All that glitters is gold...or cholera: Walk on Earth a Stranger, by Rae Carson

Walk on Earth a Stranger

Rae Carson

Harper Collins, 2015

ISBN: 978-0062242914

Lee Westfall is relatively content in her life in a Georgia homestead with her mother and ailing father, though she does wish they could use the windfall from her secret ability to sense gold to improve things without major ramifications.  Major ramifications take that choice away from her when she returns home from school one day to find her parents murdered and their hidden gold findings missing.  With nothing to hold her back, her best friend Jefferson, a half Cherokee boy urges her to run away west with him in pursuit of the gold that is there for the taking in California.  Lee is reluctant, and Jeff sets off with the promise that he’ll wait as long as he can in Independence, MO for her if she decides to join. When her uncle turns up at the funeral covered in gold dust that only Lee can sense and tells her he has plans for her it is abundantly clear to Lee that he is behind her parents deaths.  Lee realizes her best option is to follow Jeff west, disguises herself as a boy, and begins the formidable, perilous and adventure filled journey west - to Jeff, gold, and away from her uncle and past.  Along the way she, along with the millions who also made the historic journey, will encounter no less than bandits, buffalo, brutality, racial tensions, starvation, exposure, medical emergencies, all while trying to stay alive and hide her identity and talent.  This is a nonstop historical fiction with a touch of whimsy and a promise of future romance, and it is wholly engrossingly fabulous!  With realistic characters in realistic yet hard to fathom from a contemporary standpoint, it is a strong recommendation for all libraries serving teen patrons or with adults who love YA.  Basically, unless you have no money, buy this book.     

Perhaps the most articulate way to say this is that some books can be hugely absorbing, and I found that to be the case with this one.  But a better way to say it is this: a book has not hit my squee button like this in quite some time - like May, when I read the Royal We (or actually probably also Uprooted).  

Ain't no dragin' in Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

Uprooted

Naomi Novik

New York: Del Rey, 2015

ASIN: B00KUQIU7O (read on Kindle)

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon.

I’ll cop to why I read this: I skimmed the summary, read the words “dragon” “girls he takes" and “human sacrifice” and was all, Ooooh. But it also sounded like Dealing with Dragons -- naturally I was in!  I was hoping for a cozy magical book of cozy magic and some adventure.  This is also why I’ve taken the lazy route and used the publisher review instead of writing my own.  I’m not 100% a bad reader...but maybe 80%, because I clearly stopped reading in depth after the first part sentence and missed the second part of the description, in which it clearly states that the dragon is not actually a real dragon:

Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.” 

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. (Publisher text)

WHATEVER. But omg you guys -- forgive Naomi Novik her lack of dragon.   Also me, for not being able to read, because it clearly states several times that there are no real dragons to be had.  I’m realizing I may not be what your English teach referred to as a reliable narrator (reader), but give me a second chance, mmmkay?  You’d hate to miss out on this one.

This book is so not even just that jacket flap...that’s just like the first three chapters of many chapters, and then it is all that and a bag of freshly baked hot biscuits.  I know, because I actually paid attention (after realizing I wasn’t, obvi).  It goes well beyond what is advertised and proved quite the fairy-tale adventure!  This book is so. so. awesome. I was not anticipating it, and it took me completely by surprise.   It’s not at all the book you think you’re going to read when you start off, but it is the fantasy novel I’ve been wanting to read for a while but hadn’t found until halfway through the book.  Another way to say that is that I was sad because it ended, and that’s a sign of a good book to me.  Another another way to say it is that it is magical, and I was enchanted (womp womp).  By now, you should know me well enough by now to not expect better than bad puns of me when I’m really delighted by something...

There’s a heck of a lot of character growth, a lot of empowerment, a lot of magic, but of a practical sort (nature! cleaning! also fashion!), zero actual dragons (stop rubbing it in those of you who can read good), some steamy scenes, action, adventure, romance, nature, empowerment, etc.  Basically, it’s like Graceling meets Fantasia meets a Grimm fairy tale in rural peasant-y Russia or somewhere Eastern European with just a slight touch of Dealing with Dragons.  It may make you want to try borscht (note: I still haven’t ever tried borscht).  Is this one for kids, as I initially thought it might be, given that I thought it would be like Dealing with Dragons? Probably not anyone younger than 15 or 16  if you’re not cool with them reading a sexy sex scene.  I’d say it’s probably mostly cool for mature teens, who will probably love this, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.  But if that worries you, you’ve been warned!  The rest of you pervs can read up (kidding - you real pervs are reading Outlander.  And loving it!).  

