The Sea of Monsters

Hey everyone. I promised a review about book 2 in the PJO series, so here it is. Book Two: The Sea of Monsters.

(WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS!) (Skip this post entirely unless you've A) already read the books, or B) don't really care about spoilers.

In this 2nd installment of Percy's adventures, Percy is still reeling from the fact that he has to face it---he's a demigod. The book starts out with Percy's strange nightmare, warning about the safety of one of his friends. Percy is worried, but doesn't really dwell on it. He realizes that he has made it all the way to the end of the school year, and hasn't been expelled. He goes off to school that morning with his new friend, Tyson. Later that day, Annabeth comes to get Percy and head back to Camp Half-Blood. Tyson immediately likes Annabeth, but Annabeth seems almost scared of Tyson. When the trio gets to camp, they see that Thalia's tree is under attack. That evening, a new camper is claimed by an unlikely god, Chiron has some really bad news, a quest is assigned, and Percy makes an impossible choice. Pretty soon, Percy finds himself on a quest himself, to find the Golden Fleece, which they believe can help some problems at camp. Annabeth tags along, of course, saving Percy's butt more than one time. Percy and Annabeth, accompanied by Tyson, head to the place they're sure the Fleece is hidden---the Sea of Monsters. While there, they meet some strange people, creatures and monsters. At the end of the quest, the trio returns to camp. But something terrible has happened. The Fleece has worked its magic too well.

The book is wonderful, as are all of Riordan's books. (By the way, just out of curiosity, did anyone else know that it is pronounced RYER-dan, not RI-or-dan? Just wondering.) Anyway, the book sounds a lot like Odysseus' journey, which it kind of was. It also explained (somewhat) about Jason and the Argonauts, who were the people who found the Golden Fleece first. All in all, a thrilling book 2 which will leave any devoted demigods hanging on the edge of their chairs (or bus/train/plane seats, if you're on a quest right now.)

Enjoy the awesome second book!

I'm Back!

Hey everyone! I am back! After six months of not posting because I was so dang busy, I am finally able to get back on. Hip hip huzzah! OK. Well. Since I've been gone so long, I have read many, many books, so I will do loads of new posts. This one is about a series that I have finally finished. I'm sure lots of you have heard of it. It is called Maximum Ride. Yes, finally I will post a review about it. So. Now that the Maximum Ride series is over, there are five total books: The Angel Experiment, School's Out--Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, The Final Warning, and Max: A Maximum Ride Novel. Personally, I have no top favorite. There are too many parts. Oh, and by the way, I am going to write only about each of the Flock for right now.
Maximum Ride (aka Max) and her Flock have escaped from the School, a lab where whitecoats (read: mad evil scientists) experiment on human and animal DNA. Max and her Flock, consisting of Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, and Fang (at the beginning) are different--they have 98% human DNA and 2% avian DNA. Thus, they have wings. And can fly. And kinda, sorta, basically have to save the world. Yupp, all in a day's work. Anywho, here's a breakdown of each character:

Angel: around 2 in book 1. None of them know their actual birthdays or ages. She can read people's minds and manipulate them to do what she wants. She has pure white wings with and 8-foot-wingspan, blond hair and blue eyes. She is the only one who is biologically related to anyone in the Flock (Gazzy), but she is considered the little sister of the entire Flock, and like a daughter to Max.
the Gasman (Gazzy, Gaz): around 4 in book 1. He is able to throw his voice, and well...pass gas at will. I can only say 'eww!' He has blond hair, blue eyes, brown wings with white spots, and a 10-foot wingspan. He is best friends with Iggy, and they both have a strage, pyromatic affinity for blowing things up.
Nudge: around 6 in book 1. She is a nonstop talker, and Max often says, "The Nudge Channel: All Nudge, All The Time". She is African-American, has russet-streaked wings with white undersides, curly brown hair, develops a computer hacking skill, and psychometric powers.
Iggy: around 9 in book 1? (I don't know, I don't have the books right now.) Anyway, he is totally my favorite character. Blue eyes, but he is blind because of a stupid experiment by the whitecoats trying to improve his vision. Strawberry blondhair, thin wire hoop through one ear, claims he has a "Highly developed sense of irony", which I think is hilarious. Golden-yellow wings, over 14-foot wingspan. Can (suprisingly) cook better than anyone in the Flock, Gazzy's best friend, with the same strange pyromatic sense of having a good time... Since he can't see, his other senses have gone into overdrive, so he can tell which flock-member is which with only tiny details. My fav: in a later book, he goes by the alias "The White Knight". When questioned why, he replies, "They're not gonna call me The Black Knight." HAHA!
Fang: around 9 in book 1? Olive skin, dark eyes, black hair. Max's "right-wing man", stronger than the rest of the Flock, has a soft spot for Max. Goes by the name of 'Nick' on occasion.
Max: around 9 in book 1? Leader of the Flock, off-white and brown with tan specks, wingspan of 13 feet. She is a terrible cook. Totally and fully in love with Fang, but doesn't admit it til a much later book.

