The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan Review

Fiction
377 pages

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Completion: A+
Writing/Style: A
Characters: A
Plot/Pacing: A
World-building/Atmosphere: A+
Subgenres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): A+

Final Grade: A Get Thee to a Bookstore!

Who knew I would like a middle grade book?
As a 21 year old, I thought I was way past middle grade books, but I was very, very, very wrong. Now that might sound a little pretentious to underestimate middle grade books like that, but as a kid I was very precocious AND pretentious. I practically skipped elementary and middle grade books all together. My reading level was so high that I prided myself on reading the hardest books in my school and public libraries. However, I am so glad for the continued fame of Percy Jackson and for my cousin who persuaded me to read this series.
I can now see why Percy Jackson is compared to Harry Potter: it is contagiously fun. Riordan takes the basic hero’s journey and makes it fresh again. I also appreciated that how the characters, main and side characters, were balanced: talented but believable. As well, the book tackles disabilities which is all too often overlooked or omitted.
As far as the story goes, you can go into this book not knowing anything about Greek mythology, but it’s extra fun if you do. I was so excited to see what sort of twists Riordan was going to pull on these classics, and he didn’t disappoint. Riordan’s imaginings of Greek gods and legends are witty, humorous, and yet just serious enough for me to invest in them. Reading this book, I could tell how much fun he must have had putting all of this together.
After I finished, I immediately went out and got the next in the series. Probably the best thing about this series is the humor. It is so on point that it appeals to this 21 year old as much as it would have appealed to my 10 year old self. This was a light quick read that I would definitely recommend but especially for the summer.

Mild Spoiler of the Ending: 
This didn’t change my overall opinion of the book, but it did worry me a little bit. The reader quickly discovers that Percy’s mother is dating an abusive man in order to protect Percy. At the end of the novel, Percy is determined to kill/turn-to-stone this man with Medusa’s head, but his mother convinces him otherwise. Percy leaves her the head, and it is implied that Percy’s mother later uses the Medusa head on this man. Now, while this might have only been intended as humor or a convenient way of getting rid of the man, it worries me that “revenge” or violence on an abuser would be portrayed in this series. Now, I am not one who believes that children cannot handle hard topics or issues. And yet, the tone of the novel is confused in this scene as the mother is able to so casually and callously dispose of this man she was with and without any consequences or repercussions. It leaves a rather light-hearted story on a dark and unnecessary note.

Divergent by Veronica Roth Review

Fiction
487 pages

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Completion: A
Writing/Style: B
Characters: D+
Plot/Pace: C-
World-building/Atmosphere: D
Subgenres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): D+

Final Grade: C Library Rental

This book needed some serious trimming. It is a tome. I believe it is because Roth couldn’t decide between a serious, believable dystopian and a fun, mindless, guilty pleasure. Don’t get me wrong: I see why people like it…once I got 200+ pages in. The first half was way too slow. Partly because I didn’t find any of the exposition believable. The second half was all action. This book could not find a medium between these two speeds. It was if it was separated like water and oil.
I like to think that I came into this book open-minded, but I never once found the world-building even mildly believable. I am going to give SPOILERS about the world-building that you will find in the first half of this novel because I think that will be the only way anyone can make an educated choice about reading this book. You have been warned.
In this futuristic Chicago, society is divided into 5 factions. These factions follow only one personality trait: bravery, honesty, selflessness, intelligence, and peacefulness. Now that much I could have believed. It would have taken work, but this premise definitely had potential. However, the world-building continues. When people turn 16 in this world, they take a test to see what faction they should be in. But…but…if they were trained from birth to follow the virtue of a particular faction, wouldn’t they best fit that faction? If they got into any another faction, wouldn’t that already make them Divergent, which is a bad thing for whatever reason? Then, after the test, they go to a ceremony where they CHOOSE which faction to go into. So…so…the test was irrelevant? So I could come from Candor, have a test that says I should be in Abnegation, and then choose Dauntless? Why is everyone not Divergent then?! And I haven’t even mentioned that until they are 16, all these children from different factions go to the same school. Therefore, couldn’t the children who aren’t in the honest faction teach the honest faction children to be dishonest? Huh?!
Furthermore, that is not the end of it. After the ceremony, the children have go to the faction they chose and pass a test, otherwise they don’t get in. So why wouldn’t they just use the test they took in the beginning? So, our main character Tris goes to Dauntless which is the brave faction. Their tests are super dangerous and a lot of people die. So you would think that everyone who passes the test would get in, right? Because that test is supposed to show that you are Dauntless material? NOPE! That wouldn’t give enough suspense. So only the top 10 will get in. But…but…this faction does super dangerous stuff and people die all the time and shouldn’t they be trying to constantly recruit new members and for God’s sake they jump on and off an always moving train for funnsies! That’s right! A rundown futuristic Chicago somehow has the energy power to constantly run a train that never stops and is used only by one faction.
Do you see what I mean now? If you think about this at all, everything falls apart. I will give credit where it is due though: despite all these flaws, the second half did read well and I was able to better enjoy it. There are other flaws, mainly due to plot conveniences, but I won’t get into that here. I’m not trying to tear down this book. I know that a lot of people will enjoy this book, but there will be people like me who won’t. Perhaps, the sequel gets better. Divergent was Roth’s debut novel after all, and no one’s perfect. I just feel that for what started as an interesting premise turned into a series of conclusions that were just unreal and consequences that felt cheap. If you think that you can forget about the snags I mentioned above, give it shot. Otherwise, give it a pass. We don’t all need to jump onto a moving train.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead Review

