Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Title: The Sea of Monsters
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Children's, Fantasy, Mythos
Source: Library Paperback
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws


Percy Jackson and friends are back in a new tale of adventure and danger.  When Percy begins having dreams about Grover being in danger, he knew he needed to do something.  But at the same time Camp Half Blood has been attacked and Talhia's tree that is protecting the camp was poisoned.  No one knows who did it, but Percy and Annabeth have an idea of how to save it.  Add in a Cyclops half brother and a stubborn female and you have yourself a epic tale with thrills and drama.

So this one fell a little short for me.  I read the first book and enjoyed it more than I did this one.  There didn't seem to be as much mythos or danger or something.  It was missing something and I cannot put my finger on what that something is.  As someone who loves mythology, I think this book didn't have as much in as the last one did.  Sure there were short mentions of the Golden Fleece and Cyclopes but I think the last book delved more into the myth stories to make something new.  While this is something different, I don't think it played off the myths as much.  There was a little bit more humor in the first one as well and the absence of Grover was really prevalent.


We seem some familiar characters like Clarisse and Luke both still have the same personalities, though Clarisse seems to have grown up just a little bit and is learning how to play nice with others.  We don't see Charion, or any of the gods as we did in the first one so I was a little disappointed in that as well.  I loved Tyson, though I wasn't a little more from him and hope we see more from him in the next novel.  He was such a sweet character and so precious I wonder how he would change as the story progresses will he remain sweet?  I guess we will see.


I like that they sail to the sea this time, but it's the Bermuda Triangle.  I am not sure how I feel about ancient Greek gods centering around America, I get the books say the Pantheon follows civilization, but it seems wrong to me probably because there would be other Pantheons already in place.  While there were a few things that didn't sit so well with me this was a decent book.  It is good for the age range, but I think someone older, such as myself it's a little...simplistic, on the surface type of thing.  I want something with more depth and compels me to keep reading.  Not that this book/series doesn't have that, just in a different way that appeals better to a younger audience.  I would recommend it to young readers and some adult readers as well for a break from the norm. 

The Wishing Spell

Title: The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
Author: Chris Colfer
Genre: Children's book, Children's Fantasy
Source: Library Hardback
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 paws




Twins, Alex and Connor Bailey have just celebrated their 12th birthday, one year after the death of their father.  They both struggle in school and their mom is working hard to make ends meet.  For their birthday their grandma comes to visit and gifts them with a story book: The Land of Stories.  Alex becomes obsessed with the book and locks herself in her room.  One day she confides in Connor about the book making sounds and glowing.  Then they fall into the book and go on an epic quest to find the ingredients for the Wishing Spell so they can go home.  But this is not going to be an easy task as they have to travel to different kingdoms to get items that are rather sentimental to their owners such as Cinderella's glass slipper or bark from Red Riding Hood's basket.  But the Evil Queen is also hunting for these books as well as the Bad Wolf club out hunting for the kids to stop them.  Will the twins find the items they need before the Evil Queen?  Will they find their way home in time or are they trapped inside the Land of Stories forever?

I am a fan of Glee and when I saw the Chris Colfer who played Kurt had written a book of course I wanted to read it.  It is a book that tends to be up my alley with taking a different look at classic fairy tales that we have grown up with and know so well.  Colfer takes a very different look at these tales and comes with explanations for things that sometimes don't add up such as how can Snow White, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Cinderella all marry Prince Charming??  Easy they are brothers!!




This was a fun book to read and the world he creates is beautiful.  He fills it with interesting and charming characters and gives fairy tale fans a different view of these characters.  The writing could be a little...simplistic at times, but then again this was a book geared towards middle school children not 30 year old women.  He tells the story rather than showing the story that some readers would be more used to, but again the way he tells the story gets a younger reader interested and entertained.  Longer sentences with a lot of description may not appeal to a reader of that age.  There is a certain beautiful quality to Colfer's writing that brings the tale to life.  You can tell there is a talent for story telling within these pages.

Colfer has a lot to offer within his book; it is an enchanting, enthralling tale that sends it's main characters on a magical scavenger hunt.  There is something new in each chapter.  I thought I had the small mystery solved, and I was only half right, but it was still entertaining to find out certain twists and turns to the tale.  I enjoyed how he gives the Evil Queen a small back story and makes her not so evil after all. 

While there were many things great about this book, there were some things that dropped the rating down a bit such as the over use of the same description: Steam coming from ears/nose/mouth, oddly placed similes, rigid dialogue.  Despite all that overall I thought it was a good book, and am interested to see where he takes the series. I felt it was a cute story that I can a younger reading and enjoying.  I think this is a great book that would get children not only using their imagination, but interested in reading on a bigger level.  It draws on stories they already know and can get them thinking about the stories they are reading.

Magnus and The Jewelled Book of the Universe

Title: Magnus and the Jewelled Book of the Universe
Author: S.L Browne
Genre: Children's, Adventure, Fantasy
Source: Ebook - Netgalley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Magnus is a young boy who discovers he is actually from a tribe of Aliens known as Guardians of the Universe.  His mentor Marlo fears an evil wizard named Murdamond will try to destroy their planet after he has destroyed Earth.  Magnus discovers the evil wizard kidnapped his parents and is holding them hostage.  Now Magnus needs to not only save his parents, but also his planet and the whole universe from this evil man.    He utilizes all his power, his friendships with humans and dinosaurs as well as the Jewelled Book of the Universe (which decided it wanted to be a girl to make things interesting).  Will he be able to discover everything he needs to in time to save the world as he knows it?

Netgalley is one of my favorite places to find new books and new authors.  S.L. Browne is a new children's author and makes a name for herself with her debut novel.   While the title may be a mouth-full the story itself was very enjoyable to read and exciting for young readers.  The writing is simplistic, but again this is meant for children not adults.  It was very creative and descriptive that a child would love with characters a child would love as well. There isn't much depth to the characters or the story, but then again I am an adult reading from an adult POV.  It is a story of a young boy who discovers things about himself that he never knew, and comes to terms with those things as well as tries to save his parents. 


Brownes novel takes a look at some very adult themes such as greed and global awareness, and puts into a child-like perspective which is very well done and this book is a good way to introduce those things to young readers.  It doesn't seem like a lot happens in the story, but this is a part of series so it's common for the first book to sort of build things up for the next one, and to a child there may have been a lot of things happening.


As I was reading I thought to myself, would this have been a book I would have enjoyed as a kid of 7-9 years old and the answer is yes.  Children don't need long extensive books that delve deep into the woes of the world.  They need on that is appealing, easy to read and on their level, and that is exactly what Browne accomplished with her book.  I hope to see more from her (him?).