Half Bad, by Sally Green: Wholly Good

Half Bad

Sally Green

Viking: New York, 2014.

ISBN: 978-0670016785

ARC provided by publisher on NetGalley

Imagine a young British man with magical powers.  He is unique, monitored by his government for it, parentless, and disliked by most members of his family.  His name?  It's not Harry.  In this magical title, the grit is grittier, the dark darker, and the protagonist less of a crowd pleaser than in a certain other series about a young wizard.  Nathan a half code - the only person to have Black and White witch parentage.  He is consequently constantly monitored and tracked by the powerful White witches, whose ministry places ever tightening restrictions upon half codes.  In this England, White witches fear and hunt all Black witches.  Nathan's White witch mother is dead, and his at-large father is the most powerful Black witch alive.  As the edicts become more and more austere, Nathan is placed in a cage somewhere in the Welsh wilderness, and his family and the girl he loves - a forbidden White witch - punished for associating with him.  This gripping first in Green's new series is a start to finish, high stakes adrenaline rush, where good and evil aren't just that.  Thought it will appeal to fans of a certain other English wizard, it is much more gritty, crass, and violent, and is recommended to older teens and adults.  

Any more words seem unnecessary, and will slow you down in your quest to acquire and commence your magical reading experience.  It is one of the books I've most enjoyed reading in 2014.  You will not be able to put this one down.  Get at it, yesterday, team.

The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater: Let's get lost in this summer dream together!

The Dream Thieves
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press: New York, September 17, 2013
ISBN: 9780545424943
ARC provided by publisher 

Picking up right where she left us agonizing over Ronan Lynch’s admission that he can bring his dreams to life in The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater does not disappoint in her second entry to this unique, lavish yet subtly magical YA cycle.  The Dream Thieves begins with a new point of view: Ronans, and takes us straight back to Henrietta, Virginia.  It is summer vacation, and Gansey, Ronan, Adam, Noah, and Blue are still on the hunt for Glendower, though there have been subtle and not so subtle shifts in the group dynamic.  Adam’s rogue sacrifice and pride begin to affect his relationships with Gansey and Blue, who finds herself closer to exploring prophecy that has defined her life.  Ronan, meanwhile, struggles to control his newly admitted powers, but all, including the refreshing, interested adult psychics of 300 Fox Way, are challenged when a stranger arrives in town searching for the Graywaren.  Who, what, where this is will all be revealed in the scintillating new addition to the Raven Cycle.  It is a recommended read for humans over the age of 12, and all libraries, personal, public, and scholastic, wise enough to boast The Raven Boys as part of their holdings.  

Let’s cut right to the chase: holy sh*tf*re and tarnation, cowpokes.  Jonesing for a book I could get lost in, I loved The Dream Thieves, maybe even more than Raven Boys. Sophomore syndrome? What is that?  Aside from a setting for the climax best described as Hollywood dance movie meets Fast and Furious meets Alien v. Predator (which still, somehow, works), this book is allll a-game, no steroids (I’m looking at you, MLB).  
Continued:

Black Spring, by Alison Croggon: A Wuthering Heights a magical allusion? (#wordplay)

Black Spring

Alison Croggon
Candlewick Press, August 27th 2013

ISBN: 978-0-7636-6009-3

ARC copy provided by Candlewick

In the rough northern territories, the rule of vendetta is the law, and the king and wizards share power over the peasants.  When a southern noble comes to stay to escape scandal and goes to greet his landlord, he unwittingly stumbles into a slightly more magical adaptation of Wuthering Heights.  His housekeeper reveals that she once worked in the household of Lina, a young witch.  Witches are marked for death by wizards under the laws of the north, but she is protected to by the noble status of her father, who is punished when a silent, stoic young boy is sent to be his ward.   Lina and the ward develop a tempestuous, dangerously passionate and desperate link in childhood that is tested when the bottom falls out and Lina’s father passes away, setting them on a course that may destroy their own lives and the lives of those of around them.  Told alternatively through the housekeeper, Lina’s journal, and the southern noble, Black Spring is a gothic, dark read for those who love Heathcliff and Catherine.  

