Over the past few years, I fell in love with the Percy Jackson novels by Rick Riordan. This year I have eagerly awaited the next installment in that world, The Lost Hero. In this beginning of a new series, we follow Jason, Piper, and Leo as they come to Camp Half-Blood and begin a new quest. Jason doesn’t know he is or where he comes from. Up until the moment he met Piper and Leo, he has lost all of his memories. Piper can talk anybody into anything–which has gotten her into all kinds of trouble. Leo likes to build things and has dark secrets in his past. Can these three take on an all new baddie, the king of the giants, rescue Piper’s dad from certain death, and free the queen of the gods, Hera, from imprisonment?

This book was engaging from the very beginning. The hero we all know and love, Percy Jackson, is missing. Annabeth, his girlfriend, sets out to find him and happens upon these three demigods–Piper, Jason, and Leo–and no one knows what to make of the situation. Jason is a strong lead character, reminiscent of Percy, but with more initial courage and stamina. He’s lost his memory, but as the reader, we can tell there is something about him that isn’t quite right. Leo brings comedy to this book, much as Grover did in the first series. For me, Piper was the everyman, the person I connected most with in the series. She was unsure, sometimes cautious, but honorable and extremely protective of her friends. Where Annabeth was abrasive at times, Piper was easier to understand.

Suspense is built up right away in this book, and you immediately have questions. Since this is a series, many of the questions are not answered in this book. I enjoyed the battle scenes, and all of the puzzles the demigods had to figure out. Riordan weaves the plot well, tying up the ends and bringing the story together into a dramatic climax where of course, there is a lot of fighting and bloodshed. I missed the presence of the gods in this book, but I suspect that they will be appearing in subsequent novels in larger roles. Anyone that enjoyed the Percy Jackson novels will enjoy these books–perhaps even more so!

4Q, 5P, M/J

Hardback copy purchased from Amazon.com.

For More: The Heroes of Olympus series site!

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

“I guess the good news is that everybody has to put up with being special because everybody is alive.”

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine is the tale of 10-year-old Caitlin, a talented young artist with Asperger’s syndrome. In Mockingbird, Caitlin is on the search for “Closure” after the death of her older brother, Devon. The novel is told from Caitlin’s point of view, and the reader gets a unique look into the mind of a child that sees the world very differently from the average person.

What did I love about Mockingbird? Mainly, Caitlin’s voice. Erskine crafts a character in Caitlin that will be loved by whomever reads this book. Caitlin’s mind and world-view are so exceptional, and I read with awe as she navigated the complicated business of the world around her. By the end of Mockingbird, I really felt an empathy for Caitlin, her father, and for several other characters that she encounters in the story. The book is beautifully written, moving, and packed with images that leave a lasting impression.

I think this novel hits the mark directly on its attempt to showcase a person with a difference about them that not many people in our world understand. Today, autism and Asperger’s syndrome are everywhere in the media and in what we read and watch (for example, Adam, a recent movie starring Hugh Dancy, and also Jodi Picoult’s new title, House Rules). Mockingbird doesn’t feel like just another telling of someone with Asperger’s, but a truly new, warm, and inspiring take on this syndrome.

I recommend this book for fans of Rebecca Stead, Laura Resau, Kate DiCamillo, and Melina Marchetta. Mockingbird will be released on April 15, 2010, by Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

ARC received from the publisher for review–thank you! Quote taken from ARC copy of book, subject to change in the final published version.

For More: Visit Kathryn Erksine’s website, and also visit Amazon.com or IndieBound to purchase this book!

A few of my favorites!

• Middle-Grade Fiction: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. I haven’t read this book yet, but am looking forward to it. Anderson is one of my favorite authors, plus, I will be seeing her speak at the Virginia Hamilton Conference in April!
• Fantasy and Science Fiction (YA): Fire by Kristin Cashore. Love, love, love this book! Can’t wait for the 3rd book in this series, Bitterblue.

Please fill out the form below to enter the contest. This contest is open to US residents only (sorry!) and closes on March 1st at midnight EST. I will contact the winner by email. You do not need to be a follower to enter, but I hope you do consider following and reading my blog. This will be a one entry per person contest, as it’s my first and I want to get it right! Spread the word and check back here for the winner!

PS, I’m going to see the movie tonight so look for my review later tonight or tomorrow!

Loading…

The first book I finished is The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughren. I hadn’t heard of this book or author before selecting it for my class. The White Darkness was the 2008 Printz award winner, but the book was actually published several years ago. This is the type of book I haven’t read in quite some time–a mixture of adventure, realism, with a younger protagonist, and a lot of symbolism reaching out and grabbing the reader. The story reminds me of The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig with the extreme situations the characters are placed in, as well as the general flow and telling of the story. I also feel as if this book will remain as The Endless Steppe has: timeless and intriguing to generations today and in the future.

