We finished Son of Neptune a while back, but I just haven't had a chance to blog about it until now. Evalina is chomping at the bit to finish this series, and we just got the final book (Mark of Athena) last night, so I thought I would try to play catch up and get the books we have read in between written up.
The Story: Percy Jackson has no memory. He woke after sleeping for months, with a wolf, Lupa, telling him that he was a demigod, and told him his name, but not much more. He has memories of his girlfriend, Annabeth, but not much else, and he sets off for the demigod encampment that Lupa sent him to, but nothing seemed familiar. When he gets there, he meets Hazel, daughter of Pluto, who was dead but came back to life (this is not a widely known fact), and Frank, who has not yet been claimed by his Godly father. Percy joins the legion with the other sons and daughters of the Roman gods at Camp Jupiter, but is not widely accepted, as he is unknown and has strange ways. Frank and Hazel are some of the only ones to accept him, and together they embark on a quest to free Thanatos (the God of Death) from the hands of an ice giant in Alaska, beyond the realm of the Gods, in an attempt to defeat Gaia, in her attempts to waken and overthrow all the Gods. The Prophecy of Seven is close to coming to pass.
The Good: Evalina was thrilled to see Percy back, after his disappearance in the last book. It was interesting to get to know the Roman aspects of the Gods, and Frank and Hazel are totally likeable characters. The growing threat from Gaia was nerve-wracking, and there were some close calls and nights when we "had" to read more than one chapter because the cliff-hanger was just too big. I'd call that a good. Frank and Hazel both go through some serious transformative moments and they both grow from slightly timid, unsure newbies to strong and confident heroes. There were times when we grabbed out the Mythology book to get some background on the Roman mythology. That's a good.
The Bad: At times, it seems like the odds are just too much against Percy and the crew. It's nerve-wracking at times. And also bad? When we finished this, the final book in the series hadn't been released yet! Neither of us is much good at waiting for books. There is more overt romance in this book, I think, than in the others, which is ok, but something to be noted. It is also hard to read the book, knowing that Annabeth and Tyson and the others from Camp Half-Blood are looking for Percy, and fighting the same enemy, but not knowing what they are doing! I know that this is not really a bad, but something to think about.
The Verdict: Another really fun read from Rick Riordan! Can't wait to read the last one in the series, and then on to the Red Pyramid series, about Egyptian mythology. The recommended reading level is age 10 and up, and although she has since re-read it, Evalina (age 9) was probably better off reading it with me first, so I'd call that about right. It was on the longer side, so that's something to be aware of. Overall, thumbs up, for sure!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Heroes of Olympus Series: The Lost Hero
When we finished the original Percy Jackson series, we immediately went on to the next part of the series, The Heroes of Olympus trilogy.
The first book in the series is The Lost Hero, and like the Percy Jackson series, Evalina simply gobbled it up.
The Story: Piper and Leo attend a kind of school for delinquents, called The Wilderness School, with their friend (and Piper's boyfriend), Jason. At least, they think they do. The problem is, Jason doesn't remember ever having seen them before he wakes up on the bus to the Grand Canyon field trip. And then, at the field trip, things start going even worse. The bully jock in the class turns out to be a crazy storm spirit out to kill all of them, and their coach is actually a satyr who gets kidnapped trying to protect the kids. On top of that, Piper falls into the canyon... and Jason jumps in, and flies to her rescue. Yes, he flies. And that's just the beginning. As fans of the Percy Jackson series might suspect, these kids are demigods, but somehow they weren't brought to Camp Half-Blood before the story starts, and they are older than the normal age of being claimed by their godly parents. Bad things are rising - worse than the Titans which Percy and the other demigods defeated recently. Jason's memory has been taken by Hera, who is the prisoner of a force so strong that no one wants to name it. Camp Half-Blood is in turmoil because Percy Jackson has disappeared without a trace. The three newcomers are finally claimed by their godly parents - Leo is the son of Haephestus, Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason... he seems to be the son of Zeus, but something is off... pieces of the puzzle don't quite fit, and he can speak Latin. His memory is still gone, but he starts to suspect he is not the son of Zeus after all, but instead the son of Jupiter, Zeus' Roman aspect. And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
The Good: It's neat how the new characters are definitely the center of this story, but the older characters aren't forgotten, and are interwoven into the new line of story. As in the Percy Jackson series, the writing is exciting and the mythology behind it seems pretty true to the original stories. The reasons for the strife between the Greek and Roman gods and their children seem to make sense. The Big Bad is really well done, and we both loved the new central trio.