Fiction
332 pages

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Completion: A
Writing/Style: C-
Characters: C
Plot/Pacing: D-
World-building/Atmosphere: D-
Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): D-

Final Grade: C- Library Rental

This seems to suffer from way too many of cliches and tropes of the YA paranormal romance genre despite it attempting to vary from the norm. While there were attempts  make it stand out, the glaringly obvious attempts to reel in young girls was too much. Forbidden romance. Double check. Obvious villain. Check. Special snowflake. Double check. I was reluctant to finish it, but I was able to (I guess that counts for something?). It’s not necessarily hard to read, but the high school drama got really grating. The high school element was simply nonsensical. Why do they go to high school with all the cliched high school stereotypes? They are immortal, supernatural entities!!! Why do they have to take the equivalent of gen ed requirements like art? The world-building both inside and outside of the school was unclear and lazy. As well, the social hierarchy, politics, and history is so convoluted I stopped trying to understand it. There are 3 different types of vampires. One of them is just straight out and out “evil”, and one of my biggest pet peeves is stories that insist that there is black and white “good” and “evil”. Then, there is a type of subservient vampire that protects this type of elemental vampire that acts like royalty. Yet, the subservient vampires are more powerful than the royalty which leads me to constantly wonder why they stay servants. Plus, their world does not condone the subservient vampires continued existence even though their protection is the only thing keeping the royal vampires safe from the evil vampires. Yeah…I don’t get it either.
As far as characters go, I appreciate the attempt to make strong female characters, but the attempt failed. These girls revolve around boys and petty drama. The main character is supposed to be a ball of snark, but most of her quick lines just fell flat for me, and her personality quickly becomes consumed by her desire for the love interest.
Lastly, the writing alternated between manageable to sloppy. There were scenes I had to reread a couple of times to figure out what happened. Toward the end when the pace finally picked up there’s a transition —actually, scratch that— a complete lack of transition which left me completely confused. It took me a couple of pages to figure out what had happened. Otherwise, the writing is nothing special.
I know there are some big fans of this series (Sorry, Hannah! Sorry, Anjelica!), but I just don’t see the appeal. Perhaps, the main character was more refreshing from the onslaught of bland Bella-clones back in the day, but I just felt more could be done. I’ve heard that future books in the series have better writing and plot, but why would I want to slog through the first couple of books to get to them? I don’t know. If what you’ve heard already doesn’t sound like a big deal, go for it, I guess? If you are super patient, maybe you will find the rest of the series does improve? As for me, I think I’m done here. My to-read list is long enough without adding on some bad investments.

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed Review

Nonfiction

304 pages

Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice. Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond.  Rich with humor, insight, compassion—and absolute honesty—this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.

Completion: A+
Writing/Style: A+
Characters: A+
Plot/Pacing: A
World-building/Atmosphere: A
Subgenres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): B+

Final Grade: A+ Get thee to a Bookstore!

Love, love, love, love, love, love. This novel is a collection of writing from an advice column called Dear Sugar. The success of the column is solely due to the generosity and compassion Cheryl Strayed greets each of her readers with. She opens up her life and shares personal stories. She gives hard truths. She admits her faults, frequently and loudly. Unlike the stereotypical advice columnist, Strayed gives the reader the feeling of being in the trenches with you, sharing tips on how to make it through. She never glosses over a question with a vague but polite answer. She never gives the cliched, shallow response. She never gives the answer you expect. She is able to do all this because she is giving you a part of herself. Her writing is beautiful and heart-breaking. She’s not afraid to curse or use vernacular or follow up with a story and then turn around and punch you in the gut. The miracle comes in that punch. You will find that her words ring true, and they hurt more than anything because you can feel the truth in them. I cried. I laughed. I cried some more. I had no trouble at all finishing this book. Just make sure you have some tissues. As well, since they are separate letters, you can read this book in one sitting or in piecemeal.
I would recommend this book to everyone because each letter will hit home in a different way, and I believe that in the years to come I will find that different letters will speak to me and that the same letters will affect me in different ways. Even if you are unsure about a book like this, I would STILL recommend you check it out.

