My Big Fat Greek Reading Week

So!  I read two great Greek gods books this week, and I would highly recommend both.

I have wanted to read the Percy Jackson series for a while now.  The movie previews made me get a copy and get started.


Shop Indie BookstoresPercy Jackson has trouble when he goes on class field trips.  He also has  trouble staying in a the same school for more than a year.  He always seems to get in trouble or kicked out.  He finds out, though, that there may be a reason for this...monsters from mythology are following him because he's the son of Poseidon and mixed up in a very sticky struggle between the gods of Olympus.  When he finally gets to the beach to relax with his mother away from his horrible step-father, their peace is ruined by a minotaur and Percy's introduction to Camp Half-Blood.  From this moment on, Percy realizes that he's not your average kid, and that his life will never be the same.  Someone has stolen Zeus' sacred, most powerful thunderbolt, and Percy must help discover what has happened to it and return it by the summer solstice or else lots of people (and gods, and monsters) will be hurt.

I loved Percy Jackson - The Lightning Thief, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.  It was really fun like Harry Potter, and totally cool to see the gods and monsters and powerful beings of mythology at work in the real world...they're all out there, we just don't quite see them!


Shop Indie BookstoresMy second Greek read was Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs.  While Percy's gods are right there in the America with him and all the rest of us.  The gods and their descendants in Childs' book are located on an oh so beautiful island called Serfopoula.  Poebe is about to start her senior year when her mother suddenly announces that she's fallen in love and they will be moving to Greece.  Not exactly the way you want your senior year to begin.  Poebe has not choice, though, and she's tough and can probably survive anything for nine months.  Then she can just go back to the states, go to college with her pals Cesa and Nola at USC and move on with life.  Greece isn't the only problem she faces though, her new school, the Academy, is full of a different kind of student.  She be leaving her friends to go to school with kids who are all descended from the Greek gods.  As if high school weren't hard enough, now she's the nothos, the newbie, and will have to keep up with these super-power godlike others as best she can.  If regular high school girls can be a pain though...girls with goddess powers are even worse.  Can Poebe survive a year here?  Sure, the island is beautiful, but will that be enough?  Read this book to take a journey overseas and watch Poebe as she navigates a very unusual school.

This book was super fun!  I loved Poebe.  She was honest and funny.  She felt lots of emotions during the move, which is what any of us would feel like if we had to move  to a new situation.  This is a great read with a fun magical twist.  I will probably be picking up the sequel soon! 

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Shop Indie BookstoresThe Lowdown:
Scarlett Martin lives in a hotel in New York City.  How cool is that?  It's great, but not as perfect as it might seem.  On her fifteenth birthday, Scarlett expects to have the fabulous waffle breakfast that is the tradition in her family, only to find out that their amazing cook has been let go - the Hopewell Hotel is in a tight spot...money is tight, and Scarlett's parents need her to stay around and work there for the summer.  When the kids in her family turn fifteen, they are given a room to manage in the Hotel.  Scarlett has the Empire Suite and all of her summer plans right there in front of her - hotel work. While her friends are all in faraway places learning languages, partying, and helping others, Scarlett is where she always is - home.  It seems like her summer will be pretty dull until a guest arrives to stay in Scarlett's Empire Suite - all summer!  Mrs. Amberson is a "star" of sorts who is back in the city after being gone for thirt..."some years."  She has lots of energy, dreams, goals, and Scarlett is there beside her to help her with anything she desires.  Mrs. Amberson puts Scarlett to work immediately, and what began as a slow summer quickly pics up.  Scarlett has her siblings to save, revenge plots to assist with, and boys to fall for!  Pick this book up to head to NYC for some summer fun!

