The Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades

     This six weeks, I read The Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. This is the fourth book in the Heroes of Olympus series, copyrighted in 2013 and published on October 8th, 2013, and is a 583 page non-realistic fiction book. The story is about seven demigods (kids who are half-god and half-human) who's goal is to close the Doors of Death in order to stop the giants from awakening Gaea, the earth goddess, who will destroy the gods and mankind. However, the Doors of Death must be closed from both sides in order to be fully closed. The two sides are in two different places; one is inside the House of Hades in the mortal world, but Gaea's forces are already coming out and defending it. The other side is in the pit of Tartarus located in the depths of the Underworld, surrounded by the rest of Gaea's forces. I think the theme of this book is something around the lines of that you should trust one another and work together if you want to complete your goals.

     The story is told in third-person and in two worlds: in the mortal world, and in Tartarus. The book changes places every couple of chapters, starting with the mortal world. In the mortal world, the story is told in the point of view of five different characters, switching off every time the story changes from Tartarus to the mortal world. The characters are Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Jason Grace, and Piper McLean. In Tartarus, the book changes point of view to one of two characters, switching off every time it gets back to Tartarus. The two characters are Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, who are trying to reach the Tartarus side of the Doors of Death in order to close it while the other five close the mortal side of the Doors of Death. The intended audience is for young adults, since it wasn't easy but it wasn't hard either for a thirteen year old like me, but take into account that I read at a college level. The genre is fantasy plus Greek/Roman mythology, and keeps you interested by having continuous twists and turns in the plot, making you want to know what will happen next. Rick also uses a lot of suspense and foreshadowing, which usually keeps people glued to the book. Rick's style is to make the story seem as realistic and believable as possible (minus the Greek and Roman mythology being real) and seem as professional as possible and still be interesting.

   The book didn't really affect me, although it could have, it's just that I'm a very non-emotional person who doesn't change very much. It does relate to me in one way though. One of the seven main characters, Leo Valdez, loves to build and create things, and is pretty good with technology too, just like me. Well, mostly. Anyways, the book did slightly change one of my perspectives in life, and it's that if people are quiet and don't want to talk, they usually have a good reason for it and what time to themselves. This book reminded me of The Enemy by Charlie Higson, since in both books a group of people are working together and traveling in order to complete their goals.

     Rick has done a great job on this book, and his way of mixing mythology, humor, suspense, and terror makes this a great book. I would recommend this to pretty much everyone at the age of eleven or above, especially to those who are fans of Greek or Roman mythology and fiction, or to those who are just fans of Rick Riordan's writing.

Bill Dang
10/29/13
Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars

Mortal Fire-Elizabeth Knox

Thursday, October 24, 2013

     This six weeks, I read Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox. Mortal Fire is a fantasy novel which was first published in 2013. It is about a sixteen year old girl named Canny who has been able to see strange runes in the world around her since the day she was born. One summer, Canny accompanies her stepbrother on a trip to research a coal mine disaster that occurred thirty years earlier. Canny stumbles upon a nearby enchanted valley which is occupied by children who can do magic using the same runes Canny has been seeing all her life. She begins to try to do the magic she sees the children do, but when people begin to find out, she knows she is in trouble. Like many other young adult novels before it, this book revolves around the idea that true love will conquer all.

     The story is told in the third person omniscient point of view, informing the reader of the thoughts of all main characters in this story. When she reaches the valley mentioned in the first paragraph, she meets a man named Cyrus Zarene, who immediately suspects that she can do magic. She also meets a woman named Iris, who despises her for reasons that are unclear. One day, Canny decides to go hiking. When she gets to the top of the hill she is climbing, she finds a beautiful house with a young man living in it. When asked, the young man tells Canny that his name is Ghislain Zarene, and that he accidently started the mine explosion thirty years ago, was banished to the house he is in now, which renews itself every midnight. This means that Ghislain has stayed eternally young. Ghislain and Canny fall in love, and Canny vows never to leave Ghislain's side. However, when Canny gets a letter from her friend Marli's nurse at a hospital saying that Marli is very ill and is probably going to die, Canny returns to her hometown. When she gets there, Marli is dead and Canny has forgotten everything about the valley. Three years later, due to a spell she cast on a paper mache cage before leaving the valley, she remembers Ghislain and the valley. Canny returns to the valley and reunites with Ghislain. I don’t agree with the ideals presented in the book. True love will not conquer all, especially not when you’re sixteen. The characters in the book are infuriating and immature, and their actions are never fully explained. I found it very difficult to follow the plot and to keep reading the book. Honestly, most of the time I just wanted to throw it to the opposite corner of the room. The author’s writing style is ineffective in conveying emotions.

