Wayward Son
core novel 2019 Simon Snow Trilogy
Record
| First published | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.89 (118,374 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781250146076 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
In the second novel of the Simon Snow trilogy, picking up after the events of Carry On, Simon Snow and his circle of friends set off for the United States intending a low-key holiday. The trip instead becomes an unplanned cross-country journey after they run into unfamiliar dangers tied to American magic and reports of strange cryptids. Simon, no longer the chosen hero he once was, struggles with his diminished powers and sense of purpose, while his boyfriend Baz and best friend Penelope try to hold the group together. Along the way they take on a new companion whose situation draws them further into the investigation. The novel follows their attempts to make sense of a magical landscape very different from the one they know back in England, while old personal tensions resurface under the pressure of the road.
Where it sits
- Universe: Simon Snow Trilogy
- Series: Simon Snow Trilogy core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Rainbow Rowell
Notes
- From the series record (Simon Snow Trilogy): Complete trilogy following Simon Snow, the least powerful wizard-Chosen One in the world of "the Chosen One" fantasy novels-within-the-novel that a teenage Rainbow Rowell character was obsessed with in Rowell's earlier, unrelated novel Fangirl (2013); Rowell then wrote the trilogy in earnest as its own complete story, not a continuation of Fangirl and not required reading to follow it.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Simon Snow Trilogy: position 2 of 3: previous Carry On (2015) · next Any Way the Wind Blows (2021)
Sources
← Simon Snow Trilogy dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.