Review: The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 3) by Rick Riordan

**WARNING** May contain spoilers if you haven’t read The Lightning Thief (review) and The Sea of Monsters (review).

Once again Percy Jackson and his friends must save all of humanity (and the Gods) in the third entry of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. With some new characters in tow, Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and newly restored Thalia face new monsters and new challenges as they track down a mysterious monster that has the possibility to destroy the Gods, and rescue Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt.

I chose The Titan’s Curse as a quick, refreshing palate cleanser and that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t as drawn into it as much as I was with the previous books, but it got me excited toward the end when I became invested in the story and it’s outcome. Is this series as good as Harry Potter? No. But is it a nice read and a good reminder of why fantasy is fun and richly entertaining? Yes. Do I wish I had the fourth book in the series handy at my fingertips right now? You bet I do.

Overall I’m still enjoying the Percy Jackson series as a nice change of pace and tone from more literary fare. I’d highly recommend it to readers of a younger age.

3 1/2 stars

Review: Keeper by Kathi Appelt

There are only two things the moon can do for certain. One is to shine her silver light as hard as she can. And the other is to push and pull the tides.
Keeper – Kathi Appelt

Keeper is a ten-year old girl living on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. Keeper’s mother, Meggie Marie, left her when she was a child so she lives with a young woman named Signe, and her dog named BD (short for Best Dog). Signe tells Keeper that her mother was a mermaid and went back to the sea after Keeper was born. So Keeper grows up believing in mermaids and fairytales and that she’s a special girl with special mermaid abilities.

Next to Keeper and Signe lives Mr. Beauchamp, an old man with a one-eyed cat named Sinbad. Mr. Beauchamp is waiting and wishing and hoping that someday he’ll be reunited with the boy with blue eyes. The boy he met when he was so many years younger. The boy he ran from and could never find again.

Down the road from Mr. Beauchamp is Dogie. Dogie runs a surf-board rental shop and Keeper likes to work with him. Dogie is in love with Signe and on the day the book begins, he’s practiced a two-word song that he’s going to sing for Signe that night. Keeper can’t wait for Dogie’s two-word song.

Everything is supposed to go perfectly that night, the night of a blue moon. Signe will make her blue moon gumbo, Mr. Beauchamp’s night flowers will bloom and he’ll be done waiting, and Dogie will sing his two-word song. But Keeper messes it all up. Wracked with guilt Keeper turns to the only person who can help her, her mother, Meggie Marie the mermaid. Desperate to find her mother so she can fix everything, Keeper embarks on an ocean-bound journey and gets swept away into danger and desperation.

Keeper reads as a children’s book should read, simple language, pictures to enhance the imagination, a fun story with adventure and a little girl who doesn’t know better. But underneath the fairytale of talking crabs and seagulls who eat watermelon are adult topics. Unwed mothers who abandon their children, a scary birth scene in the middle of the ocean, age and death, a veteran traumatized from his experience in the war, and love that doesn’t necessarily meet everyone elses expectations. These are real-world scenarios placed in a children’s book and I can’t imagine an eight year old, no matter how mature, understanding some of the more difficult themes.

Another detail that makes Keeper more than a children’s book is the narrative. The storytelling isn’t linear; it doesn’t follow a set arc. We are with Keeper on her journey, and then we flashback to what happened to Signe when she ran away from home, and where Mr. Beauchamp lived when he was younger, and what happened to Dogie to make him stutter the way he does. Beautiful literary themes all of them, but I do caution anyone who wants to get this book for their child that they should expect some question-and-answer sessions to follow.

I loved Keeper for containing the topics it did, for being mature and expecting more from a child reader. For containing hints of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky (Oh frabjous day, calloo callay!). And like Lewis Carroll’s works, I loved it for being a tad dark and ominous. It doesn’t patronize to the younger audience,  it exposes the fact that the world we live in is not a fairytale and that’s okay. Through the childlike language is a story about a group of people who care for each other, individually unique humans, tragically brought together, but living happily in the “world unto itself.”

3 stars

(I received this book from the publisher for review)

Review: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

People sometimes talk about the power of first impressions, and believe me, there is truth to it. The path of your life can change in an instant. Not just the path of your life but the path of all your lives, the path of your soul. Whether you remember or not. It makes you want to think hard before you act. 
My Name is Memory – Ann Brashares

I suppose that I could start out by saying that this was a decent book. Am I head over heels for it? Not exactly. But did I want to poke my eyes out? No.

