Welcome back, guys! I'm really sorry I missed the last two weeks, but today, I'm hoping to make it up to you by reviewing two books, not one.
Let the reviews commence... I'm reviewing The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.
Let the reviews commence... I'm reviewing The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.
Title: The Hidden Oracle
Series: The Trials of Apollo (second book, The Dark Prophecy, coming in May 2017!)
Age group: 10 - 13
Page count: 384
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Summary from Amazon:
How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favor.
But Apollo has many enemies-gods, monsters, and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Series: The Trials of Apollo (second book, The Dark Prophecy, coming in May 2017!)
Age group: 10 - 13
Page count: 384
_____________________________________________
Summary from Amazon:
How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favor.
But Apollo has many enemies-gods, monsters, and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
After the cliffhanger from The Blood of Olympus, we were all pretty much left hanging! It wasn't so bad a cliffhanger, but it left you with a imagine-what-happens-next type of ending. Fortunately, The Hidden Oracle, catches up with where we were last. A warning, though: if you have not read Percy Jackson, or The Heroes of Olympus, (probably best if you read Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, as well), you are going to have no earthly idea who the characters are. After all the previous books, there isn't much of an introduction to who all these characters are.
Why I liked The Hidden Oracle:
- Apollo has a humorous attitude, which to him, isn't funny at all. Zeus has stripped him of all his powers, and given him surroundings which he isn't used to at all. After being praised and honored for so many millennia, he isn't partial to the circumstances and he says things that are amusing.
- We return back to Camp Half-Blood! We get to see all the old characters, with mostly new ones sprinkled in as well. It's cool to see what all the characters are doing now that they're grown-up.
- The plot is rich and well-described. You have no idea what comes next!
I give The Hidden Oracle an eight out of ten! I can't wait for the second book!
Author bio:
Why I liked The Hidden Oracle:
- Apollo has a humorous attitude, which to him, isn't funny at all. Zeus has stripped him of all his powers, and given him surroundings which he isn't used to at all. After being praised and honored for so many millennia, he isn't partial to the circumstances and he says things that are amusing.
- We return back to Camp Half-Blood! We get to see all the old characters, with mostly new ones sprinkled in as well. It's cool to see what all the characters are doing now that they're grown-up.
- The plot is rich and well-described. You have no idea what comes next!
I give The Hidden Oracle an eight out of ten! I can't wait for the second book!
Author bio:
Rick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels for young readers, including the Percy Jackson series, the Kane Chronicles, the Magnus Chase series and the Trials of Apollo. He is also the author of the multi-award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults.
For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. While teaching in San Antonio, Saint Mary’s Hall honored him with the school’s first Master Teacher Award.
While teaching full time, Riordan began writing mystery novels for grownups. His Tres Navarre series went on to win the top three national awards in the mystery genre – the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. Riordan turned to children’s fiction when he started The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story for his oldest son.
Today over fifty million copies of his books are in print in the United States, and rights have been sold into more than 37 countries.
Rick Riordan now writes full-time. He lives in Boston with his wife and two sons.
Taken from his website.
Click the button below to go to his website.
For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. While teaching in San Antonio, Saint Mary’s Hall honored him with the school’s first Master Teacher Award.
While teaching full time, Riordan began writing mystery novels for grownups. His Tres Navarre series went on to win the top three national awards in the mystery genre – the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. Riordan turned to children’s fiction when he started The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story for his oldest son.
Today over fifty million copies of his books are in print in the United States, and rights have been sold into more than 37 countries.
Rick Riordan now writes full-time. He lives in Boston with his wife and two sons.
Taken from his website.
Click the button below to go to his website.
And now, for the second review! I'm reviewing A Buss from Lafayette by Dorothea Jensen.
Title: A Buss from Lafayette
Age group: 8 - 12
Page count: 267 pages
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Summary from Amazon:
Fourteen-year-old Clara Hargraves lives on a farm in Hopkinton, a small New Hampshire town, during the early 19th century. She has a couple of big problems. First of all, she has a stepmother, Priscilla, who used to be her spinster schoolteacher aunt. Clara resents that her late mother’s older sister has not only married her father but is about to have a baby. To make matters worse, “Prissy Priscilla” keeps trying to make the rambunctious, clever, and witty Clara act like a proper young lady. Secondly, Clara has red hair, making her a target for teasing by a handsome older boy, Dickon Weeks, and by her pretty seventeen-year-old Dread Cousin Hetty. Clara, however, has a secret plan she hopes will change this. During the last week of June, 1825, Clara’s town is abuzz because the famous General Lafayette is about to visit their state during his farewell tour of America. In those eventful seven days, Clara learns a lot about her family, Hetty, Dickon, herself, and about Lafayette. She comes to understand the huge and vital role the young French aristocrat played in America’s Revolutionary War and to see that her problems might not be quite so terrible after all.