OK, there are the profiles for now. I will post about the book in my next blog.

Megan

Perseus Jackson and The Olympians

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged lately... I've been busy with school, volleyball, scholarships for high school (Hoping for Seton; no clear idea yet), and other such things. But, on to the books!

This book I am reviewing is one that I have actually already read, but I had read it before I began blogging. As the title says, the series is called Perseus Jackson and The Olympians. The author, Rick Riordan, is absoulutely AMAZING!! (If I may have an opinion). He sure knows his Greek mythology, thats for sure. You know how smart I am about stuff like that? I actually had to leave my computer and go get a Greek mythology book to know what he was talking about! That's how well he knew about it! Yeah! Anyway, this book is about a demigod name Perseus "Percy" Jackson, who is sent on a mission to find Zeus' missing thunderbolts and return them before Summer Solstice. Before he goes on the quest all by himself, he goes to Camp Half-Blood to train with other demigods. There he meets Annabeth Chase (a Daughter of Athena) and Grover (a satyr). Percy decides that these two will accompany him on his quest. The trio travel all over the United States, looking for Zeus' lightning bolts. At one point, they even travel down to Hades' realm below the earth, where the plot is discovered. Percy, Annabeth and Grover now have to go all the way back to New York to tell the gods what happened. When they get there, they need to prove to the Olympians that they are telling the truth, or else who knows what will happen?

This is the first book in a 5-book series, but the fifth book isn't due to come out until May 5, 2009. Ahh! I WANT IT NOW!!! Oh, sorry bout that... you know how I am when I want books but can't get them or have them. :) So, this book is good for people who like male protagonists, Greek mythology, Greek stuff in general, anything to do with Greek, and funny characters who make you laugh out loud (For example, this comes from The Lightning Thief "So Ares and Aphrodite," I said, trying to keep my mind off the growing dark, "they have a thing going?" LOL I didn't stop laughing for days!) Even if you don't like mythology, the books are great, and have lots of teenage angst (lol NOT). But still, I recommend them to any and everyone!

Night! i have school tomorrow! Bye! Post a message if you want!

Megan!

House of Stairs

Hey everyone! Are you impressed? Two in a couple weeks of each other! Wow! Let's give Megan a round of applause! (insert golf applause). Well, thanks everyone! I have been working overtime, reading books like crazy, but the computer was always 'not working' whenever I was ready to work. It's like it knew I wanted to work on this blog, but finally, VICTORY IS MINE!! MWWHAHAHAHA! Oh, *Ahem*... Sorry about that... outburst there, I am just excited to finally work on this blog!

Moving on to the actual BOOK in question...

This is a rather interesting book I picked up in the library when searching for a good book to read. It is called House of Stairs, by William Sleator. It is a psychological, science-fiction book about five 16-year-old teenagers named Peter, Lola, Blossom, Abigail, and Oliver who are stuck in an area, which is neither a jail nor a hospital, made of stairs. The teenagers find that the stairs all lead back to one platform -- a platform with a strange machine which dictates how they must act if they are to receive food. But how far are they willing to go to get their food?


This book rather creeped me out, mainly because it is something that happened in the future, and since we don't know what will happen in the future, anything is possible. But it was also a really interesting concept, and don't forget the end, with the weird epilogue! But other than that, this is a great book for people who like sci-fi, psychological situations (ha, try saying that 10 times fast!), and a good read. Well, hope to see... erm... blog, again soon!
Megan