Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is the third young adult novel written by Rainbow Rowell, published in 2015.

The novel is told through several narrative voices, including that of Simon, his roommate/enemy Baz, his best friend Penelope, and his ex-girlfriend Agatha.

"Simon Snow" is the name of the fictional series of novels that the protagonist in Fangirl (Cath) is a die-hard fan of.

During October, when the veil between the living and the dead is thin, Simon is visited by Natasha Grimm-Pitch, Baz's mother and the former headmistress of Watford before The Mage.

With Baz missing, she instead asks Simon to avenge her murder (seemingly committed by vampires) and to find "Nicodemus."

When Baz returns, having been kidnapped by creatures called Numpties and only recently escaped, he, Simon, and Penelope try to research Natasha's death and discover who Nicodemus is, but to little success.

Mrs. Wellbelove gossips with her daughter about a witch named Lucy Salisbury who reportedly ran off to America with a Normal after having an illegitimate child, and swore off magic.

While looking at the map of dead spots, Baz shows that they all appeared on the dates that Simon has used powerful magical attacks over the years.

He theorizes that Simon cannot simply make more power; he takes it from different locations in Britain without realizing it, thus creating the dead spots.

When she went into labour, Davy, now revealed to have been the Mage, performed a ritual to make the unborn child a vessel for unexplainable power.

It is shown that the chapters are being told from the perspective of Lucy's ghost, who attempts to visit Simon during the veil lift in October, but is unsuccessful.

Baz returned to Watford for his final year, but Simon no longer has any magic left, and Penelope dropped out to support him.

Baz is revealed to be gay early in the novel, calling himself "queer" and wondering how his father would react if he failed to carry on his family name.

The novel pays obvious homage to the Harry Potter series through the content of its fictional world, overall story structure, and extensive fandom (which is explained in Fangirl).

Powerful families are members of the Mage's Council, and they are responsible for ensuring the magical line lives on through their children and is preserved at Watford.

Those who are not part of this prestigious group find themselves wondering if they have a place in the magical community, since members of the Old Families feel that they do not.

It's a powerful, politically minded allegory about sexual, ethnic and class identity - with a heady shot of teenage lust.

"[3] Writing for NPR, Amal El-Mohtar called it the best Harry Potter fan fiction she'd ever read while also praising it as being wildly fun, deliciously readable, immersive and compulsive as a stand-alone book separated from its context.