     I hated this book. The theme is ridiculous and overused. The romance is not fully explained, and seemed pointless. When Canny returns to the valley and promises that she will not leave Ghislain, I wanted to burn this book. In the beginning of the book, Canny was portrayed as a relatively levelheaded character, and at the end, she was driven entirely by love for an insane forty seven year old man in a seventeen year old’s body. How does that make sense? This book was like nothing I have read and I hope I will never feel compelled to read something like this again.

     This book has a meandering plot, is boring and pointless, and the main character has a terrifyingly old, Edward Cullen-esque romantic other. I would not recommend this book to even my worst enemy. If, by any chance someone wanted to torture themselves by reading this book, it would be best received by twelve to fifteen-year-old girls.

Raavi Chokhawala

10/24/13

RATING: * 1/5

Confectionately Yours: Save the Cupcake!

In the book Save the Cupcake! by Lisa Papademetriou, which was copyrighted in May 2012 and is general fiction, a girl named Hayley deals with bullying and a girl who is gluten-free. She also has to live with the fact that her parents just got divorced, her mom lost her job, and they just moved in with her mom's mom above her tea shop. At first she is very sad about the situation, but throughout the story different events happen which makes her stop thinking about the situation, including when her best friend, Artie suddenly starts hanging out with a boy who Hayley likes, and when people started coming to the tea shop for Hayley's cupcakes. This book shows you that everyone should try to make the best out of a bad situation.

Lisa tells the story from Hayley's point of view which makes the reader be able to see what she is thinking in her head. The story is about how Hayley got through a rough part in her life by baking cupcakes, finding new friends, and realizing what is really important. This book is recommended for 3rd-7th graders and I didn't realize how easy it was to read until I started the book, but I don't like leaving a book without finishing it, so I read the whole thing. The story is written in realistic fiction and it definitely relates to that because anything that happened in the book could happen in real life. The book was also really well written because there were always new conflicts and that helped me stay interested in the book. Another thing that the author does well, is that she wrote the book in the right tone for the age. It has everything a girl of that age goes through.

The book really related to me because I like to bake because it takes me to a happy place and that is the same thing with Hayley. I think that is one reason I really related to this book. It changed the way I look at people who may seem different, because at first Meghan Markerson seemed different to Hayley, but once Hayley's friends started being rude she started to hangout with Meghan, and realized how nice she actually was. When I was reading this, I started to think about Wonder by: R.J. because  in both books the main character has to go through a challenging time in their lives.

This book overall is written very well and gives you a great representation of everything going on in Hayley's life. I would recommend it to children in 5th or 6th grade the book, but not 8th grade because it was a very easy read.

Julia S.
10.27.13
Rating: **** 4/5

The Giver - Lois Lowry

 I decided to read The Giver this six weeks, by Lois Lowry.  The book was first published by Lois Lowry in 1993; it's a Science Fiction book, based around  a Utopia that was created in the future.  It has some pretty crazy ideas, so you need to be sure you have an open mind! The story begins with a boy names Jonas, and he's about to enter a ceremony that will decide his future for him.  He's really unsure when the assembly leaves him unsure of his future, but when he finds out he'll be the new Receiver, things begin to change for him.  After reading the book, I really felt like the theme was built around the idea that all people should have the freedom to choose; we never pay attention to it, but some people in the world don't get the right to make all their own choices.
    I think that the narrator in this story is telling the story from a third-person-point-of-view.  It's a limited perspective though because we only get to see what's going on from Jonas' perspective.  The plot revolves around Jonas and his job selection, but I also think that it's a criticism on utopias--I don't get how they can be a perfect or ideal place like the definition says. But, keeping that in mind...the audience is probably for young teenagers, introducing them to some complex ideas, yet doing it in an easier way; it's definitely considered science fiction.  I think the author used foreshadowing and tension to really build up my interest, as I didn't know what was going to happen from one moment to the next. Lowry effectively created this style by using easy word choice, an interesting concept and a protagonist that I could relate to--they all helped keep my interest.
    I think the book really impacted me after reading it.  I always think that my life is hard because I've got homework or school or chores, but in reality, I should be grateful for the things I have.  Sure, I have to do some things I don't like, but in Jonas' world, they didn't have any choices on things. They had to wear the same clothes, and do whatever job was chosen for them.  I think it definitely is a world I don't want to live in.  It sort of reminds me of the world in The Hunger Games; it's a very similar style.
    I do like the book overall because it has an interesting concept, but there are definitely some things that I don't like about the book itself. I won't ruin the ending for you, but me, I didn't like it.  Definitely had issues with the way it ended. But, keeping that in mind, I think you should definitely read it.  If for anything, so you can tell me what happens, or at least what you think happens.

Mr Lankford
10/16/2013
Rating: 3.5/5