Continued:

A Corner of White, by Jaclyn Moriarty: Oh, Cello there, you manic pixie dreambook!

A Corner of White
Jaclyn Moriarty
New York: Arthur A. Levine, 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-54539736-0
ARC copy via NetGalley

Realism and magical realism entwine to make beautiful music together in this enchanting first book in a planned trilogy by Jaclyn Moriarty.  In two cities populated by two quirky, endearing, supporting casts, two hugely likeable teenage protagonists grapple with missing people, life and familial changes, challenges, and adapting to them.   Serial runaway Madeleine has finally made it permanent by bringing her mother along.  She is struggling to adapt to her new life, and begins to worry about her mother’s health as she attempts to complete a home-school history assignment to channel Isaac Newton.  Town golden-boy Elliot, however, is eager to find his missing father, who disappeared in the same storm that killed his uncle.  He reluctantly agrees to delay his trip to help his mother prepare to rent his fathers shop to the strange newcomers to town.  Things begin to come together when each teen finds a mysterious letter, tucked away in an unlikely place, and begin the most unusual pen pal exchange ever to occur between the Land of Cello, and the world.  Playful, yet deeply thoughtful and well written, this is a unique and delightful novel.  Parts epistolary, narrative, fantasy, realism, it abandons genre and reader expectations and is wholly, whimsically, realistically, magically fantastic.  It is strongly recommended for both teens (grade 8 and up, but younger readers who can hang with complex plots with like this too) and adults.  

If you couldn’t tell, I maybe kind of really enjoyed this book.  I suspected I would; I have found Jaclyn Moriarty’s books to consistently be majorly delightful, and was pumped to have at A Corner of White.  You guys – she did not let me down.  In fact, I was so engrossed that I didn’t realize until about 60 pages that I had no idea how two such seemingly disparate stories would, or could even come together – and then was like I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE when she did, in a way that was very true to her previous books.  I won’t say any more to spoil it though!  I will say that there HAS to be something in the Australian water – yet again I’ve fallen for the charm from down under!

I took copious post-it notes, while reading this on a bus to and from Newark, NJ, to hang out with ¾ of the super fabulous Brown family (hi guys!).  Being that my copy came from NetGalley, this was a slightly weird process, whereby I stuck them all to the back of my Nook, and now can’t read them, because who writes legibly on a bus?  I’m also pretty sure a bunch of them fell out…because I swore there were more than four.  But I digress.

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater: Indiana Jones and the lost Tarot Cards

The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press, 2012.
ARC Digital Copy via NetGalley

Blue Sargent comes from a family of psychic women, who have told her for years that she will kill her first love with a kiss.  Consequently, she has avoided the wealthly Raven boys of nearby Aglionby Academy, so called for the raven patch on their school uniforms.   Naturally, Blue is none too thrilled when a group of Raven boys begin to appear everywhere in her life.  These Raven boys are held together by their irresistible poised ringleader, Gansey but they are as different as they can be, ranging from the quiet Noah, the brash and angry Ronan, and the hardworking local scholarship student Adam.  Gansey is on a quest for the lost Glendower, a vanished ancient Welsh king.  Legend tells that whomever finds him will have the power of one wish.  Blue is wrapped into their friendship and the adventure, assisting the group in following the magical ley lines that may lead them to Glendower.  The quest is not without adversity, foes, secrets, and danger for each member of the group, though their friendship is strong and the adventure gripping.  The first in a series, this book is as exciting as it is mysterious.  Though child abuse, murder, and violence occur, the strong themes of friendship and family outweigh them.  This title is a strongly recommended purchase for all school and public libraries, particularly those housing other Stiefvater titles; it has appeal for all readers aged 12 and up (including adventure seeking adults!). 

