The Lightning Thief
Title: The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Copyright: 2005 (Hyperion); 375 pgs.
ISBN: 0-7868-3865-5
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1
Reading Level: 9 -12 years
Genre: Fantasy
The scoop: Twelve year old Percy Jackson is completely unaware he is the son of a Greek god. After strange things begin to happen, and he and his mother are attacked by a mythological creature, Percy ends up in a special summer camp for godlings. There, he makes new friends and learns his real father’s identity. However, the revelation is hardly good news on Mount Olympus: Zeus believes Percy stole his master thunderbolt. To prevent a war among the gods, Percy, along with his friends Grover and Annabeth, set out on a quest to find the missing item by the summer solstice.
Comments: The book is written in 1st person, so it had a definite “boy” feel to it — at least I thought so. I thought the book started off slow, but once Percy gets his quest, things pick up and I was hooked to the end. With the action comes violence. Greek myths are pretty violent to begin with — the hero battling the monsters who are trying to stop him from reaching his goal — so in that respect it’s no different from the other retellings. Percy meets each challenge bravely and does his best to protect his friends and the innocent bystanders.
Why I read it: I have three young nephews and an eleven-year-old niece. The niece — we’ll call her D — is already an avid reader, and it is something I hope stays with her. D’s read the Harry Potter series already and seems to like fantasy well enough. I probably could recommend this to her. However, her brother — henceforth referred to as A1 (there is a nephew A2) — told me that “reading is for girls”. I reminded him that his father reads. He’s a little too young yet for this series, but I’ll keep it in mind for the future (A2 and E are even younger).
Besides the above, I chose to read the book because it looked interesting. I was fascinated with the Greek mythology, probably around the age of 10 or 11, influenced, no doubt, by the original Clash of the Titans. As I was reading, I couldn’t help thinking about that movie. It also reminded me of Disney’s Hercules, as well as the television series, Hercules: the Legendary Journeys and its spin-off, Xena. It was a bit weird to have all those images floating about in my mind at the same time.
What I liked: I liked the summer camp (the concept, the setup, etc.); same thing about the Underworld. I also liked the real-world jobs some of the mythological characters had — I didn’t catch on to the gnome emporium right away. I also liked the reasons the author gave for the gods to be in the New World instead of Greece and why certain gods stopped having half-blood children.
What I didn’t like: As an adult with no children — and I know I’m not the target audience — nothing really stood out. However, due to the violence and what happens to Percy’s mother in the beginning and his step-father in the end, I would advise a parent to read it first so they can decide if younger children are ready to read such things.
Would I recommend it to The Younger Crowd?: As stated above, yes, I probably will recommend this to my nephews and niece — and I will ask their mothers first in regards to content.
Started: 15 March 2010
Finished: 24 March 2010
Rating:
Liked A Lot
Disclaimer: I purchased this book.
Eggsecutive Orders
Title: Eggsecutive Orders
Author: Julie Hyzy
Copyright: 2010 (Berkley); 310 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-425-23203-3
Series: White House Chef #3
Sensuality: N/A
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Who: Olivia “Ollie” Paras, White House Executive Chef
Spoilers, but NOT about the mystery!
The Victim: NSA Special Agent Carl Minkus. Had a Joe McCarthy-like reputation when it came to people he suspected of having terrorist ties. His death is sudden and it is believed that he was poisoned.
The Suspects: Quiet a few, as it would be expected when it comes to a man like Minkus, who has dealings with people he suspects of being spies or terrorists. However, Ollie and her staff come under suspicion because he died after eating at the White House.
The Investigation: Ollie and her crew are banned from the White House. Naturally, Ollie is upset and wants to defend the reputation of her staff. She’s being pressured by the Secret Service to keep her nose out of their investigation. Tom, her Secret Service boyfriend, has been told that he’s being held responsible for her actions; that if she gets too involved, he’ll be reassigned from the Presidential Protective Detail. Ollie has no intentions of getting involved in the actual investigation. The Easter Egg Roll is just around the corner and her staff has a lot of things to do for the event. She wants to know when they can return to the kitchen, and if there is anything she can do to make that happen sooner.
Meanwhile: Ollie’s mother and grandmother are visiting. Her plans to show them the White House and have them attend the Easter Egg Roll are on hold, pending the outcome of the investigation. However, Ollie can’t seem to avoid the investigation. She accidentally encounters Ruth Minkus and her son, Joel while sight-seeing with her family, and an “investigative” journalist keeps printing things about her and the incidents at the White House.
Unexpected Developments: Corinne, Ollie’s mother, flirts with a guy that Ollie’s not really sure about. Corinne actually goes out on a date with the man. Apparently, romance is in the air. In the course of the book, Ollie learns of two other romances — just as her relationship with Tom is falling apart.
Fun Fact: While I was reading this book, the History Channel had a special about the White House, filmed during the last year or so of the previous administration, and it featured the real executive chef and chief usher.
The Verdict: I liked this one better than the last one. I thought the mystery was more believable. Ollie continues to be a little too stubborn for her own good and, in this book, it comes with consequences. Poor Tom, I really felt for him.
Recommended for: Mystery lovers and foodies (there are recipes in the back).
Started: 10 January 2010
Finished: 20 January 2010
Rating:
Liked A Lot
Disclaimer: I purchased this book.
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Title: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Author: Jennifer Rardin
Copyright: 2007 (Orbit); 335 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-316-04354-0
Series: Jaz Parks #1
Sensuality: N/A
Who: Jasmine “Jaz” Parks
Where: Miami
Summary: Jaz Parks works for the CIA. Her boss Vayl is a vampire — one of the good guys — and an assassin. Their latest assignment was supposed to be a text-book op: eliminate a plastic surgeon with ties to terrorists. But the man in question is involved with more than just terrorism and someone is specifically targeting Vayl.
Comments: It’s been three months since I’ve read this book and it’s another one of those cases where I was so involved in the story that I didn’t bother with note-taking during the reading, nor did I jot down any after-read notes before moving on to the next book. Some skimming reminded me of what I really loved about the book.
I really liked the main character. Jaz is hardly perfect and she isn’t blessed with superstrength or other super-skills. She has the ability to sense vampires, but she got that skill at a very high price. She tough and funny, yet she’s also vulnerable. Jaz has issues that she has to work through and I’m glad the author didn’t try to resolve all of them in the first book — though it is important to also see that Jaz is working through them, so hopefully we see that over the course of the series. Jaz is also a very caring person. She loves her family (most of them, anyway) and she worries about putting friends in danger.
Vampires as romantic leads is not my favorite theme in general; however, because I loved the TV show ANGEL, if the vampire in question reminds me of him, then I’m more inclined to the like him as well. That’s the case with Vayl. Like Jaz, he’s not perfect and he seems almost human is his vulnerability. I like that he is not overwhelmingly powerful and that he actually does need Jaz’s help.
I also liked the secondary cast of characters who Jaz and Vayl turned to for help. I liked the world-building and the writer’s voice. I plan to read the rest of the series. Hopefully, I’ll take notes.
Started: 14 July 2009
Finished: 18 July 2009
Rating:
Liked A Lot
What Others Have Said:
Bitten By Books
BSC Review
Love Vampires
Books and Other Thoughts
Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog
Blog Critics
Disclaimer: I purchased this book.
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This is a re-post, due to data loss. (Oct 09)
21 Oct – Mishel – “This a series I have yet to start but have been meaning to for quite some time. Jaz definitely sounds like my kind of heroine =)”
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