People have too much in common to let their differences tear them apart.

People have too much in common to let their differences tear them apart, argues Rainbow Rowell in her novel Carry On. When Simon arrives at Watford, the first thing he always sees in the inscription on the gate which reads, “Magic Separates Us From the World; Let Nothing Separate Us From Each Other.” Magicians are reminded that magic unites them as magicians, and that nothing else must separate them. In other words, their common ground should not be allowed to be torn apart by their differences because they have too much else in common.

When the novel begins, the magical world of the United Kingdom is confronted with an existential threat in the form of the Humdrum and his magical dead zones. The Humdrum is the greatest threat which the magical United Kingdom has...