What I Liked:
I loved being able to spend a summer in New York City most of all.  It was so wonderful following Scarlett and friends around the city.  I felt like I was right there.  Scarlett is a great character and very real.  I loved reading and observing the different sibling relationships between Scarlett, Spencer, Lola, and Marlene.  The hotel that Johnson has created is fantastic as well...the descriptions of the rooms were vivid and beautiful...this was the perfect setting for the book.  This book has tons that I love:  love, kissing, acting, theater, Broadway...it's just a fabulously fun ride.  I just now read this (been meaning to for a year) and I found out that Scarlett Fever - the second book in the series - is coming out at the end of this month...I can't wait!

***Oh, and Hamlet is in this book!  I've been amazed at how many YA books mention Hamlet...I saw some references in The Monstrumologist, too!  Yay for Hamlet in YA!

Read This If...
You want to hang out in NYC for the summer.
You like acting.
You have ever dealt with brothers and sisters.
You know what it's like to fall for some one.
You are a theater kid.
You dream of making it big.
You want to experience a big city adventure.
You love to save the day!

Fire by Kristin Cashore

The Lowdown:  This companion novel to Cashore's Graceling brings a wonderful new side of the world to life.  It's not a sequel, and only has one character in common with the other book, but it's just as entertaining.  In this story, Fire, a human "monster," is the last of her kind.  While normal people and animals are just as they are, monsters are vibrant, beautiful, strong versions of themselves.  Beautiful as they are, they are different...they eat other monster flesh.  Fire's life has never been normal.  Her brilliant, bright red hair tells everyone she is a human monster.  Not only does her beauty dazzle others, but she also has the ability to control the minds of those around her.  When the kingdom faces a threat from other rulers, Fire leaves her quiet life and heads to the King's City.  She sees wonders she's never seen, and has to use her power to help the kingdom.  This scares her, though, because it's a power inherited from her father, who caused problems during the reign of the last king.  On top of all of this, she struggles to make way with the prince Brigan who doesn't like her that much.  Fire must find a way to get along with all of the new people she meets and harness and use her power for good in order to save herself, the kingdom, and all those that she loves.

What I Liked:  I liked Graceling a lot when I read it.  Katsa was a strong character who had to make sense of her place in the world.  Fire is similar to Katsa, but a more tender, compassionate character.  I loved all of the new characters that I got to meet in this new book.  I also enjoyed the way that Fire and Brigan's relationship grew throughout the book.

Read this if...
You liked Graceling.
You want to travel to a new fantasy world.
You want a good action AND love story.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

LOVED THIS ONE!!  

Frankie Landau-Banks was a normal dorky freshman at Alabaster Prep, tagging along with her senior sister and trying hard just not to embarrass herself or her sister too much. 

Sophomore year, however, was very different.  Frankie got taller, filled out a bit, and was, well, a much hotter chick.  She gets noticed by the guy of her dreams, Matthew Livingston.  Matthew is great, but Frankie can't seem to really get him to understand her.  She's not like other girls.  She's way smarter and not concerned with the normal high school girl stuff.  Frankie wants power, and to be noticed, and to fit in...even with the guys.  

When Frankie finds out about a secret society at Alabaster, the Loyal Order of Bassett Hounds, she immediately wants to know more and desires to be a part.  

This book uncovers Frankie's plans to figure out the Loyal Order and to become a part of something historic at Alabaster. 

I loved Frankie.  She is a cool girl.  She's pretty and smart, but she is hard core crazy sometimes, too and knows what she wants.  She thinks about things more than most of her friends and sees opportunities for social commentary in even the smallest (and largest) of pranks.  She gets what she wants and goes after her goals with an almost psychotic passion. 

This book has some awesome pranks in it.  It also shows boarding school life, which is fun, especially if you went to normal high school.  Frankie's passion stuck with me and I felt that I wanted to do something crazy after reading this book, but it also made me remember that it's cool to be a strong woman that not every guy understands.  Girls are powerful and can be great leaders and I love that Frankie always stayed true to herself, even when she could have given in and taken the easy way out. 

I loved this book.  It is very deserving of its Printz medal and is one of my favorites now.

Grade: A