Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

[SPOILER ALERT: The ending isn't given, but some interesting information not told until 1/4 way through the book is revealed in this review]

Trouble-prone teen Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out school - but that's the least of his problems. The gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters seem to have walked out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology texts and into his life - and they're not happy. Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now, Percy and his friends must embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true thief, save Percy's family, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.

In reading this book, I broke my two unbreakable rules:

1. Never read a book with a kid under 14 as the lead

2. Never read a book where the (even potential) romantic interest is under 16

However, ten minutes into reading--and Percy has shot water out of a fountain unintentionally spraying everyone around him while remaining dry himself--I was completely hooked. A kid whose dad is the god of the Sea? Um, that's just a no brainer to me. I absolutely love stories about demi-gods because they are partly human and partly super-awesome. So, I pretended Percy was 15 and the girl he befriends is 16 and all is well. In fact, I think that Chris Columbus, who is directing the movie coming out next February, had the exact same idea.

My review? If you love demi-gods and boys with a strong sarcastic sense of humor who also have water powers, and you can ignore the lame idea that kids like him go to "Camp Half-Blood" where they are trained in fighting and (yawn) magic items and stuff, then you will adore Percy Jackson. It's a fun, fast-paced, laugh-out-loud kind of book that keeps you reading to see what will happen to him next. What I truly loved about the book, aside from the fact that all the side characters were a hoot (especially Grover--Grover? where did that name come from???--his best friend and satyre), is that Percy himself is super lovable. At least, to me, because he's an out-spoken, spunky, dyslexic, ADD twelve-year-old, and those are my favorite kinds. Add in superpowers and I'm hooked for the entire series.

So, this review will excite you if you are exactly like me, and may turn you off if anything in here is just not your thing. All-in-all, you've got a story that is cute, entertaining and will teach you A LOT about Greek Mythology. Oh, and this is a little hint (that if I'm famous someday, people will wish they'd read this review): My next series will also be heavily focused on the gods of Greek Mythology.

I've included the preview for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, coming out President's Day 2010. Enjoy.

Susie's Twilight Review

The first thing I said about Twilight after reading the first book was "this is not my kind of love story". I continue to stand by that. Stephenie Meyer is not a great writer, but to her credit, every time I felt like throwing a book across the room she introduced another cliffhanger that had me turning 'just a few' more pages. I also have some very close friends who love the series, so please take no offense to what I'm going to say.

Twilight managed to take the dark, dangerous world of vampires and turn it into a Harlequin romance. No, not all vampires are dangerous! In fact, if you can get past their overwhelming desire to kill you, they really are sweet, sparkly, sugary-scented supermodels. Bella is described as being mature beyond her years, but there is really nothing to back up that assessment. She stomps her feet, whines, grunts, hisses, cries, spits and faints. Somehow every male in the town of Forks is drawn to her, but we never really find out why. I have no problem with an introverted, pale, socially awkward teenage girl - I was one of those. I do have a problem with reading 300+ pages about how Edward is "godlike", "angelic", and how his perfectly perfect chest makes Bella get all warm and gooey inside. I have no doubt that Bella is 'irrevocably in lust' with Edward, but I don't need to read a 500 page book about it.

New Moon was semi-bearable for me. Why? Because they introduced a character with personality: Jacob. We get a good 300+ pages of an actual story; not just the 'Edward was hot and I want him so bad' nonsense. Bella refers to Jacob as her "sun" and he makes her laugh, makes her a motorcycle, and brings her out of the deep-dark depression that her obsession with Edward caused. There's some humor, some good writing, and for a while I could understand why people loved the series so much. Then...the return of Edward! Please, say it isn't so! We're back to the same old 'I love you', 'I love you more', 'no I love YOU more' melodrama....seriously....

At the end of reading Eclipse I was so bewildered that as I was getting up from the table I did a mortifying Bella-esque move and knocked a plate onto the floor and it shattered everywhere. UGH. Not good.