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci Review

Fiction

203 pages

What happens when an antisocial cinephile meets up with the worldly new guy at school — a quick-witted artist who's savvy enough to see through her sci-fi disguise?
Meet Egg. Her real name is Victoria Jurgen, but she's renamed herself after the kick-ass heroine of her favorite sci-fi movie, Terminal Earth. Like her namesake, Egg dresses all in white, colors her eyebrows, and shaves her head. She always knows the right answers, she's always in control, and she's far too busy — taking photos for the school paper, meeting with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club, and hanging out at the creature shop with her dad, the special-effects makeup wizard — to be bothered with friends, much less members of the opposite sex. As far as Egg is concerned, she's boy proof, and she likes it that way. But then Egg meets a boy named Max, a boy who's smart and funny and creative and cool...and happens to like Egg. Could this be the end of the world — at least as Egg knows it?

Completion: A+

Writing/Style: B+

Characters: A-

Plot/Pacing: B

World-Building/Atmosphere: A+

Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): B-

Final Grade: A- Get Thee to a Bookstore!

Recommended by writer and vlogger John Green, Boy Proof did not disappoint. Here’s a “realistic” contemporary book I can actually get behind. Unfortunately when I was younger, I had the wrong impression of contemporaries and thought they were all full of that fake soap opera drama and petty popular conflicts. The only books that I read that took place in real life were stories that seemed so out-worldly, so insane, I couldn’t believe they were real at all: serial killers, conversion camp, the Holocaust. It wasn’t until my later years of high school that I found the Vlogbrothers and John Green’s YA books. His books aren’t perfect, but, for me, they introduced me to the possibilities of YA contemporaries: funny characters, touching moments, and quick reads. So, with a few of his books under my belt, I tried to open myself up to contemporaries more, and when John Green recommended a few books on his Youtube video, including this one, I decided to give it a try.

Much like a John Green book, Castellucci blends a perfect mix of YA romance and humor. The style ain’t fancy, but it is easy to get through. The story’s biggest strength is its main character: I am so happy to finally see a main character with a strong personality. Egg is flawed, creative, and unabashedly strong. Egg truly felt like a real teenager who was stubborn but not stupid, relatable but not a bland stereotype. Egg’s father makes costumes and costume makeup which makes Egg’s quirk of dressing up like her favorite sci-fi heroine everyday actually believable. This story is all about the characters and as such the plot is more intimately centered on Egg’s internal growth rather any elaborate or fancy external plot points. Castellucci takes full advantage of her setting to add depth to her characters rather than for cheap flare. She only lightly touches on the high school atmosphere which keeps it from being cliche and stale, and her version of Hollywood is far from shallow and is able to capture the possibilities of a place so strongly founded in the arts. The romance was pretty obvious from the beginning, but still enjoyable. Both characters had to work on their relationship, make mistakes, and finally communicate at the end. At times I was a little worried with where the romance was going and how strong it was going to get, but it eventually won me over in the end. The book was a quick read, and I would recommend it to contemporary readers and non-contemporary readers alike.

Fly On The Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything by E. Lockhart Review

Fiction

182 pages

At the Manhattan School for Art and Music, where everyone is “different” and everyone is “special,” Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. She’s the kind of girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of Spider-Man, so she won’t have to talk to anyone; who has a crush on Titus but won’t do anything about it; who has no one to hang out with when her best (and only real) friend Katya is busy.
One day, Gretchen wishes that she could be a fly on the wall in the boys’ locker room–just to learn more about guys. What are they really like? What do they really talk about? Are they really cretins most of the time?Fly on the Wall is the story of how that wish comes true.

Completion: A+

Writing/Style: B+

Characters: A+

Plot/Pacing: B+

World-Building/Atmosphere: A-

Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): A+

Grade: A Get Thee to the Bookstore!

Who knew a guys’ locker room could make such a great setting? Normally I would prefer a more sophisticated writing style, but Lockhart nailed the funny read. Due to the premise, the majority of the book consists of only the thoughts of Gretchen Yee. By herself. As a fly. That’s a great character there. I could live inside her head forever. Her humor made this novel. I love Gretchen and the thoughts that run through her head, and, as a side note, I love that Gretchen is not white, not super worried about popularity, and actually has a personality. I’m always glad to see some diversity in my main characters. The plot is so simple, so straightforward, and yet it is better because of it. Something that could have been so dull, a main character as a fly, was pulled off with such ease and humor. The novel never felt slow, and there was not a single moment that I wasn’t engrossed in the story even though the actual plot points are minimal. The romance isn’t super developed, but who cares? Since the main character was a fly for the majority of the novel, it gets off the hook. Plus, I love both of the characters so why wouldn’t I want them to be happy together?

