbreaks. A leisurely exploration of trauma and healing was not what I expected of a series about teenage magicians, but I am so grateful for this intensely cathartic and rewarding experience. Any Way the Wind Blows packs a huge emotional punch, and is a heartfelt farewell to a fantastic series.
—Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.
Any Way the Wind Blows
Simon Snow: Book 3
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...
Comments
No comments