Review of The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Book:  The Lost Hero
Author:  Rick Riordan
Published by:  Hyperion Books for Children
Page:  557

From Goodreads:  Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

Oh I absolutely loved the Percy Jackson series, so I was excited to go back to camp Half-Blood and visit some of my old friends and meet some new ones.  

This book was fast paced, action packed, and full of fun, witty comments.  My new friends Jason, Leo and Piper are Demi-gods who are kind of "amped up" compared to what we were used to.  I had a hard time with this because for me Percy Jackson was the be all Demigod and now there are these new powerful Demigods.

Jason, Leo and Piper are great characters.  They are strong characters who developed more and more with every chapter.  Leo is so funny and will keep you laughing throughout.  Piper is a beautiful individual inside and out, and Jason is strong, but confused.  I really like how Riordan based this series not only on one main hero but on three.  This book was told from each of their view points in alternating sections.  It wasn't confusing like you might think it would be and it worked very well for this novel.  
  
The situations that Jason, Leo and Piper get into are fascinating.  I love how Rick Riordan brings Greek mythology to life.  There are many old stories I remember being told, but Riordan really elaborates on these stories and gives them a new twist.     


If you're looking for a fun, action filled read this is great for all ages.  I give this ★★★★ and 1/2

First Giveaway!!

I'm so excited to be able to host my first giveaway.  I'm giving away a copy of The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg.  I really loved this novel and you can check out my review here.

Giveaway rules:
You must be 13 years of age or older,
one entry per person,
the deadline is March 17th, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST
and you must fill out this FORM.

This is open both to U.S. readers and international readers. 

Review of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Book:  The Sky is Everywhere
Author:  Jandy Nelson
Published by:  Dial
Pages:  272


From Goodreads:  Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Wow...I've heard this novel was good, but I didn't expect to be this blown away.  It was so hearbreakingly beautiful that I couldn't put it down or stop thinking about it.  

Lennie recently lost her older sister.  They were so close that it almost seemed they were part of each other and now Lennie is lost without Bailey.  This is one of the parts that really got to me.  Baily and Lennie are a lot like my sister and I.  She is my best friend and I can't image life without her.  

This book is about grief and how to continue your life after you've lost the most important person in it.  Everyone deals with grief different and it is shown in this book.  Lennie feels like she's alone in her grief until she starts hanging out with Toby, Bailey's old boyfriend.  They help each other remember Bailey and comfort each other with their mutual grief.
  
My favorite character had to be Joe.  Joe is the new boy in town who starts hanging out the Lennie.  He also helps her with her grief, but in a different way.  He makes her smile again and feel happy.   Joe and Lenny's relationship is one to go down in history.  It's so romantic and swoon worthy that it challenges the great love stories of all time.

Both of these boys help her with her grief in different ways and both are essential parts of her life and her grieving process.

The writing in this novel was beautiful with a lyrical flow that had you savoring every word.  

I absolutely adored this novel and would give it ★★★★★    

Follow My Blog Friday

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View.

           My answer to this week's Follow Friday question: 

What embarrassing thing have you done on cold medicine? 

I don't know if I have necessary done anything embarrassing when on cold medicine before.  However, I did once take a night time sleep aid instead of a pain reliever by mistake and I ended falling asleep during a meeting.  That was kind of embarrassing.  

What about you?

Movies before books?

So many books are getting turned into movies that it's not uncommon to read your favorite book and then go see the movie version, but how common is it to see the movie and then go read the book?  Just the other day I saw a preview for I Am Number Four and I went to the bookstore to pick up the book because I wanted to read it before seeing the movie.  I know of multiple movie previews (I Am Number Four, Percy Jackson, etc) that made me go and read the book before I saw the movie, but how many movies have I watched first and then went on to read the book?  I can think of three...Romeo and Juliet, A Walk to Remember, and Misery?

What about you?  Which movies have you seen before you read the books?  And which format did you like better?

Review of The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder

Book:  The Lipstick Laws
Author:  Amy Holder
Published by:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages:  240
Available:  April 4th, 2011

From Goodreads:  At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is the queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life with a snap of perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her.   For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. April is so unpopular, kids don't even know she exists. But one lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity.   But Britney's friendship comes with a high price tag. How much is April willing to pay? 