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore: The Knead to Know

Bitterblue
By Kristin Cashore
Dial Books: New York, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-837-3473-9

Eight years have passed since evil King Leck of Monsea was assassinated, and his young daughter, Bitterblue, ascended the throne.   Now the Queen of Monsea at only eighteen, Bitterblue has the whole kingdom of Monsea to rule.  Though old friends are by her side, she is isolated by her position, restless, and buried under stacks of seemingly useless paperwork, and she sneaks out in disguise as a commoner one night.  She finds herself in a pub where true stories are told and befriends Teddy, a printer, and Saf, a Leinid-raised Graced Monsean.  Soon she is sneaking out most nights, both with the desire to seek out the truths of her kingdom, and to explore her growing feelings for the irascible Saf.  As she begins to uncover the difficult truths about the 35 years of Monsean life under King Leck, she begins to suspect her advisors are hiding things from her.  When Saf is framed for a crime for which only Bitterblue can provide an alibi, her anonymity ends, along with any feelings of safety when an assassination attempt is foiled.  Bitterblue struggles to regain the trust of her new friends, the only people who both know and will not cover up the truth.   A novel about healing, forgiveness, trust, and confidence, this is a fitting addition to Cashore’s previous two works.  Favorite old characters and a slow burning romance will please fans.  As a sequel of two very popular titles, it is a strongly recommended purchase for libraries serving patrons grades 7 and up. 

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare - Come the Eff On, Clary

That is not the jaw of a teenager.
Just sayin'...

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
by Cassandra Clare
Margaret K. McElderry Books: New York, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5507-8

When Clary interrupts what she thinks is a nightclub fight, she finds herself instead in a closet, with one demon and three tattoo-covered, gorgeous teenagers trying to kill it.  Clary has discovered the world of the Shadowhunters, human warriors fighting to rid the earth of demons, and they have discovered that she is not just a regular non-magical mundane human; she can see them and the demon.  In the course of the next day, Clary’s world is turned upside down and she is swept into the company of the cute and flirtatious Shadowhunter, Jace, when her mother is abducted, and she is attacked by a demon.  Clary begins to discover that she, and her mother, are not the ordinary people she thought; Clary has been a part of the Shadowhunter world for longer than she can remember.  Though the writing and plot of this book, the first in the Mortal Instruments series, is often overwrought, it is fast-paced, engaging, and fun to read.  It is recommended for grades 6-9.  Libraries will be advised to keep a copy of this popular title on hand; there is potential for this to be adapted into a movie.

In the interest of not being a huge jerk, I’m including this disclaimer: this book drove me a bit insane.  There are a number of reasons, which I will get into in a minute (the vast majority caused me to work a “come the [EFF] on, Bridget,” face, so I think you too will delight in a Monday eye roll).  However, I will say this about this series.  I totally get why kids (mostly girls, but definitely some boys) of a certain age (middle/lower high school grades) go bananas for these books and why they are on the New York Time Bestseller list, like permanently.  Frankly, it’s probably the reason I go gaga for Diana Gabaldon, or am eagerly awaiting the sequel to A Discovery of Witches.  The story is action packed, the twists are twisty, the OH-SNAPS are snappy, the boys are all hawt, the girls are all gorgeous, crazy supernatural things occur, and it takes place in a high-stakes cool parallel world, one that you kind of want to visit.  It’s a roller-coaster movie ride, and it’s a really fun book (series).  If you are an adult like me, you are excited for this book to be adapted as a movie (rights have been optioned, actors cast), because you see there is a lot of potential for an awesome movie-drinking game.  And honestly, while it is $0.99 on an e-Reader of your choice, why not?  It's a light read for summer. 

For me though…the book wasn’t quite enough.  It’s possible that I judged it more harshly than I would have otherwise, coming off of a book that also has fantasy, romance, excitement, and supernatural weird angels – Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  But where DSB soars, City of Bones is still learning to crawl.   This is not a well written, edited, nor entirely original book.  Again, it is fun, imaginative, and dramatic.  But hot snap, it is ALL over the place.  I probably won’t read the other ones, but I do want to know what happens, other than the likeliness that good is restored to power, Clary discovers that she’s just super and somehow is the key to all this awesome goodness restoration.  (SPOILER) Mostly, I’m just interested in finding out how this whole Luke and Leia grossness between Clary and Jace undoes itself, because, COME THE EFF ON, BRIDGET, obviously it will.  Can someone just tell me?  Seriously. 

Anyways, on with my not-so-kind thoughts about this book.  I’d give a spoiler alert, but I kind of get the feeling if you haven’t already read it, you’re probably too old to want to do this to yourself, or too young to be reading reviews on the Internet; you have been duly warned!