My Name is Memory is the first in a trilogy, which will be a good thing because fans of Young Adult books are bound to relish it. It’s a book about love that crosses time and distance. Daniel has loved Sophia from the first time he saw her, thousands of years ago. Now that she is Lucy, he loves her more. Daniel has the gift of Memory; he can recall all his past lives every time he is born in a new body. For all of his lives he has searched for the reincarnated Sophia, knowing they belong together. But something, or someone, always seems to tear them apart. He was close to her once, knowing her as Lucy in high school, but he scared her away when he tried to tell her the truth. So he vowed to watch her from a distance, never to interfere, until the day his distance puts her in danger. Daniel’s brother Joaquim was once married to Sophia. When Daniel rescued Sophia from Joaquim’s abusive rage, Joaquim vows to get revenge and he carries his hatred with him into each of his new lives. If Joaquim finds Lucy and discovers she’s Sophia, Daniel may not be able to rescue her in time.

My main problem with this book is the same problem I had with Stephenie Meyer’s The Host: it’s lauded as an “adult” book, meaning not Young Adult fiction, but I didn’t get that distinction in The Host, and I don’t get it in My Name is Memory. Adding a couple of intimacy scenes along with abuse and genocide doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve written a more adult type of book. Though the plot was intriguing, and the writing wasn’t awful, I didn’t find that My Name is Memory contained the true maturity or message fit for it to be considered in the realm of “adulthood.” My definition of an “adult novel” would be one of stellar writing and advanced theme, characters with depth. Brashares writing was just average, and there were parts of the plot that were contrived and forced. When comparing it to The Time Traveler’s Wife, Niffenegger’s book is far superior, especially in terms of an “adult” novel.

I think a lot of younger readers will love My Name is Memory, and a lot of readers who enjoy lighter books. You shouldn’t pick it up thinking it’s going to be a serious novel, but it’s good for escapism. Will I read the next in the series? Probably. Will I replace Twilight with My Name is Memory? Never.

3 stars

(I received this book from the publisher for review)

Review: The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 2) by Rick Riordan

Hermes shrugged. “Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related, for better or worse… and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 2) – Rick Riordan

**WARNING** May contain spoilers if you haven’t read The Lightning Thief (review)

Book two of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series opens to find Percy at Meriwether Prep, another new school, with another new and strange friend, Tyson. Soon Percy is defending his life against canibals, being rescued by his old friend Annabeth, and fleeing his burning gymnasium with Annabeth and Tyson, who shows some strange and remarkable skills. Upon returning to Camp Half-Blood, Percy is greeted by mechanical bulls, and a raging battle on Half-Blood Hill. Thalia’s tree has been poisoned, and the magical borders of the Camp are no longer protecting the campers. Monsters are invading, Chiron’s been banished, Grover is missing, and Mr. D can’t seem to control or protect anyone anymore.

The Sea of Monsters is another wonderful juvenile adventure novel. Lacking as much of the emotional connection as Harry Potter, it’s still a good time to be had. Percy and friends must embark on another journey to find a magical object to save Grover as well as restore the magical boundaries of Camp Half-Blood by healing Thalia’s tree. Luke is back, with more evil plans in store, and he becomes what I presume will be the reigning villain throughout much of the series.

With a plethera of monsters, adventure, hanging-on-by-the-edge-of-your-teeth, and perilously-close-to-death goings-on, The Sea of Monsters successfully continues my enjoyment of a youthful adventure series. Percy is still dealing with his daddy-issues, but he’s starting to realize who he is inside, which is growth and progress. Without giving away too much, I’ll tell you the end is the best part of the novel. A fabulous cliffhanger that makes me fingers reach for The Titan’s Curse, knowing I can’t read it just yet.

