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Rainbow Rowell’s books fall into three reader-friendly buckets: standalone novels, the Simon Snow trilogy (a true series), and illustrated/comics projects. Most of her fiction can be read in any order, but Simon Snow should be read in sequence to avoid spoiling major character turns.
To keep this page easy to use, everything below is arranged in clean, direct reading order, with a one-line, original “what it is” note for every item.
The only place where order really matters
The Simon Snow trilogy (read in order)
- Carry On (2015): A chosen-one finale begins mid-chaos, with a reluctant hero, a dangerous roommate, and magic that keeps biting back.
- Wayward Son (2019): After the war, the road trip begins, and it turns into a messy search for what “home” even means now.
- Any Way the Wind Blows (2021): Loose ends and old wounds collide as the story pushes toward lasting answers, not quick fixes.
Best entry if you want series-reading: start with Carry On and stay in order.
Rainbow Rowell novels in publication order
These are standalones unless noted otherwise. If you want the simplest “read everything” plan, this is it.
- Attachments (2011): An IT security job turns intimate when reading other people’s emails becomes a secret routine, and then a secret attachment.
- Eleanor & Park (2012): Two outsiders connect through music and comics, building a first love that has to survive the world around them.
- Fangirl (2013): A college freshman tries to grow up without losing the fanfiction world that’s been keeping her afloat.
- Landline (2014): A marriage in trouble meets a strange second chance when a phone line seems to connect to the past.
- Slow Dance (2024): Old best friends circle back to each other across years, missed timing, and the lives they didn’t plan.
- Cherry Baby (2026): A woman caught in her husband’s fame runs into someone who remembers the version of her that existed before all of it.
Short fiction and story collections
These aren’t required for the novels, but they’re great if you want Rowell’s voice in smaller doses.
- Almost Midnight (2017, two stories): Two winter stories that lean into tenderness, longing, and the particular magic of late-night decisions.
- Scattered Showers (2022, collection): A set of romances and near-romances, some playful, some aching, meant for dipping in and out.
Graphic novels and comics
This is a separate lane from her novels, read what appeals, in whatever order you like.
- Pumpkinheads (2019, graphic novel): Two friends spend one last night at a pumpkin patch job, finally saying what they’ve been dodging all season.
- Fangirl: The Manga (adaptation): Cath’s story, retold in manga form, best enjoyed after (or alongside) the original novel.
- Runaways (Marvel comics, Rainbow Rowell’s run begins 2017): A found-family superhero team tries to stay together while growing up keeps changing the rules.
- She-Hulk (Marvel comics, Rainbow Rowell’s run begins 2022): Jennifer Walters balances hero life and law life, with romance and chaos showing up on the docket.
Recommended starting points (no wrong answers, just different moods)
- Want a single, low-commitment try? Attachments (warm, funny, very readable).
- Want classic YA romance? Eleanor & Park (intense first-love energy).
- Want a “college + fandom” story? Fangirl (identity, anxiety, creativity, growing up).
- Want a true series to sink into? Carry On (then continue in order).
- Want her adult-romance voice at full strength? Slow Dance (then loop back to Landline if you like emotional realism).
FAQs
Do Rainbow Rowell’s standalones connect to each other?
Not in a way that requires order. You might notice thematic echoes, but the stories don’t rely on shared continuity.
Is Fangirl required before Carry On?
No. Carry On stands on its own. Reading Fangirl first can add a layer of meta-fun, but it’s optional.
What if I only want the “big three” everyone talks about?
A common trio is Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, and Carry On, and you can read them in that order without friction.
Calm default plan
If you want one clean route: read the standalone novels in publication order, and when you’re ready for series momentum, read Carry On → Wayward Son → Any Way the Wind Blows straight through.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.