The Bad: There is more teenage angst in this one than in previous books by the same author, and I know it is simply because this trio is older to start with - I think 16 in the beginning, whereas Percy started somewhat younger. The book was also really long - nearly 400 pages, so it took us a while to get through. The previous books by the same author were maybe 300 tops. Some chapter cliffhangers were simply too much to put the book down... not that that's necessarily a bad thing...
The Verdict: We can't wait to start the next book in the series! Read this if you have read the Percy Jackson series. It is really really well done and a great read.
The first book in the series is The Lost Hero, and like the Percy Jackson series, Evalina simply gobbled it up.
The Story: Piper and Leo attend a kind of school for delinquents, called The Wilderness School, with their friend (and Piper's boyfriend), Jason. At least, they think they do. The problem is, Jason doesn't remember ever having seen them before he wakes up on the bus to the Grand Canyon field trip. And then, at the field trip, things start going even worse. The bully jock in the class turns out to be a crazy storm spirit out to kill all of them, and their coach is actually a satyr who gets kidnapped trying to protect the kids. On top of that, Piper falls into the canyon... and Jason jumps in, and flies to her rescue. Yes, he flies. And that's just the beginning. As fans of the Percy Jackson series might suspect, these kids are demigods, but somehow they weren't brought to Camp Half-Blood before the story starts, and they are older than the normal age of being claimed by their godly parents. Bad things are rising - worse than the Titans which Percy and the other demigods defeated recently. Jason's memory has been taken by Hera, who is the prisoner of a force so strong that no one wants to name it. Camp Half-Blood is in turmoil because Percy Jackson has disappeared without a trace. The three newcomers are finally claimed by their godly parents - Leo is the son of Haephestus, Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason... he seems to be the son of Zeus, but something is off... pieces of the puzzle don't quite fit, and he can speak Latin. His memory is still gone, but he starts to suspect he is not the son of Zeus after all, but instead the son of Jupiter, Zeus' Roman aspect. And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
The Good: It's neat how the new characters are definitely the center of this story, but the older characters aren't forgotten, and are interwoven into the new line of story. As in the Percy Jackson series, the writing is exciting and the mythology behind it seems pretty true to the original stories. The reasons for the strife between the Greek and Roman gods and their children seem to make sense. The Big Bad is really well done, and we both loved the new central trio.
The Bad: There is more teenage angst in this one than in previous books by the same author, and I know it is simply because this trio is older to start with - I think 16 in the beginning, whereas Percy started somewhat younger. The book was also really long - nearly 400 pages, so it took us a while to get through. The previous books by the same author were maybe 300 tops. Some chapter cliffhangers were simply too much to put the book down... not that that's necessarily a bad thing...
The Verdict: We can't wait to start the next book in the series! Read this if you have read the Percy Jackson series. It is really really well done and a great read.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Titan's Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian
I am SO behind on blogging these books!
I wanted to note that we had, in fact, read them, and that I am, in fact, still doing this blog... it's been a crazy summer so far, though, so let me apologize ahead of time for the fact that this post is going to cover three books, and that it might not be the format I like to do...
I promise to do better in the future.
Titan's Curse: In this book, Percy and his friends have to help rescue the goddess Artemis from her prison as a stand in for Atlas, holding up the earth, as the Titans strengthen their forces and ready for battle with the Gods. Along the way, they meet a couple mysterious demigods, and the future of the world, mortal and immortal, hangs in the balance.