Back to the book....Bella is as annoying and self-absorbed as ever and Edward is only slightly more bearable just because he has no personality, so there's really no personality to hate. Bella's obsession for Edward is really extreme, to the point of becoming downright annoying, even unhealthy. She worships the ground he walks on, and is all too ready to ditch her parents and friends just so she can spend more time with him without growing old. She doesn't seem to have any serious problem with the idea of making her parents worry, or the thought of never seeing them again... she's willing to stomp over anything that isn't Edward, even things that can enrich her life. The character of Jacob has some merit, however. He wasn't perfect, but he was fun, honest, and very human, making big mistakes, but always trying to do his best. He was real, not a perfect porcelain doll with no flaws. Sadly, he was mostly wasted.

Breaking Dawn finally takes us to the big climax in Bella's life; can you guess what? However, they can't just leave it at her becoming a vampire; they have to throw in an unexpected pregnancy with ridiculously freak-ish results, and I don't mean freak-ish in a good way. As for the story development, my greatest frustration is that Meyer created a very intricate world, complete with detailed descriptions of what could and could not happen in it. Then she decided not to play by these rules. Yes, I am referring to the sudden and inexplicable ability of a vampire to father a child. This felt very contrived and unbelievable, and introduced such an absurd, nightmarish chain of events that I found myself wishing I could take back all the hours of my life I'd spent on this series. Bella has to drink human blood, while she’s still human, to save the life of her child - And she LIKES IT! The same Bella that turned green and almost passed out while doing blood typing in Biology class, right? Okay, obviously her aversion to blood was going to go away after becoming a vampire. But while she was still human? Really? I felt sick the whole time I read about her drinking gallons of blood a day to sustain the child. Blech. I still don’t get the whole scene where Edward asks Jacob to offer to make babies with Bella. Seriously?! Is this Meyer's attempt at showing us the extent of true love? It was twisted and disturbing.

My biggest problem with the book? This whole imprinting idea. They take the only redeemable character in the whole series (Jacob) and turn him into a pedophile....yes, I know, he doesn't think of her THAT way till she's um...what, seven? I don't care how you spin it, that whole storyline is just plain wrong and clearly contrived so that everyone has their happy ending at the end.

Meanwhile, a series of events which I don't feel like explaining happen which lead the Volturi to come to try to kill Renesmee; a.k.a. Spawn of Bella. Concerned, the Cullens gather seventeen other vampires as witnesses. Don't ask me why, I don't feel like explaining.

And of course all of these vampires get along, even though most of them prey on humans and a whole neighborhood of them live a few miles away.

And as if that weren't enough, all of them have superpowers, completely deflating one of Meyer's earlier claims.

So here they are, all gathered, we're ready for the final big battle scene, when suddenly the Volturi get convinced that Renesmee is not a threat and they all leave peacefully--though not without killing Irina, who ratted all of them out but did so on a false claim.

And then everyone lives happily ever after.

Yes, that really happened. The title of the last chapter was even "Happily Ever After."

OK, so to sum it all up this series is completely absurd, takes all the folklore about vampires and throws it down the drain so that we think they're 'angelic' as opposed to dark and dangerous. I have a bad habit of not wanting to leave a series unfinished, even if the series isn't worth my time, so I did read all four books. However, I would like to save anyone else the trouble and just suggest now not to waste your time.

Susie's Book Review: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

When it comes to Chuck Palahniuk, it seems that readers either love or hate his work. In fact, this particular book was Palahniuk's first, and was rejected by publishers for being a bit too 'out there'. Often his books are alarmingly grotesque, and you aren't quite sure whether to cringe or laugh at what he's presenting. Invisible Monsters definitely pushes the limits as far as "bizarre-ness" is defined, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

So here's the story: Shannon McFarland has a career as a picture-perfect supermodel, but her days of glamour and attention are ruined the day her lower jaw is shot off while she is driving down the highway. Her face is hideously deformed, and she finds herself abandoned by all the people who were close to her; including her best friend Evie Alexander who has a prominent role. Now instead of being looked on with admiration, people now are mortified by her appearance.

During speech therapy classes Shannon meets Brandy Alexander; a pill-popping transgendered woman, who has modeled her body after Shannon's previous appearance. The drag queen and Shannon embark on a journey of self reinvention and revenge. The climax of the book includes a rifle-toting Evie and lots ( I mean lots) of blood.

