This time around, I listened to “Station Approach” as I took Simon and Baz back to Watford. It’s a song about homesickness and nostalgia, and listening to it again was nostalgic for me, because it reminded me of a younger, simpler-on-the-surface part of Simon’s story. “Station Approach” was on my Simon playlist for Carry On, for the beginning of the book, when Simon is on the train back to Watford. You can listen to Simon’s Any Way the Wind Blows playlist here. You can listen to all my book playlists on my Spotify profile. And my first annotated playlists were for Eleanor & Park. I annotated my Wayward Son playlist here. My apologies to the songwriters, who would probably be dismayed by my interpretations.

First of all, I usually can’t figure out what they mean! And secondly, I’m very much using these songs to support my own emotional state and help me through the story I’m writing. I never worry too much about what the lyrics actually mean when I choose a song. If you haven’t read Any Way the Wind Blows, DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER! This post covers the end of the book - which means there are EVEN MORE SPOILERS. The first half of the book was covered here, in Part 1. These are the songs I was listening to as I wrote the book, and what I was thinking about as I listened. (It’s been a month, I think?)Īs promised, here is the rest Simon’s annotated playlist. ( Sept.It sort of feels like it’s been three years since Any Way the Wind Blows came out. Though this second volume lacks the first's tighter plotline, it's a big-hearted look at early adulthood, exploration, and self-renewal that will certainly draw fans. Rowell's dry wit is on full display as the first-person narrative moves between the characters, and plentiful awkward relationships%E2%80%94including the fraught romance between Simon and Baz%E2%80%94add tension. Trouble, in fact, abounds, and the magicians face off against a variety of foes, including Ren Faire-visiting vampires and a shotgun-wielding polecat, while finding that their idiom-based magic works differently in America.

A hastily and haphazardly arranged trip takes them from England to Chicago, where they rent a classic Mustang to head west%E2%80%94Penny presciently senses that former classmate Agatha has found trouble in California. Roommates and fellow magicians Penny and Baz (well, mostly Penny) decide that Simon needs a radical change. Instead, as this sequel opens, readers learn that Simon has sunk into a deep post-heroics funk. After the triumphant conclusion of Carry On, hero Simon Snow had earned some reward, or at least a little happiness.

Wayward son simon snow