Battle of the Labyrinth: When it is discovered that Daedelus' labyrinth really does exist, and that it has actually expanded over time, and like Olympus, has shifted to lie under the US. With the Titan army rising, it could be disastrous if they gain control of the labyrinth, with access to anywhere - including Camp Half-Blood! Percy and his friends need to prevail if the world as they know it is going to survive.
The Last Olympian: The Titan War is at hand! This is a nearly non-stop action-packed book, full of battles, betrayals, monsters, friends, enemies, and seemingly insurmountable difficulties. The Titans are strong, and it doesn't seem like the Olympians and the demi-gods will be able to defeat them... Percy and his friends go through much to try to save the world.
So that's that. I can honestly say that Evalina is completely obsessed with these books. She's read the Battle of the Labyrinth three times by herself, after we read it together. She has proclaimed herself a "Greek God Geek," and knows more about some of them than I do..
Next - the Heroes of Olympus series!! Halfway through The Lost Hero already... I will do a better post on it, promise!
I wanted to note that we had, in fact, read them, and that I am, in fact, still doing this blog... it's been a crazy summer so far, though, so let me apologize ahead of time for the fact that this post is going to cover three books, and that it might not be the format I like to do...
I promise to do better in the future.
Titan's Curse: In this book, Percy and his friends have to help rescue the goddess Artemis from her prison as a stand in for Atlas, holding up the earth, as the Titans strengthen their forces and ready for battle with the Gods. Along the way, they meet a couple mysterious demigods, and the future of the world, mortal and immortal, hangs in the balance.
Battle of the Labyrinth: When it is discovered that Daedelus' labyrinth really does exist, and that it has actually expanded over time, and like Olympus, has shifted to lie under the US. With the Titan army rising, it could be disastrous if they gain control of the labyrinth, with access to anywhere - including Camp Half-Blood! Percy and his friends need to prevail if the world as they know it is going to survive.
The Last Olympian: The Titan War is at hand! This is a nearly non-stop action-packed book, full of battles, betrayals, monsters, friends, enemies, and seemingly insurmountable difficulties. The Titans are strong, and it doesn't seem like the Olympians and the demi-gods will be able to defeat them... Percy and his friends go through much to try to save the world.
So that's that. I can honestly say that Evalina is completely obsessed with these books. She's read the Battle of the Labyrinth three times by herself, after we read it together. She has proclaimed herself a "Greek God Geek," and knows more about some of them than I do..
Next - the Heroes of Olympus series!! Halfway through The Lost Hero already... I will do a better post on it, promise!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters
I've fallen behind in blogging Percy Jackson books - we finished the second book, The Sea of Monsters, a few weeks ago (and dove right into the third one, and now the fourth one!)
The Story: Percy has been having nightmares about his best friend, the satyr Grover, in trouble, stuck in a cave by a cyclops... he is stunned when he finds out that his dreams are in fact caused by an empathy link to Grover. He and his friend Annabeth and his newly discovered half brother, a young cyclops named Tyson, set out to try to save Grover, and to do so, they have to travel through The Sea of Monsters, which is (currently) located in the Bermuda Triangle - like all mythological places, it travels around with the center of Western Civilization. Along the way, they have to battle Luke, the half-blood who abandoned Camp Half-Blood the previous summer to serve and try to ressurect the titan lord, Kronos. Meanwhile, at Camp, the tree that protects the camp from magical attacks, and is the embodiment of Zeus' daughter, Thalia, has been poisoned. When it is discovered that the cyclops who is holding Grover prisoner also holds the mythological Golden Fleece, which holds powers that could heal the tree and save camp, the quest becomes even more dire. Can they save camp, stop Luke, and rescue Grover in the end?