4 stars

(I purchased this book with my own dough)

Review: The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin by Patrick Doud

Patrick Doud’s fantasy novel, The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin (the first of The Winnitok Tales series) introduces us to young Elwood Pitch, thirteen years old, living with his parents, sister, and dog Slukee in Massachusetts. In his outings one day he and Slukee are transported to another place, the land of Winnitok in the world of Ehm. In the world of Ehm there are humans like Elwood, but there are also those who live somewhere between human and animal. There are normal people, and there are people with magical powers. There are creatures summoned from the dead, and there are beings who are immortal. Together with his new friend Drallah, and her raven Booj, Elwood and Slukee must venture through the wide lands of Ehm searching for the missing immortal Nohar, Granashon, the only one who can save Drallah’s home of Winnitok. Chased by wicked yugs (monstery), and aided by the woogans (dwarfy), Drallah, Elwood, Booj, and Slukee must find the magical eye of Ogin, a turtle shell with mystical all-seeing power, to find Granashon and protect the land from an evil sorcerer and his army. Yes, all that happens. Additionally there’s a magical plum tree, an herb-witch, a spoiled girl-queen who lives in a teepee, poison ivy to kill the monstrous yugs, and a putrid swamp ruled by a giant frog. Did I get everything?

This book is intense; it is a long story, with lots of details. Winnitok refers to Drallah’s land, but the world itself is Ehm, and there are a handful of other lands mentioned that had me confused at times. The various human versus human-like creatures are a bit overwhelming, but they are imaginative and creative and mostly enjoyable. The story of a young boy facing an intimidating challenge is heartening, and Elwood is a wonderful protagonist, young but brave, and I enjoyed seeing him mature and grow. Drallah is the typical courageous female, stoic and poised, but not unlikable; a great role model for Elwood to emulate.

Doud’s writing is smart and quick, accessable and enjoyable. His action and chase sequences put me on the edge of my seat. His creations of these other-worlds are compared to The Lord of the Rings, and I can see a few similarities, but mostly The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin is fun and unique. It introduces different themes and messages based on our cultures (people who live in teepees; two female woogans married to each other; an evil people who want to destroy a natural land for their own profit) but they aren’t so blatantly obvious that I felt I was being hit over the head or preached at. I would recommend this as a good story for mature ten-year olds and up. While I wasn’t completely infatuated, I will definitely read the next book in the series when it is released in 2011, as Elwood’s exciting challenges are sure to continue past The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin.

3 stars

(I received this book through LibraryThing Early Review)

Review: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan

Imagine being twelve and living with your mother and your evil, beer drinking, poker playing, smelly step-father. Imagine you’re dyslexic, ADHD, and have only one friend at school. Imagine that school is the sixth school you’ve attended in as many years, and you’re failing every class but Latin. Then imagine you go on a field trip, get blamed for pushing a mean girl into a fountain, and end up running for your life from your math teacher who has turned into a crazy bat-lady with fangs. That’s what Percy Jackson has to deal with in The Lightning Thief. He doesn’t know why he’s different, but somehow he is.

Everything that happens to Percy leads to the revelation that he’s the son of a Greek god. Not knowing which god is his father, he travels to Camp Half-Blood where other children of the gods train and prepare for future quests. When Percy is framed for the theft of Zeus’ master lightning bolt, he and his friends Grover and Annabeth must travel to Los Angeles to find the underworld lord Hades, and retrieve what was stolen to clear Percy’s name and stop the brewing war among the gods. On the way they learn that nothing is as simple as it seems.

Book 1 of Percy Jackson & The Olympians definitely made me want to read Book 2, and so on. It wasn’t meant to be a heavy and serious novel, but simply a fun, fantasy-filled, magical book which made me reminisce of Harry Potter. I didn’t want the book to end because I can’t start the second one right away. I look forward to the continuing adventures of Percy and his friends. I’d highly recommend this if you’re sad that Harry Potter is done, and you want something else to make you feel young again. The Lightning Thief is meant for children, and for the children at heart.

4 stars

Review: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

This book is one that most everyone reads at some point in time in elementary school. I don’t believe I ever did, so I felt I should catch up on what I missed out. Reading it from an adult point of view is different than what I imagine it would be like as a fifth grader. It’s still an adorably cute book, and I still love little Charles Wallace, but I also appreciate the morals and messages Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which bring to the page. I feel like it was a short, quick read, but that the end came and went much too swiftly. I know it’s meant for younger people, but I felt like more meat could have enriched the story. The drama lead up to Meg having to rescue Charles Wallace from IT on Camazotz… and then all of a sudden she’s got him, she’s crying, there’s lots of love all around, and they’re back home and Father’s home and the stories done all in the last two pages. It was such a fun read in the beginning that the end was very disappointing. But how much should I really complain? It was written in sixties, way before it’s time, and I wanted something light to read through before the madness of Wedding weekend. I appreciate that it kept me breathing and relaxed.

3 stars