A Discovery of Witches (and Vampires Who Do Yoga, Fondle Books, and Sniff Wine), by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness

New York: Viking, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-670-02241-0

Guilty confession/secret shame: occasionally I read books for adults in addition to books for kids.  While there are some respectable titles in the mix (a recent brush with The Road comes to mind), more often than not they happen to have less literarily lofty ambitions.  Yes.  Are you ready for this jelly?  I'm coming out of the I-love-epic-time traveling-paranormal-historical-romance-fiction-novels closet.  It is true.   I love Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.  But this is not a post about an awesome book about a WW2 era English nurse who trips and falls through a mini Stonehenge and time and into the arms of a be-kilted ginger Scot that you should read.  It is about another saccharine-y fun book for grownups that I read just the other day!  

When I saw a review for A Discovery of Witches in Booklist that compared it to Outlander, I felt I owed it to my freak flag to read it.  Abandon ye all hope of getting any sort of respectable, scholarly review below.  Pull up a couch and pour yourself a mouthwatering glass of red wine.  Appropriately, anytime I use the word mouthwatering, I have an overwhelming urge to say it like this:

Thanks for nothing, Twilight!  But why, why is this urge to talk like a ridiculous vampire in Twilight so appropriate?  Well, let me tell you all about it.

Ladies and ladies (since I doubt the gents picking this up are few and far between), this book is a mouthwatering mashup of Twilight, Outlander, The Historian, and The Da Vinci Code.  Yes.  Seriously.  Though nowhere near as insane as Outlander, it is epic, it is fun.   Our heroine is one sweet young thang, Diana Bishop, a witch hailing from a long line of other witches, including an infamous one in infamously witch-loving Salem, MA.   Since her parents bit it suspiciously on a trip to Africa when she was a kid, Diana has been denying herself and the world of her magical powerz through a combination of pensive pre-dawn rowing sessions and a historical study of alchemy.  Alchemy being the ye olde science equivalent of magic.  Clearly she's doing a great job!  On sabbatical to Oxford to fondle some dusty old books in Bodlean, Diana finds and promptly returns a freaky enchanted book, and immediately stumbles into the arms of a hot Doctor.  Suspect! Double suspect, he is not just a Doctor!  Oh ho! He is a hot VAMPIRE doctor!  Matthew Clairmont is impossibly fast and strong, his skin is pale white and ice cold, and sometimes he speaks like he's from a different time!  His powers include being hot, being a badass predator, being a doctor, being ascetic, being immortal, having lots of secrets, being part of a vampire gang, and having a penchant for fine wines.  If it weren't for the last, I'm pretty sure the Cullen's would have adopted him by now.  But I digress!  

Turns out a ancient pact of Witches, Vampires, and Ghouls want the book real bad - it may or may not have the secret to magical life tucked away inside and it has been MIA since nigh on forever - and now that everyone knows Diana fondled it, they're all after her.  To boot, said secret society also has a rule on intermagical species dating.  As the Germans say, VERKLEMPT! Oh snap.  But they are not the only secret ancient society out there, and lines are drawn (to steal yet another Stephenie Meyerism) irrevocably.  Our heroes are on the run to places near and far, bourgeois and swank, denying their love, proclaiming their love, doing yoga, and sipping wine throughout.  Will Diana ever embrace her magical powers?  Will Matthew ever not be hot?  Will you be able to avoid craving wine while reading this book?

This book is filled with many things you would expect of anything that has been hit with the romance or paranormal genre sticks:  hot vampires, breaking in to watch people sleep (aka studying at the school of Edward Stalker Cullen), longing looks, pensive walks in the woods, near death fights, surviving near death fights, dudes carrying girls, girls sitting on dudes laps all the time, declarations of true love, opulent vampire lifestyles, hot baths, etc.  But it failed majorly on one count.  I was expecting it to be much more smutty.  I love smutty books!  In fact, there is no. sex. at. all.  I'd have given you a spoiler warning, but consider this your sex disappointment warning.  What up with that Deborah E. Harkness?  No excuses!  What is this, Twilight?