I promise I won’t blather on about this too much, but the short version of this is: read it. This book was another great recommendation from John Green, vlogger and author. My face hurt from laughing so much. At any one given moment, I was blushing with embarrassment and laughing out loud. This book makes for a great summer read or pick-me-up.

A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin Review

Fiction

Series

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

Completion: A+
Writing/Style: A+
Characters: A+
Plot/Pacing: A+
World-building/Atmosphere: A+
Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): A+

Final Grade: A+ Get Thee to a Bookstore!

     I’m trying to give out my A+’s scarcely, but  I couldn’t give it any less. For this series, I did everything wrong: I spoiled myself on all of Book I and the Red Wedding, I put it down for months at a time, and I watched the TVshow as I read the books. What that all boils down to is the talent of George R.R. Martin. His world is vast and fantastical, his characters gritty and real, and his plot both elegantly weaved and littered with history and plot twists. I have never seen a book pull off so many point of view characters before, and I believe that is largely due to the size of the world and Martin’s television experience. Each chapter has an arc and a gripping cliffhanger, forcing the reader to become invested in at least the events in that part of the world if not the character itself. These books are tomes, easily three or four books in length, and worth every word. George R.R. Martin knows all the things. That person in the background that doesn’t have a name? George knows all about them. That meal they had? George knows exactly what was served and how it was made. That folklore of that minor character? He knows the tale, the reality, what each character thinks of it, and all the songs about it.
  Now, I’ll warn you now that on top of getting a great arm workout and being on an emotional rollercoaster, there are a LOT of characters. Screw those memory exercise games: try Game of Thrones. So, this is probably the only time I will recommend watching an adaptation before the original. Now, I’m not recommending you watch all of it! That would be blasphemous, but I would recommend watching the first episode. It’s a great way to see if you will like the series and puts a face to the top twenty or so characters that you will be following.
As all of you probably know by now, Martin is not afraid to kill off characters. But he’s also not afraid to make them complex. As readers we begin to better understand Queen Cersei and sympathize with the Kingslayer. We laugh and cry and hold on to our seats and yell to the sky. In the beginning of the series, I was really good at not getting attached to any of the characters, but, as I continued to read, my reserve began to slip. For example, without giving too much away, in Book II there came a point when I shipped Arya and Gendry and the next page something terrible happens. Goddamnit, George! So…get ready to say that a lot. Also, am I the only person who loves the Hound? Just curious…
Personally, I have been pretty fortunate because I only found out about the series a couple of years ago so I won’t have to wait as long for the next book to come out. If you haven’t read them already, now would be a great time to start.

I Was A Child: A Memoir by Bruce Eric Kaplan Review

Memoir

208 pages

Expected publication: April 14th, 2015

Here is the first non-fiction book by Bruce Eric Kaplan.
It is a book wholly unique in form and feeling.
This memoir is both full of wonder and anxiety, and is altogether side-splitting and heart-breaking.
Above all, it captures what it was like for Bruce Eric Kaplan, and perhaps some of you, to be a child.

Completion: A+
Writing/Style: A
Characters: A
Plot/Pacing: N/A
World-building/Atmosphere: N/A
Sub-genres (Romance, Mystery, Humor, etc.): N/A

Final Grade: A Get Thee to a Bookstore!

I Was A Child: A Memoir is deceptively simple, so much so that it renders my normal grading structure obsolete. This memoir is a series of moments and pictures that peek into the time and childhood of its author Kaplan, culminating in an unexpected turn of pathos and a quiet heart-tugging end. Much like childhood, the novel at first appears to have little direction other than sporadic details that both highlight the charm of nostalgia and a slightly darker undercurrent. This book was read in one sitting, and I feel that is how I would recommend reading it. It is short, but the lack of a strong event-driven plot builds a tension within the reader that is rewarded in the end. The writing style suits the content as it is simple but revealing of a child’s mindset. I, for one, did not know anything about Kaplan before reading this book but found it quite enjoyable nonetheless. As well, I was not yet born during the time of Kaplan’s childhood so the small details he gives help to create an image of the time period and Kaplan’s life as well as an universal sense of childhood.
    All of this being said, this memoir might not be for everyone. It is small and quiet. If there is a mystery in it, it is that small mystery that we all live our lives with, not knowing where they will end up. If that sounds like story you can appreciate, then definitely pick it up.

**ARC was provided through a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review. **