May 2009 - Posts
The Last Olympian
Book Five in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
By: Rick Riordan
In case you've forgotten, Percy Jackson is a demi-god. He has a mortal mother and Poseidon is his father. He's been working his way through this information, along with making new friends at Camp Half Blood and going on quests to save the day. Oh, and there's that pesky prophecy that potentially means his death and his 16th birthday is only days away. And Kronos is back.
This book starts off at a good clip and doesn't let up throughout the rest of the story. I had a hard time putting it down! Of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the first 4 books in the series and have been waiting and waiting for this one! If you've read the previous books you know that Percy is a likable guy who truly does the best that he can, given his situation.
So basically at this time in the series we know that Kronos is using Luke's body to host him. Once Kronos regains his full power any parts of Luke that are still left will be destroyed. Percy has a hard time with the fact that Luke was a former friend of his who went rogue, and ended up hosting Kronos. To save the world, he has to kill Luke/Kronos. Then again, maybe the prophecy didn't mean Percy. He can only hope!
I love the fact that Riordan has incorporated so much mythology into this series. I'm fairly familiar with my mythology, but Riordan is a master! He brings in new characters/creatures that I've never even heard of! (Of course, they could be totally made up, but I just don't think Riordan would do that - he has so much invested in this series in making readers more familiar with the various gods and goddesses.)
All in all, two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Anyone whose read the first four books will be happy to know that this book is out and ready to be devoured!
On a side note, this is the last book to feature Percy as the main character. Riordan has said that this is the end of this series, but that there will be more books that involve Camp Half Blood and its various inhabitants. I'm excited to see what he'll come up with next!
Notes on the Cover:
I love it! Percy on Blackjack holding Riptide in front of the Empire State Building. Really, that sums up a majority of the book, as Percy's mission this time is to save Olympus, and if you're a fan of the series you know exactly where it's located!
Recommended To:
- Everyone! Everyone! Everyone!
- Boys are going to love this series - put it in their hands and watch them devour a book like never before!
- Reluctant readers - Riordan paces the action in such a way that you ALWAYS want to find out what's going to happen next. This is truly one of those books that will keep you up way past your bedtime!
On our shelves!
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
By: Laurie Halse Anderson
Illustrated By: Matt Faulkner
First of all, on the very first spread there's a little glossary of ‘Who's Who' which I think will be extremely helpful for youngsters (heck, even for adults!). Some terms include: Militia, Patriots, Loyalists and Parliament. A timeline follows which goes throughout the rest of the book. I love the continuity of facts in the timeline which can be read at the same time as the "fun" part of the book, or separately. It really depends on the reader and how much they want to know! I read them at the same time, which was interesting, but I think that the intended audience of this one might enjoy the illustrated text first, then go back and read the timeline (or vice versa) as you lose a bit of the continuity of the story going back and forth.
Most people probably think women didn't help all that much during the Revolution, or do things other than sew and nurse. They'd probably be quite surprised to know that there were women who dressed as men to become soldiers and that many were spies! They also took over family farms or even became blacksmiths if their husbands had died!
Generally speaking, I like the illustrations, but there's something about them that just bothers me a little bit. While I think they're fun and probably attractive to children, the added dialogue boxes don't always work for me, nor do the faces of the women. They aren't caricatures by any means, but that's what they remind me of. Granted, finding out what some of these women looked like may have proved difficult, but I think because of the seriousness of their contributions they could have been treated a little more respectfully. That's not to say the artists' intentions were to disrespect them, I think its far from it, I just don't always like the humor and find some of the dialogue difficult to follow, like on pages 32-33. Maybe its just me being picky, but I'm pretty sure the kids are going to love it.
At the end of the illustrated selection, there four pages of additional information! There are three sections titled: "Even More Dames," "Fact or Fiction?," and "The Other Americans." Honestly, the entire book could have read like this for me, even without the illustrations! I found it a lot more direct, but then you lose some of the ‘fun' of the text and illustrations working (or trying to) together. There are even notes from the author and the illustrator to give you a little background on just what they did for this seemingly quite time-consuming project!
As with all works of nonfiction, I love me a good bibliography, and this one is no disappointment, I can tell you! If my counting is correct, there are 45 (FORTY-FIVE) additional books listed, with ones that are of particular interest to adults starred! There are even 5 web resources! And an index! While I really enjoyed the book itself, the last 7 pages really outdo themselves for me!
Recommended To:
- Do you have an independent-minded daughter? Give her this book!
- How about a son who is interested in war? Give him this book!
- Grown women (and men) who like learning more about the role of women in history!
- Everyone!
On our shelves!
