Simon Snow Trilogy
#2894.08 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2015–2021 Reading commitment Medium Rainbow Rowell Last reviewed 2026-09-13
Overview
The Simon Snow Trilogy follows Simon Snow, the least powerful wizard ever called the Chosen One, through his final year at Watford School of Magicks, his uneasy alliance and romance with his vampire roommate Baz, and life after saving the magical world when being the Chosen One turns out to have no obvious next act. The premise began as the fictional novel series a teenage fan-fiction writer is obsessed with in Rainbow Rowell's earlier, unrelated novel Fangirl (2013); Rowell then wrote Simon's own story in earnest as this complete, self-contained trilogy, running from Carry On (2015) through Wayward Son (2019), which sends the characters on an American road trip involving cryptids and vampires, to Any Way the Wind Blows (2021). Wayward Son won Barnes & Noble's 2019 Favorites award in Young Adult Books, was named to the American Library Association's 2020 YALSA Teens' Top Ten, and its audiobook, narrated by Euan Morton, received an AudioFile Earphones Award.
Urban fantasy, Comic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Simon Snow Trilogy Rainbow Rowell
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Carry On | 2015 | 1 | core | 4.15 (338,789 ratings) |
 | Wayward Son | 2019 | 2 | core | 3.89 (118,374 ratings) |
 | Any Way the Wind Blows | 2021 | 3 | core | 4.10 (63,754 ratings) |
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.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Simon Snow Trilogy? Simon Snow Trilogy's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Simon Snow Trilogy? Publication order, starting with Carry On. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Simon Snow Trilogy finished? Complete (2015–2021).
- How much reading does Simon Snow Trilogy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Simon Snow Trilogy ranked? #289 in this site's official ranking, based on 520,917 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #289?
Ranked #289 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.08 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 521k reader ratings.
- 0.04 behind #288, Slayers.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 3 books · Complete · 521k ratings · Ranks #289 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Carry On (2015)
- Wayward Son (2019)
- Any Way the Wind Blows (2021)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Simon Snow Trilogy and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Penryn & the End of Days Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.10
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.08 across 520,917 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Simon Snow Trilogy (Rainbow Rowell) accepted 2026-09-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-13
Rule: Core Canon = all three novels (Carry On, 2015; Wayward Son, 2019; Any Way the Wind Blows, 2021), a complete trilogy with no companion material.