This novel starts out with April's first day of her sophomore year.  She is lonely and friendless.  Somehow during gym class she gets paired with the most popular girl in the school.  Is it luck, or fate...well it doesn't matter because April is just excited to have some potential friends.  But after a while Britney becomes demanding and April realizes that Britney's standards seem a little outrageous, but it's worth it to be popular and have friends, right? 

I've heard a lot of people comparing it to the movie, Mean Girls and I'd have to agree with them.  No matter how much people try to deny it everyone wants to be 'liked' in high school.  You want to have great friends, a cute boyfriend (or girlfriend), a rockin social life, and it wouldn't hurt to throw a little popularity in the mix too.  But the question for those people, just like it was for April, is what are you willing to sacrifice for that popularity? 

This was a really fast, fun read.  The dialogue was witty and laugh-out-loudable.  Even though this was a cute read I think there was a deeper issue at hand --- bullying.  This is happening in a lot of schools lately and it's not just the boys, it's the girls too and they can be just as vicious if not more.   

I can't imagine ever being on someone like Brittney's bad side.  If Britney didn't like someone, she made their life miserable.  People even transferred schools just to get anyway from her.  I can't imagine someone so mean and hurtful, but I'm not naive enough to think that people like Britney are just fictional. 

Besides the bullying there were also other issues such as body image that were brought up.  One of the reasons I liked this book is that it talked about peoples insecurities.  This is not something most people talk about or want anyone else to know about.  I think it's important to see these things in books so that people realize they are not alone.     

At times I loved April and at times I wanted to smack her upside the head to knock some sense into her.  This didn't only happen at the beginning of the book, but also in the middle and towards the end too.  She was a nice, sweet girl, but sometimes her priorities were not in the right place.


 Overall I liked this book, but had some issues with how both of the main characters acted (I don't want to get into it too much because of spoilers).  I think this is a great read for people in middle school and high school to help them understand that popularity sometimes isn't all people hoped it would be.  

I'd give this book ★★★ 

Disclaimer:  I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher and from NetGalley for my honest review with no compensation.  This did not affect my opinion or review in any way.  

Review of A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay

Book:  A Secret Kept
Author:  Tatiana de Rosnay
Published by:  St. Martin's Press
Pages:  303

From Goodreads:  It all began with a simple seaside vacation, a brother and sister recapturing their childhood.  Antoine Rey thought he had the perfect surprise for his sister Mélanie’s birthday: a weekend by the sea at Noirmoutier Island, where the pair spent many happy childhood summers playing on the beach.  It had been too long, Antoine thought, since they’d returned to the island—over thirty years, since their mother died and the family holidays ceased.  But the island’s haunting beauty triggers more than happy memories; it reminds Mélanie of something unexpected and deeply disturbing about their last island summer.  When, on the drive home to Paris, she finally summons the courage to reveal what she knows to Antoine, her emotions overcome her and she loses control of the car.

This book is about a family that soon discovers a secret from their past that they never really knew about.  Antoine and Melanie's mother died when they were young and a recent trip starts sparking unexplainable memories and a desire to find out the truth.  

While the family secret is the main catch of this story there is also so much more.  It's really about family, how they interact and the people that are not necessarily related to us that we call family.  It is told from Antoine point of view and follows his 'semi mid-life' crisis.  His world is falling apart and he clings to the one thing that keeps him going...his desire to uncover the past and his family's secret.  

The writing is lovely and told with a grace and elegance that captures the readers and transports them to France.  I felt like I should be sitting at a little outdoor Bistro sipping some wine while reading this book, instead of snuggled in bed avoiding the snow.  While, I did enjoy this book it was a little hard for me to connect to the main characters.  They were in a different place in their lives than I am in mine so it was hard to completely sympathize.  The discovery of the secret did keep me engaged, but I found myself losing interest in the other parts of the novel. 

I think this was a good novel and would definitely recommend it to any adult.  I give this book ★★★.