At times the story can drag; there was probably way too much scholarly debate in the first half and not nearly enough action.  It also becomes clear with 200 pages to go that this book is going to be the first in a series.  However, there is a lot to redeem it and judging from the fact that I devoured this book, it's relatively captivating.  If you are anything like me, you will probably be amused by the ridiculous wine sniffing activities (turns out Ms. Harkness has a wine blog), Vampire yoga, convenience of Matthew knowing every historical figure mentioned, inclusion of gay primary characters, occasionally clunky dialogue, and (antiquated) semantics of (vampire) marriage. In short, this post is not short and neither is the book.  But if you at all like reading series or epic paranormal-time traveling-historical fiction books, this is a strong recommendation! 

The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan: Salute your shorts...or toga

The Sea of Monsters. Rick Riordan (2007).
NY: Miramax/Hyperion Books. ISBN: 978-1423103349

In honor of book 5 aka The Last Olympian dropping like it's hot AND because there is going to be a movie starring a ton of famous adult actor people (including a Hollywood crush of mine, Kevin McKidd, as Poseidon), I present to you, my pretend audience, my two cents on the second Percy Jackson book. I think I reigned it in pretty well in the review below, but my inner 12 year old fangirl is totally digging Percy Jackson, and I'll let my freak flag fly a little bit here before I start said review. I mean...what's not to love? Greek mythology? Check. Exciting fight sequences? Check. Interesting, personable, realistic protagonists? Check. A sense of humor and mucho jokes? Check.

For a chick who as a middle schooler used to stay in to watch Xena, who attended summer camp well into her 20's, and who still loves D'Aulaires book of Greek mythology, Rick Riordan has struck me with the literary equivalent of Cupid's Arrow. Looooooveeeee. Again, I say much of this below, but my love is not redundant. I love you, Percy Jackson. I'm sorry if that is weird because you are 12 or something. You just can't fight a love like ours, okay?*

Just a heads up...if you haven't read The Lightning Thief (aka book one in this series, stop reading now!).

We did a recent election in the Children's Room where I work to coincide with the presidential election. Instead of voting for a presidential candidate, kids were asked to vote for their all time favorite book. Not so shockingly, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series won in a landslide with kids grades 4-6. Not just a blow to the Series of Unfortunately Events, this is a book that needs only the fanfare of the first book and the word of mouth popularity that it has generated to convince the majority of kids to read it. I flippin' love this series too, and I can read at well above a 6th grade reading level (not to toot my own horn, kiddies). I'm not sure if the fact that I used to obsessively watch Xena Warrior Princess has anything to do with my chortling over the way Riordan cleverly inserts heroes, monsters and gods into this modern story (Aries looks like he's boss of a biker gang).

The Sea of Monsters is the second book in this awesome adventure series, which is yet unfinished (obviously now it is). Each of these takes on the shape of a Greek epic quest; this one is the Odyssey. Like the first book (The Lightning Thief), the story follows Percy Jackson, the demi-god son of Poseidon and a human woman, who has only recently learned that he's not just your average 7th grader. After the excitement of discovering his true identity, attending Camp Half-Blood, (a summer camp for the children of the Olympian gods) and surviving an ordeal to recover Zeus' stolen lightening bolt with his fellow demi-god Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and bestie Grover (who just happens to be a satyr), Percy has had a fairly normal school year for the first time in his life. Things go awry on the last day when a normal game of dodgeball turns into a fight for his life. Annabeth appears to save both Percy and his new bud, Tyson, only to let them know that things are looking pretty bleak down at Camp Half-Blood too; the magical borders that protect the camp grounds are shrinking. Percy, Annabeth and Tyson are catapulted into an adventure in the Sea of Monsters to save Camp Half-Blood, and along the way, Percy is bound to find out some more shocking things about his mysterious family.

Best for: Everyone. Even you, old people like me. Basically, if you liked Harry Potter, and you like adventure, and you like or know anything about Greek mythology, you'll probably enjoy these books. As my roommate says, "They're basically New York style Harry Potter." Well said, sage roomie. 4th grade and up for independent reading, but younger children will probably enjoy being read these books as well.

Book talk hook: I'm not entirely sure one is necessary…it is Percy Jackson and all! I think I would probably rather book talk the first rather than the second book, since it is a series that builds on itself, and I don't know that I would recommend just one random book out of it over recommending the whole shebang.

*And when the hard cover complete set of these books drops, I want to be the first to know, Amazon!