Wayward Son

Simon Snow Series, Book 2

By: Rainbow Rowell

Narrated by: Euan Morton

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

One of AudioFile Magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2019: "[Euan] Morton brings distinct voices and emotions to every character.... Listeners will be hard-pressed to believe they aren't listening to a full-cast production." (AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner)

The hotly anticipated sequel to the number one best seller Carry On

Simon Snow is back and he's coming to America! 

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....

With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has delivered an audiobook for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And an audiobook for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter.

Come on, Simon Snow. Your hero’s journey might be over - but your life has just begun.

©2019 Rainbow Rowell (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Morton brings distinct voices and emotions to every character - from posh vampire Baz's deep frustration to fast-talking wizard Penelope's snappy repartee, from de-magicked and be-winged Simon's formless longing to a whole bevy of American wizards, vampires, and Native-inspired creatures. Listeners will be hard-pressed to believe they aren't listening to a full-cast production." (AudioFile Earphone Award)

it made my heart break

Listening to this book was just as enthralling as the first. I'm fresh off the read so I'm still wrapped up in the emotions of it all, but it was honestly heartbreaking to listen to how incomplete the boys still are with themselves. Their struggle is something new, I never knew I needed a book that deals with the aftermath of the end of the climax. The performance was incredible and I had to stop it a few times to just deal with everything I was feeling.

Rainbow does it again

Another story that I don’t want to end, but so well done. Left with room to keep going with these characters and an adventure in a new context that is suspenseful and thrilling and real as ever. Rowell truly writes the most realistic relationships and dialogue ever- it makes the fantasy elements that much more real. This story is a road trip romp through what happens after you fall in love and beat the “big bad.” How do you stay in love and cope with the next challenges that may come your way? How do you keep on carrying on? Rowell’s writing is an exploration of that. But dear lord I just want them all to verbalize their love for one another. (Maybe in the next one?) Euan Morton’s performance is so amazing- it really adds to the story, and I recommend listening to the audiobook even (and especially!) if you’ve already gone through the text on paper. Thank you, Rainbow.

i absolutely adore this book.

the story is everything i hoped for and more. the narrator's voice is so soothing too.

Definitely a middle book

This book has some terrific moments (I just about died when they hit the Ren fair), and is overall a great listen. Its only drawback is that it is definitely the middle book in a trilogy-the story is not over, even though the book is. Rainbow, I hope you are writing fast!

Not sure it was necessary

I really liked Carry On, but I failed to see how Wayward Son added to the story. I enjoyed it, but not as much as Carry On. Euan Morton was awesome tho.

Amazing sequel; more books please!

This was an amazing sequel and another amazing performance. I'm so glad she decided to write more for these characters, and I'm glad the story is staying interesting even after Watford.

Not nearly as good as I expected

Was excited to listen but it fell short after previous books. Narration was goof but story fell short. And the ending was so boring.

A Delight

A delightful sequel in its surprising plot twist. Plus, Rowell hasnt lost her wittiness. I hope the sequel wont take longer than a year. And Euan Morton again, pls.

Amazing book

They went to a really traumatic experience and she wrote the "coping" really really well and also by the end of the book it's kind of obvious that there is going to be a sequel.I think that not a lot of authors write about wars and chaos and then remember that after everything is over the characters have to deal with the trauma.Really well written

I was so into it

The British accent. The voice. Everything made me felt really close to me favorites characters. I felt everything. Love, rush, euphoria. Baz and Simon are probably my OTP. I just want to hung them so hard that I will heal all my hurts just like magic. I still in love with this story. I can’t wait to the next book 🥺

Fantastic performance!

TL;DR: I’m a fan of the series, so I’m along for the ride all the way. If you liked Carry On, and liked Euan Morton’s narration, then this is definitely a worthwhile audiobook to get. Having Morton’s superb performance got me through the more dull bits much better than when I read silently. I just hope Morton will return to weave his magic for the audiobook of Any Way The Wind Blows.

So, the longer version:

As usual, the narration is utterly 1st class. Morton reads brilliantly and it’s an utter pleasure to listen to.

As far as the story itself goes, while everything still knits together in the end in the same, satisfying way that is Rowell’s prowess, it all just felt much less…impressive than Carry On. The book feels a lot more meandering than its predecessor, and sadly the very last line cements it as what I most despise about middle books in trilogies: a “bridge book:” a boom that exists purely to set up the final book and the bridge the gap between the first and the last.
Alright, it’s definitely not the worst as far as bridge books go. I enjoyed getting to see Baz and Simon having to act outside of the established roles they had in school. Some of the new characters introduced are interesting enough, but they don’t “pop” the same way the cast of the first book did. They’re not outright boring but not very memorable. Everything feels much more flat, much more sporadic. When the action scenes happen, they seem to appear out of nowhere - as opposed to building naturally - and then vanish while our trusty trio wander around a bit (even though they have a goal, it FEELS like aimless wandering) into the next action that explodes out of nowhere. And until you get to the end, where everything is tied together nicely, it all feels kind of dragged out. Carry On had me wrenching through the pages to get to the end; Wayward Son has parts where my attention definitely wanders. It’s not Rowell’s best, but it’s a decent read for sure.