Skip to main content

Sword of Summer By Rick Riordan

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Since his mother's death two years ago, Magnus has been living on his own on the streets of Boston. He is tracked down by and Uncle who tells him he is descended from one of the Norse gods. Magnus doesn't want to believe it but when put face to face with a fire giant Magnus is set on a course to find out just how much truth was in what his Uncle was telling him. 

Category: YA

Why I chose this book: Written by a favorite author

My personal opinion (the review): Rick Riordan is known for being cheeky. It's part of what makes his books fun. However, in Sword of Summer he took it too far. Honestly I felt like it was less about teaching Norse Mythology and more about how many pop culture references he could through in. (And many of those references are going to loose their meaning in the coming years making this book passe very quickly). Overall, I was very disappointed. 

Warnings
Language: One or two actual cuss words, but many many references to foul language without spelling out the actual words. 
Violence: Lots  
"Adult" situations: None 
Death: A few secondary characters

Movie rating equivalent: PG-15

Protagonist description: I felt like Magnus was a softie. It was the actions of those around him, not his own will power, that prompted him to action. He has a good heart, but wasn't the warrior I was expecting.

Point of view of story: First

Book length: Medium 

Story flow: Easy enough to follow, but jumps around a bit (e.g. from real time to waking up in Loki's presence)

Grammar and spelling issues: Some interesting character names, but otherwise fine. 

Character connection (no spoilers): I was very surprised to see Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series show up in this book and I'm interested to see where that might lead. Also, I'm interested to see what happens to Samirah. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happily Ever After Kiera Cass

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Short novellas and after stories from the perspective of other main characters from The Selection Series. Includes: -The Prince (with the two bonus chapters), Maxon’s novella -The Guard, Aspen’s novella -The Queen, Amberly’s novella -The Favorite, Marlee’s novella -Three scenes from Celeste’s POV -Lucy’s scene (bonus scene from The One) -The bonus epilogue -Where are they now? Category: YA Why I chose this book: Selection of novellas filling in gaps in The Selection series.  My personal opinion (the review): Of the entire series this was by far and away my favorite. I loved getting to hear parts of the stories from other perspectives. There was also additional details not found in the original story. All my questions or things I wondered about where answered through these stories.  Warnings Language: None  Violence: None "Adult" situations: As with the other novels, a few scenes with more description than I would have liked. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

By
Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blackbird by Anna Carey

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): A girl wakes up in LA, beside a train track, with a backpack and no memory. There's money in the backpack, a map, and some other supplies. But she has no idea who she is, what her history includes, or where she's going. One thing is for sure- people are trying to kill her. Category : Fiction Why I chose this book : Sale on Amazon My personal opinion : No, thanks. The storytelling was captivating, and the premise was intriguing, but the violence and the sex scenes were too much. I do not recommend it to anyone. Warnings Language: Infrequent, but strong (f-words) Violence: Yes, frequent "Adult" situations: Yes, two scenes Death: Yes, common Movie rating equivalent : R, for violence and sexual situations Protagonist description : "Sunny" (a name she chooses, since she doesn't know hers) is stronger than she looks, and stronger than she feels. She grows in her confidence Point of view of story : Second and third person, chang...
Post a Comment
Read more