This book isn't for anyone with a weak stomach; there is quite a lot of drugs, a lot of violence, and the characters are demented and troubled. Yet somehow you can't stop yourself from laughing at all the grotesque or absurd situations these people get themselves into. Don't read it if you're too young, and certainly don't give it to mom or grandma for Christmas is all I'm saying;)

The deformed heroine says, "If I can't be beautiful, I want to be invisible". Although the story and the writing isn't necessarily 'beautiful', the book is sharp, exciting, and has pointed commentary on the culture of beauty, consumerism, and cosmetic surgery. I give it 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes off-the-wall satire and cinematic-style storytelling.

FYI: There are also rumors that a movie will be made of this book, with Jessica Biel starring as Shannon McFarland. I hope the rumors are true!

Christy's Book Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game.

I will say that having my attention captured by a book revolving around people who live in a dark sewer underneath a dirty city is quite remarkable. The lead character, Richard Mayhew, was an ordinary guy with a big heart and that's why I enjoyed the book. He meets so many fascinating characters (some of them drove me crazy, however!) and proves over and over that people with kind hearts can do a lot to save the people they love.

My favorite kind of story is one where an ordinary guy (or girl) finds that he's actually extraordinary in the end. I kept hoping that at some point he'd gain some special power or prove that he was born for this particular adventure. Nothing quite like that happened, but the thing is... I still loved the story! Richard grew and overcame difficult circumstances, which is very important.

One thing I did not enjoy was his companion, Door. She drove me a little crazy with her mood swings. One moment, she was running to him for help and guidance; in the next chapter she was ditching him due to his incompetant ways in the underworld. I was never quite sure how she felt about him. Maybe that was the point...

Overall, great job from a wildly successful author! And although I didn't enjoy the theme (again, the sewage thing was a turnoff) as much as his screenplays (i.e. Coraline, Mirrormask), I would still give this book a 3.5 out of 5.

Review of The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

OK, I am an Alice Hoffman addict. This means I read her blog, have her web site listed in my favorite places, and whenever I hear about a new book she's writing I am filled with excitement and count down the days till I can go and buy it. The Probable Future is one of my all-time favorite Hoffman books. There's a whole lot of realistic, fully-realized characters, a big mystery, and a little witchcraft thrown in just for fun.

The whole story is centered around a New England family who are blessed (or cursed, depending) with special gifts. Each of the Sparrow women, upon reaching her 13th birthday, is given a supernatural gift. Elinor, the dying matriarch of the Sparrow family, has the ability to discern liars. Her estranged daughter, Jenny Avery, can divine other people's dreams. Jenny Avery is a single mom who never liked having this so-called 'gift'; she wanted to be normal. She left home as soon as she could, trying to get away from a mother who didn't seem to care for her, and a town where she was kind of an outcast. As a mother she is wholly dedicated to giving her daughter a normal, happy life. She worries about her daughter constantly. She's a hard worker, she's responsible...and obviously she's my favorite character in the book! She hopes when her daughter Stella turns 13 that everything will stay the same, but alas, this isn't the case. Stella's 'gift' is the ability to see how people will die.

When Stella asks her father, Will, to try to prevent a death, he ends up becoming a murder suspect, and her mother sends her to live with Elinor at the mysterious Cake House where Jenny grew up. It's a murder mystery, it's a character story, and it's completely magical.

One thing I love about this book (and about most of Hoffman's writing) is that none of the characters are one-dimensional. Even Jenny's ex-husband, who you begin to think is just an alcoholic, philandering, jerk has another side, and you get to see the sadness and deep pain of a man who's been careless with the things that mattered most to him. Each character has their own story and I was fully immersed in each one. I found myself missing my favorite characters after I put the book down, and wishing there was a sequel so I could find out how they were doing. Ridiculous really, but a sign of a good book!

- Susie

Susie's 'Uglies' Review

Well if you have read Christie's synopsis of The Uglies series, then you will know what the basic premise of the stories is about. If you haven't read it, then you can scroll down to see it:

The minute I started reading The Uglies I knew I was in for a ride. I don't read a lot of Young Adult fiction or science fiction, so this was a perfect introduction for me. I felt like I was on some kind of roller coaster ride that I really didn't want to get off of. The atmospheres are beautifully written, and I felt like I could envision every scene perfectly; from the mountain of white flowers that goes up in flames, to the towering, decapitated buildings in 'the rusty ruins'. The landscapes that Tally encounters on her travels are both beautiful and treacherous, as she's discovering the vastness of the world outside of 'new pretty town'.