Now on to the plot: The story follows 14-year-old Sym, a young girl that lives in England with her mother and good friend of the family, Uncle Victor. Immediately, you are also introduced to another major player in Sym’s life, Titus Oates, someone that many would call her “imaginary friend.” Titus has been with Sym ever since her father died–but who is he? Titus was an explorer, a member of the British Navy, in the early 1900s, that helped to front an expedition to the South Pole. Unfortunately, he never made it to his destination, and he and his team died in Antarctica. Sym has had an obsession with Antarctica (“The Ice”) ever since she was young, an addiction fostered by her uncle and his own passion for that continent. As you can probably tell, Sym hasn’t had the easiest time of it growing up: she’s extremely shy, suffers from hearing loss, and also suffered a lack of love from her own father, who eventually died of a debilitating disease of the mind. She has few friends and rarely comes out of her shell of protection she’s built around her self.

In The White Darkness, Sym and Uncle Victor travel to Antarctica on her dream trip–all she’s ever wanted to do, all she’s ever planned for, all her world encompasses. While there, the real reason behind the trip enfolds, along with a great deal of deceit, suspense, adventure, danger, madness, fantasy, and a whole lot of ice and snow. Sym finds herself in the middle of the great ice continent with her uncle and several companions and begins to finally test the truths she’s always believed in. The ultimate goal: survival, but once your whole world has fallen and collapsed beneath you, what point is there to keep moving on? Sym finds herself, through the help of Titus, to be stronger and more resilient than she ever could have believed, and at the end of the book, she has a much brighter future in front of her.

This is a book that many audiences would enjoy, which is why I imagine it was selected for the Printz award. It is great for younger readers–despite a slight smattering of foul language, the book is clean and enticing for younger readers that enjoy adventure and suspense. Older readers will also enjoy the book, as they will be able to understand the underlying symbolism of “the white darkness” and the other beautifully haunting allegories McCaughren has staged throughout.

For More: Check out McCaughren’s personal web site!

Leviathan is the first book in a trilogy, telling the story of an alternate past–instead of World War I being a war fought by infantry, mine fields, and air raids, this Great War is fought by fabrications and machines. The War is between the Darwinists, nations that follow the teachings of Darwin (and in this alternate world, he has discovered how to “fabricate” many type of unique beings, including the Leviathan, a great airship composed of a whale and multitudes of other creatures), and the Clankers, the nations that fight using machinery and great metal Walkers that roam the land.

The story is told through the alternate stories of Deryn (also known as Dylan), a girl that pretended to be a boy to join the Darwinist air service, and Alek, heir to the Austria-Hungary (a Clanker nation) throne. As you can probably suspect, their stories become intertwined on the great ship of the Leviathan, which becomes in jeopardy of destruction.

Leviathan is a superb tale of adventure and suspense, a fantastically thrilling novel that is completely unique and refreshingly new. In a genre full of the paranormal and romance, a steampunk, warmongering novel is sure to rock the boat!

I recommend this novel for fans of Westerfeld, for young girls and boys, alike, and for anyone of any age that is intrigued by the story–it can be confusing at first, but by the end you are fully immersed in this alternate telling of one of the most famous stories of our world’s past.

The midwife declares Septimus Heap dead on the night of his birth, and then later that night his father, Silas, discovers a baby girl abandoned outside the town. The Heaps take in the baby girl and raise her as their own, over the years discovering more and more about her true identity. Throughout the course of the first book, Magyk, the reader wonders, what really happened to Septimus? What will happen to Jenna, the abandoned child? After years of living with the Heaps, Jenna is put in danger and Silas, along with a motley crue of other cast members (the “head” wizard of the land, Marcia, Nicko Heap, and more) must do all that they can to save her, while also attempting to restore order to a land that has been diminishing under the rule of the cruel head Custodian and the evil wizard DomDaniel.

I’d recommend this series for those who love fantasy with magic, wizards, stories of family ties, adventure, and suspense. I will be sure to post often as I continue throughout this series!

This year I decided to relax, stay at home with my family and read a few books. Oh, and of course I had to watch Independence Day. The 4th of July has always been a big day for action movies (especially if you’re Will Smith).

It’s a great patriotic movie for the holiday. And, oh, you have to have popcorn. Definitely. I feel the same way about these types of action movies as I do a great many books–many that would in turn make great movies themselves.

I just recently finished the 4th Percy Jackson book by Rick Riordan. I again recommend this series. It’s fun, humorous, and has insanely suspenseful storylines that kids and adults of all ages will enjoy immensely.

So this holiday, and this summer, pick up an action book or watch and action movie, toss back some popcorn and have fun!