The Good: As in the first book, the characters in this are compelling and you really root for Percy to save Grover. The mythology is great - Evalina has been reading her Greek Mythology reference book right along with it, and she is now calling herself a "Greek Mythology Geek." I love it. Tyson is sweet and a wonderful friend, even though Percy was initially put off by his cyclops nature. We couldn't read it fast enough! What a great story.
The Bad: Nothing much I can think of.. sometimes it was scary, but she's doing well with the scary parts. Much like Voldemort in Harry Potter (which I have not read with Evalina yet), Kronos is an evil not to be trifled with. That can be difficult to take, but she's mostly good with it. Harder was the fact that Luke has turned so completely to the side of evil... but again, this was nothing to turn us off!
The Verdict: Another winner! I adore how Evalina is delving into the mythology and the history. Again, I think it might be a bit much for her to read on her own, but she loves having me read it aloud! Another great thing about reading aloud is that I can help her understand the context of some things when needed. We are adoring this series! (I'll blog #3 soon!)
The Story: Percy has been having nightmares about his best friend, the satyr Grover, in trouble, stuck in a cave by a cyclops... he is stunned when he finds out that his dreams are in fact caused by an empathy link to Grover. He and his friend Annabeth and his newly discovered half brother, a young cyclops named Tyson, set out to try to save Grover, and to do so, they have to travel through The Sea of Monsters, which is (currently) located in the Bermuda Triangle - like all mythological places, it travels around with the center of Western Civilization. Along the way, they have to battle Luke, the half-blood who abandoned Camp Half-Blood the previous summer to serve and try to ressurect the titan lord, Kronos. Meanwhile, at Camp, the tree that protects the camp from magical attacks, and is the embodiment of Zeus' daughter, Thalia, has been poisoned. When it is discovered that the cyclops who is holding Grover prisoner also holds the mythological Golden Fleece, which holds powers that could heal the tree and save camp, the quest becomes even more dire. Can they save camp, stop Luke, and rescue Grover in the end?
The Good: As in the first book, the characters in this are compelling and you really root for Percy to save Grover. The mythology is great - Evalina has been reading her Greek Mythology reference book right along with it, and she is now calling herself a "Greek Mythology Geek." I love it. Tyson is sweet and a wonderful friend, even though Percy was initially put off by his cyclops nature. We couldn't read it fast enough! What a great story.
The Bad: Nothing much I can think of.. sometimes it was scary, but she's doing well with the scary parts. Much like Voldemort in Harry Potter (which I have not read with Evalina yet), Kronos is an evil not to be trifled with. That can be difficult to take, but she's mostly good with it. Harder was the fact that Luke has turned so completely to the side of evil... but again, this was nothing to turn us off!
The Verdict: Another winner! I adore how Evalina is delving into the mythology and the history. Again, I think it might be a bit much for her to read on her own, but she loves having me read it aloud! Another great thing about reading aloud is that I can help her understand the context of some things when needed. We are adoring this series! (I'll blog #3 soon!)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
A friend has lent us the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series, and so far, we've finished the first one - amazing!! A while back, I bought Evalina Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters, which she has been poring through and memorizing, so I knew that the Percy Jackson series would be right up her alley - and how right I was!
The Story: Percy Jackson has always been considered a "troubled" child. He has dyslexia and ADHD, and gets kicked out of every school he attends. He loves his mother dearly, but never knew his father. His stepfather (Percy refers to him as Smelly Gabe) is unloving and unlovable, and wants to just play poker and drink beer while ordering Percy's mom around... Percy runs into trouble during his sixth grade year of a kind he never expected. His math teacher turns into some kind of monster on a field trip and tries to kill him, and his favorite teacher gives him a pen that turns into a sword with which he saves himself. And then no one else remembers it at all. They don't even remember the monster math teacher *before* she turned into a monster. And that's not even the strangest thing... his aforementioned favorite teacher turns out not to be a wheelchair bound man at all, but in fact, a centaur - and Percy's best friend, Grover turns out to be a satyr! Percy himself finds out that he is much more than a normal, if troubled, kid... he's a half-blood, and his father is a god! Chased by monsters, his mother brings him to Camp Half-Blood, where other demi-gods live and train (at least in summers), and while Percy makes it, his mom has a run-in with a minotaur, and is not so lucky. At Camp Half-Blood, Percy works on coming to terms with his new life, figures out which god is his father, and then finds himself given a quest in which he must succeed, or there will be a war between the gods on Olympus the likes of which the world may not survive.