Funny How Things Change
By: Melissa Wyatt
Remy Walker hadn't really thought about leaving Dwyer, West Virginia until his girlfriend, Lisa, asks him to move to Pennsylvania with her when she goes to college. Remy is torn: he loves Lisa, but he doesn't know if he really wants to leave or not.
He agrees to go, since he doesn't really see a major reason not too. Everyone else seems to be quite willing to get out of town as soon as they can. Sooner, if possible. Then he runs into Dana, an artist who is spending her summer painting water towers to prove to her parents that she really can make money at being an artist. (They disapprove of her choice of major). He thinks about Dana a lot, and confusion sets in for young Remy. He loves Lisa, but there's just something about Dana that he can't quite figure out.
If you add in Remy's dad, their mountain (Walker mountain has been in his family for over 150 years) and the developers who want to buy it, you get quite the story. If the developers buy it, they will use it as a passageway to get to the other mountains that they are blowing up. Yes, the developers are literally blowing the tops off of the mountains to get to the coal inside. Remy's dad has made him an offer that he really thinks about before accepting. But what happens when he discovers something new about himself and wants to change his mind? Will it be too late? Will he choose Lisa or the mountain?
This was a good, quick read. You will feel for Remy as he comes to terms with how he feels about Lisa, his hometown, and leaving to see the rest of the world. This coming-of-age story will keep you turning the page, and leave you thinking about your own past choices long after you've finished the story.
Notes on the Cover:
Remy? Check. Water tower? Check. Trees? Check. (Although I would have rather seen an actual mountain). Girl? Check. (Lisa? Dana? Couldn't tell you!)
Recommended To:
- Boys who enjoy working on cars and the outdoors
- Okay, boys in general
- Anyone trying to decide what that ‘next step' is going to be
- Everyone!
On our shelves!
How I Learned Geography
By: Uri Shulevitz
2009 Caldecott Honor Award
A touching story about a family fleeing their war-ravaged homeland and going to the far east. They were very poor - so poor that they shared a small room with another couple. One day, our young narrator's father returns with a large map instead of bread. At first, this is the most disappointing thing that could happen to our young narrator as he is starving, but after his father hangs the map (which takes up an entire wall) he becomes fascinated by it. He studies and draws it, all the while letting his imagination run free to take him to all of those exotic-sounding places.
The story is charming and to read it silently is delicious. To read it aloud would be truly a treasure.
The pastel colors really help to highlight hunger, deprivation, loneliness and then really help to make our young traveler's imagination pop. Shulevitz does a lot with his simple, yet complicated illustrations. This one is truly worthy of the honor it received!
I also really appreciated the author's note at the end. Parents will probably be more appreciative, but they would also be able to share it with their children.
Recommended To:
- Story times dealing with war or geography
- Boys and girls alike!
- Everyone!
On our shelves!
Burning Bright
By: Tracy Chevalier
A chance encounter with Philip Astley leads the Kellaway family to London after a family tragedy. Once there, the family from the country town of Piddletrenthide has a rude awakening as to what life is like in the city. Fortunately for them, the curious Maggie Butterfield takes young Jem and Maisie under her wings and helps instruct them in London life.
Their next door neighbor is William Blake whose beliefs incite those loyal to the king. American readers will most likely agree with his stance that it is a citizen's duty to question their government, but at the time, it was scandalous. He and his wife make frequent appearances throughout the story, and are instrumental in the development of Maisie, Jem and Maggie.
Chevalier's main characters are three-dimensional and she makes it easy to feel a connection with them, especially when you and they know they're taking the wrong path, but they do it anyways. The secondary characters aren't as well drawn out, but you get enough about them to fully understand their importance to the story.
So, life in London isn't exactly what the Kellaways thought it would be. Will they stay or will they retreat back to Piddletrenthide?
Notes on the Cover:
Faded pictures from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience provide a nice touch to this novel. My biggest beef with the cover is that I really dislike the band across the middle of the book that says it's from the New York Times Bestselling Author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. Honestly, I don't mind when they remind you who an author is, or what their best-known work is, but the way it is done on this book is just plain tacky. That shouldn't be the focus on the cover of a book. I mean, it seems like they think it wouldn't sell without that little bit of information that could have gone on the bottom or top of the book.
Recommended To:
- Fans of historical fiction
- Anyone whose interested in William Blake
- Those who enjoyed Girl with a Pearl Earring (I read it ages ago and really liked it)
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
By: Marla Frazer
2009 Caldecott Honor Award
Oh the hilarity! If you are the parents of young boys or even if you just appreciate a little irony, this is the book for you!