Out of the three books, The Uglies was my favorite. I liked the precarious situation that Tally was in, I liked her life-risking travel to 'the Smoke' where one minute everything was fine and the next minute she's in the middle of flames or falling down a cliff. It was all very exciting, and I found myself ignoring the housework and the dishes while I read it as fast as I could.
The book gave an interesting perspective on how much importance is placed on looks, and the idea of everyone having this 'makeover' surgery when they're 16 doesn't seem that strange anymore. The line "I'm Tally Youngblood. Make me pretty." goes through my head a lot since I've read it. The book really ends with a bang.

The Pretties was my least favorite of the three. I just had a hard time appreciating any of the characters as 'pretties' and the futuristic lingo got a little old after a while. I guess it wasn't a problem with the book being flawed, as much as I just didn't enjoy the atmosphere, the characters nearly as much when they are 'pretty minded'.
I think Shay was one of the more interesting characters in this book, forming her own group called 'the Cutters' who cut themselves in order to be able to stay 'bubbly'. 'Bubbly' means that they can see things more clearly even though their brains were altered when they underwent 'pretty' surgery. The people running this futuristic world want everyone to be pretty, happy, and very, very stupid...this way (they hope) everyone will get along and there will be no more wars, etc,..

Specials was nearly my favorite, it was so good. I really love seeing Tally more as a loner type, and this book kind of brought that back. It was very cool seeing her as "the bad guy" and seeing the conflict as she struggles with feelings of love and right and wrong, versus the feelings she has been programmed to see. As a special she has been designed to feel superior, and hate others inferiorities, and to obey the orders of the villain, Dr. Cable. I really actually find myself liking Dr. Cable in a really weird way.

Specials is darker, which I generally like. At the end I definitely felt good about having read all three books, and was glad I had given them my time. I would very much recommend these books to anyone.

Review: Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

I'm wracking my (very fried) brain and I can't think of where I first discovered this series, but I loved the plot idea and, although I wasn't willing to buy the series and resorted to loaning it from friends, I read all three books in rapid succession.

I got this synopsis from IMDb.com because they are turning the series into movies!!!

In the future children are "Uglies" until they turn 16. On their 16th birthday they get to become "Pretties" by surgery. Tally, a rule breaking teen befriends a girl named Shay. Shay is unsure about the surgery and runs away. When Tally's 16th birthday comes Tally must make an awful decision:she must either betray and turn in Shay on never turn "Pretty" and be "Ugly" forever Written by Selena

In 300 years, normal people are "Uglies" until they turn sixteen and have plastic surgery done to be transformed into the bubble headed "Pretties" who move to the glamorous part of town. The main character, Tally, is threatened with being denied the procedure unless she spies on a friend, Shay, who skipped the operation and joined a rebellious group, The Smoke.

Uglies focuses on Tally's relationship with Shay and with a "Smoke" boy named David. Of the three books (Uglies, Pretties, Specials), I enjoyed this one the least. I felt that it was fairly shallow and I didn't really relate to any of the characters. Perhaps this was simply because I was getting used to the "fluffy" writing, which I believe Westerfeld did on purpose. When I read Pretties, I began to appreciate the author's consistant "from the character's personality" writing that drove the book (very important since the theme of book 2 was about being a shallow "bubblehead" pretty). Book 3, Specials, was by far my favorite. I loved LOVED that Tally was turned - through brainwashing surgery - into one of the "bad guys" but we still felt for her. The book was written from her (unknowingly) skewed perspective, making the reader question who was actually right - Tally or Shay or David?

Although the adventures were fairly quick and not that engaging (aside from the finale in book 3, which I loved), the concept drew me in. I guess I'd call myself an environmentalist, and like to read anything that shows YA that we are destroying the earth by drilling for oil, warring with each other, building huge metal buildings and cutting down all the trees. This book gives a fair description of what could happen if we continue with our destructive behaviors. And for that, I have made Scott Westerfeld my "most want to meet in person" author. His backstory and ideas are ingenious.

If I had a rating system (which we need to get set up!), I would give this book:

5 out of 5 for concept ideas
4 out of 5 for engaging story
4 out of 5 for writing
3 out of 5 for character development

- Christina