The Good: The storytelling in this book is wonderful, and we are looking forward to the rest of the series very much. Percy is a likable hero, and isn't perfect, so he's easy to relate to. His friends Grover and Annabeth (a daughter of Athena), who accompany him on his quest, are great characters in their own rights. The gods are portrayed in ways that mesh with classic stories, but also make them fit into our modern world. It's very clever and compelling storytelling.
The Bad: Sometimes, it was rough for Evalina to take. Percy lost his mom in the run in with the minotaur (is she dead? Is she trapped in Hades? Can he get her back?) was the source of many tears... we kept reading, and she got over it, but it is jarring. The story is action packed, and that is mostly a good thing, but the more sensitive child might have problems with it.
The Verdict: Excellent. We are already several chapters into the second book, and would recommend this series to others. It does help to have a reference book of Greek mythology handy, and I think that Evalina (at 9) might be a bit young to read it on her own yet - but it was a great read-aloud!
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| Image courtesy Amazon.com |
The Story: Percy Jackson has always been considered a "troubled" child. He has dyslexia and ADHD, and gets kicked out of every school he attends. He loves his mother dearly, but never knew his father. His stepfather (Percy refers to him as Smelly Gabe) is unloving and unlovable, and wants to just play poker and drink beer while ordering Percy's mom around... Percy runs into trouble during his sixth grade year of a kind he never expected. His math teacher turns into some kind of monster on a field trip and tries to kill him, and his favorite teacher gives him a pen that turns into a sword with which he saves himself. And then no one else remembers it at all. They don't even remember the monster math teacher *before* she turned into a monster. And that's not even the strangest thing... his aforementioned favorite teacher turns out not to be a wheelchair bound man at all, but in fact, a centaur - and Percy's best friend, Grover turns out to be a satyr! Percy himself finds out that he is much more than a normal, if troubled, kid... he's a half-blood, and his father is a god! Chased by monsters, his mother brings him to Camp Half-Blood, where other demi-gods live and train (at least in summers), and while Percy makes it, his mom has a run-in with a minotaur, and is not so lucky. At Camp Half-Blood, Percy works on coming to terms with his new life, figures out which god is his father, and then finds himself given a quest in which he must succeed, or there will be a war between the gods on Olympus the likes of which the world may not survive.
The Good: The storytelling in this book is wonderful, and we are looking forward to the rest of the series very much. Percy is a likable hero, and isn't perfect, so he's easy to relate to. His friends Grover and Annabeth (a daughter of Athena), who accompany him on his quest, are great characters in their own rights. The gods are portrayed in ways that mesh with classic stories, but also make them fit into our modern world. It's very clever and compelling storytelling.
The Bad: Sometimes, it was rough for Evalina to take. Percy lost his mom in the run in with the minotaur (is she dead? Is she trapped in Hades? Can he get her back?) was the source of many tears... we kept reading, and she got over it, but it is jarring. The story is action packed, and that is mostly a good thing, but the more sensitive child might have problems with it.
The Verdict: Excellent. We are already several chapters into the second book, and would recommend this series to others. It does help to have a reference book of Greek mythology handy, and I think that Evalina (at 9) might be a bit young to read it on her own yet - but it was a great read-aloud!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Book Series: Chronicles of Narnia
There are so many reasons that The Chronicles of Narnia are such classics. We love them! Can't wait for Philip to read them with The Hubby..
The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
Book Series: Pippi Longstocking
How much do we love Pippi? Ever so much!!
Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Goes On Board
Pippi in the South Seas
Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Goes On Board
Pippi in the South Seas
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