James is going to his friend Eamon's grandparents house for a week to attend nature camp. The boys are already friends, but the soon become inseparable. So much so, that Bill (Eamon's grandpa) starts referring to them as Jamon to save time! Grandpa Bill loves nature and would love to visit Antarctica to see the penguins. Grandma Pam prefers people to penguins.
The basic premise of the book is simple, the illustrations are done in a cartoon-like way which will attract young children, and definitely target the little guys with this one! They'll appreciate how much they are like James and Eamon, and adults will love reading this one aloud with their kids, because they may get more out of the humor than the kids do! I love it when the words of the text tell you one thing and the pictures are a completely different story.
Suffice it to say, although the boys think nature camp is dull and boring (which the illustrations will disprove) they still want to go back next year!
Recommended To:
- Great for storytime
- Reluctant boy readers - they'll identify with these two, mark my words!
- Adults! You'll love it!
- Everyone!
On our shelves!
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
By: Trenton Lee Stewart
Reynie, Sticky and Kate are all on their way to Mr. Benedict’s house to meet up with him and Constance for a reunion. When they get there, chaos abounds as Mr. Benedict and Number Two have gone missing, and the house is swarming with investigators, some of whom may not be trustworthy.
When the children find out that they were to go on a trip that Mr. Benedict had planned for them, they are a little sad that they won’t be going, but when it comes to light that they may be just the people to save Mr. Benedict and Number Two, they make a pact to do just that.
Following the clues Mr. Benedict leaves for the children is a big part of the adventure of this book, but when you add in the evil Ten Men and the plot of Mr. Curtain, you know that the children are going to be facing danger at every turn!
Notes on the Cover:
I love the ship and the children doing their thing on it, but the problem with it is that while on the ship, the children are basically kept to their room. I find it a little unfaithful to the text, as the children are on the ship at a couple of points, but what they seem to be doing on it just doesn’t feel accurate to me.
Recommended To:
¨ Fans of the first one! (Review on this blog: June 14, 2008)
¨ Anyone who enjoys mysteries
¨ Everyone!
On our shelves!
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
By: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Yes, you read that title correctly. Seth Grahame-Smith has taken Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice and added zombie mayhem in England to this classic social tale. When I first heard about this title I assumed it was some strange publicity/marketing ploy to sell more copies of Pride and Prejudice. What a strange day it was when I looked it up on Amazon and lo and behold, there it was! At first I was tentative to read this book. I am an admitted Austenite (a lover of all things having to do with Jane Austen) and I’ve read some decent takes current authors have written on what happens after the ending of the novel, and I’ve read some really horrible ones. Let me be quite frank in saying that zombies are not my particular cup of tea, and that the cover on this book is garish enough to make a girl lose her appetite, but I picked it up anyways and decided to read the first few paragraphs – out loud, in Barnes and Noble, to my mom. We laughed the whole time!
Imagine Austen’s feminine, somewhat unconventional female characters and add to the mix the fact that they have been trained in China and are masters at fighting the zombie infestation. All of the girls have small knives they keep hidden and they also have Katana swords and a dojo on their property to practice in. They are trained warriors, yet that still doesn’t stop Lydia’s running, Mary’s bookishness or even Elizabeth’s wit. It actually adds to the drama between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine, explains a little better as to why Charlotte marries Mr. Collins, and amps up the scenes between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy by their fighting. Literally!
Now, to be fair, all is not fun and games in this book. Grahame-Smith still uses the majority of Austen’s work in its original form, but with added excitement! For those familiar with Pride and Prejudice and its understated (and sometimes quite overlooked) witticisms, you will not be disappointed as they are still there. What has been added, however, are some more direct and modern points of view and language use. For example, right on page one when Mrs. Bennett is prattling on about the new tenants at Netherfield Park, Mr. Bennett replies with: “Woman, I am attending to my musket. Prattle on if you must, but leave me to the defense of my estate!” and Grahame-Smith leaves the Austen line of: “This was invitation enough” which still cracks me up.
Now, not everyone is going to love this retelling. My biggest problem with this book doesn’t really deal with the zombies at all. It involves the fact that ‘vomit’ and ‘vomiting’ are used more than I would have expected. It usually is in an appropriate place (if you will), but it gets a bit difficult to stomach if you’re eating and reading at the same time. I believe the word is used to make the situation humorous and to add a little more obvious absurdity to the tale, but I honestly would have been happy with a little less of that talk. I hope that those with weak stomachs will appreciate the warning and not let it put you off this book completely because it probably really isn’t that bad, but if you have issues with that particular function just don’t eat and read at the same time!