Starred Review It's Simon Snow's last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and it's not going as planned. His magic, always unstable, has been even more unpredictable, which is bad news with the magical world's most infamous bad guy after him. His girlfriend is distant, and he's afraid he'll lose touch with his best friend after graduation. But most unsettling of all, Simon's frustrating, evil, pretty-sure-he's-a-vampire nemesis/roommate hasn't come back to school. Baz is probably just off plotting somewhere, but what if he's really in trouble? And why does Simon care so much, anyway? Rowell's debut fantasy was first alluded to in Fangirl (2013) as a Harry Potter like phenomenon. The similarities are, at first, easy to spot, and this does lag a bit in comparison ven years of world-building don't easily fit into the first 150 pages. But things accelerate once Baz hits the stage, quickly taking on new life and heart. Rowell has created a story that is as much a loving critique of the "Chosen One" narrative as it is an example of the genre. The romance, once it gets going, is irresistible and surprisingly tender, but the true strength here is the characterizations: sleek, tough-talking bad-boy Baz; beautiful but reluctant Agatha; clever and exuberant Penelope; and the brilliant, unhinged Mage, who leads the school, are all paid careful attention. And at the center of it all is Simon, the Chosen One himself, made special by circumstance and, like anyone, just trying to figure out a way to keep going. Stock up on copies is one begs to be reread.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Simon and Baz have been garnering attention since they first appeared in Fangirl, and buzz has been building for their feature-length debut. Add in Rowell's history of critical and commercial success, and you've got yourself a hit.