Book Review: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long. 

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle. 

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

Sea of Monsters. What can I say? This book reminded me so very much of The Iliad and the Odyssey that it's not even funny.
But actually it was funny. It was hilarious. I mean, I enjoyed the Iliad and the Odyssey, but I didn't laugh. Someone needs to tell Homer that this new version of his story is better cause it's funny.

Anyone who's read Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief should just go ahead and continue the series. It's great -- Just keeps getting better with each book. 

So I can't really tell you much about this book without going all "spoiler alert" on you. But I recommend it highly. I've also heard there's a movie coming out? 

Which I don't really see how that's possible since they screwed up the first movie plot so much they can't really introduce the second without completely re-writing it. 

Enough rant. I gave this book 4/5 on goodreads.com.

read it! now.
thanks.


Next up:
The Titan's Curse
by Rick Riordan 

Book Review: Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

I'm ashamed to admit this, but I've actually owned this book since 7th grade and just now got around to reading it. I won't tell you how many years it's been since then because I don't want you to think I'm old, but let's just say that was a long time ago.

So in this book, (which was a middle grade book, not a YA) Jeremy Fink gets a box. It's from his father, who died about 5 years before the box was sent.
Inside the box is another box. This box is unique and can only be opened by four different keys. Unfortunately, the keys were lost.

Jeremy and his friend, Lizzy, go on some crazy adventure around New York City (because normal parents let their kids roam the streets of NYC all the time) and eventually get to meet some really cool people. 

They help an elderly gentleman return old items from his grandfather's pawn shop to the children who pawned them off 30-50 years ago. Being a total history geek, I found myself loving the fact that they learned the story behind the antiques they were asked to return.

Over the course of time, they learn a bunch of people's take on the meaning of life. 

Through rather strange and highly improbable events, Jeremy and Lizzy finally find the keys and open the box. They learn the meaning of life according to Jeremy's dad.

All in all this was a good story. There were a few times I rolled my eyes going "no kid says that." But for the most part, I loved it. There were even a few times I nearly cried. But let's keep that a secret, shall we?

I also learned that this book is being made into a movie. I hope this is true because if it is, I'm definitely going to watch it.

For a middle grade, it was great. I give it 3/5.

Next up:
The Sea of Monsters
by Rick Riordan

Book Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

So the main character, Auden, is an anti-social insomniac. Can someone say, "this book was written about Deena?"

Long story short, she goes to the beach for a summer of fun and ends up friends with a fellow insomniac named Eli.

He's hot, haunted, and needs a haircut. She starts hanging out with him, but not before she finds out he's the brother of the guy she hooked up with on her first night in town. -whoops. Somebody made a boo boo.

But anyways, Auden finally finds out why he's so distant. 

SPOILER ALERT, they spend all their nights together and eventually fall for each other. Go figure. 

As much as I loved the story, Sarah's writing style drives me nuts. She went into overdrive on details that weren't important to the story and didn't go into enough details on things that I felt made a significant impact on the plot. 

Also, what's with the random flashbacks in the middle of a paragraph? Drove me up the wall.

I found myself hating Auden's parents. Not sure if I was supposed to or not, but I did nonetheless. Loved Eli, which I'm 99.99% sure I was supposed to. I also found myself relating to Auden. 

Pet peeves in writing aside, the story was gripping. I read the whole book in less than 24 hours. That doesn't happen unless it's Harry Potter or the power is out.

I give this book 4/5. Would have been better had it not been for excessive details that left me saying "I don't care" or not enough details that left me going "what in the HECK just happened?"

Recommended, for sure. 

Next up:
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
by Wendy Mass