Age group: 8 - 12
Page count: 267 pages
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Summary from Amazon:
Fourteen-year-old Clara Hargraves lives on a farm in Hopkinton, a small New Hampshire town, during the early 19th century. She has a couple of big problems. First of all, she has a stepmother, Priscilla, who used to be her spinster schoolteacher aunt. Clara resents that her late mother’s older sister has not only married her father but is about to have a baby. To make matters worse, “Prissy Priscilla” keeps trying to make the rambunctious, clever, and witty Clara act like a proper young lady. Secondly, Clara has red hair, making her a target for teasing by a handsome older boy, Dickon Weeks, and by her pretty seventeen-year-old Dread Cousin Hetty. Clara, however, has a secret plan she hopes will change this. During the last week of June, 1825, Clara’s town is abuzz because the famous General Lafayette is about to visit their state during his farewell tour of America. In those eventful seven days, Clara learns a lot about her family, Hetty, Dickon, herself, and about Lafayette. She comes to understand the huge and vital role the young French aristocrat played in America’s Revolutionary War and to see that her problems might not be quite so terrible after all.
Why I like A Buss from Lafayette:
- We get to learn about Lafayette's contribution to the Revolutionary War! I didn't even know France and Spain helped America in the Revolutionary War until a while ago, and this helped me understand better.
- Clara is such a likeable character in this coming of age story. In fact, all the characters are wonderful. We get to see them mature, and we get to find out more about them when initially we had different opinions.
- The setting in Colonial New Hampshire is described really nicely and you can actually feel like you're there! I found out lots about colonial towns and clothing. It must have taken a lot of research to write this book!
At first, I had no idea what a buss was at all. Whenever I looked up 'A Buss from Lafayette' online, all I got were ways to get tickets from Lafayette, Indiana for a bus. the book tells us (and in the very informative glossary, as well) that a buss is actually a playful, smacking kiss.
I give this book an eight out of ten! It's wonderful!
Author bio:
- We get to learn about Lafayette's contribution to the Revolutionary War! I didn't even know France and Spain helped America in the Revolutionary War until a while ago, and this helped me understand better.
- Clara is such a likeable character in this coming of age story. In fact, all the characters are wonderful. We get to see them mature, and we get to find out more about them when initially we had different opinions.
- The setting in Colonial New Hampshire is described really nicely and you can actually feel like you're there! I found out lots about colonial towns and clothing. It must have taken a lot of research to write this book!
At first, I had no idea what a buss was at all. Whenever I looked up 'A Buss from Lafayette' online, all I got were ways to get tickets from Lafayette, Indiana for a bus. the book tells us (and in the very informative glossary, as well) that a buss is actually a playful, smacking kiss.
I give this book an eight out of ten! It's wonderful!
Author bio:
Dorothea Jensen, born in Boston, Massachusetts, grew up in Chillicothe, Illinois. She majored in English literature at Carleton College. After teaching high-school English and serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil, she earned a master's degree in education at the University of New Mexico. In 1989, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich published Dorothea's novel for young readers about the American Revolution, The Riddle of Penncroft Farm. In addition to other honors, it was named an International Reading Association Teacher s Choices Selection and is read in classrooms throughout the U.S. A Buss from Lafayette is set in the small New Hampshire town where Dorothea lives. Two things inspired her to write this story. First, was learning that Lafayette passed right by her house during his 1824-5 Triumphal Tour. Another was meeting a woman whose ancestor received a kiss from Lafayette. That buss, passed down through generations, eventually came to Dorothea. This sparked her interest in Lafayette's contributions to our struggle for independence. Dorothea also enjoys writing rhyming verse. She has written a series of award-winning illustrated modern Christmas stories in verse featuring Santa's Izzy Elves.
Taken from Amazon.
Click the button below to go to her website.
Taken from Amazon.
Click the button below to go to her website.
Hope you enjoyed the reviews! Click the button below to go to the hostess, Shannon Messenger's website for more MMGM's. Thanks for joining me today! Have a great week!
Bye,
Vi
Bye,
Vi
