Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Last Olympian

By: Rick Riordan

In this, the fifth and final book of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and his friends find themselves in their most difficult battle yet. Instead of just fulfilling quests or defending themselves against monsters, the fate of all the gods lies with them. In New York City, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia must keep the Titan forces away from Olympus (secretly situated above The Empire State Building). Each of the young heroes will be forced to make difficult decisions and make some incredible sacrifices if they are to succeed.

Mrs. Senechal says:
In an earlier post, I share how much I loved the first four books in this series, and the fifth book does not disappoint! The action starts in the first chapter, and the suspense lasts until the last chapter of the book. I liked how the author tied together pieces from the previous books, and how he developed the characters throughout the series. This is one of the most exciting book series I've read in awhile! Start with the first book, and you'll be hooked for all five!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Twice Upon a Marigold

By: Jean Ferris

In this sequel to Once Upon a Marigold, we find out what "happily ever after" is like for Chris and Marigold. They thought that Marigold's evil stepmother, Olympia, was gone for good, but they didn't know she would wash up on the bank of a small town with amnesia. When Olympia recovers, watch out! Marigold and Chris will have to enlist the help of several unlikely people to save the kingdom.

Mrs. Senechal says:
The fun of this book and its original is the unique spin the author takes on what you would normally expect from a fairy tale. She also has managed to weave in characters from other fairy tales that you might not think about. I really didn't like how awful Olympia was in this book, but it really added to the suspense as I kept wondering what horrible thing she would do next! I thought the ending was a bit of a stretch, but if you like fairy tales, you'll enjoy this book.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (series)

By: Rick Riordan

As the series begins, Percy finds out that Greek myths he's learned about in school are still true today - and he's a son of Poseidon! Throughout the books, Percy meets many friends - children of other Greek gods. They team up on various quests to foil the plans of some of the evil gods. Along the way, Percy and his friends face monsters, mazes, riddles, tricks, and tough choices. But, through courage, quick thinking, and using their special abilities they are able to defend both our world and Olympus!

Mrs. Senechal says:
I absolutely love this series! While I know that Greek mythology is truly just myths, it is fun to imagine that they could be working behind the scenes of our world. The author of this series, does a tremendous job of creating action and suspense that make these books incredibly hard to put down. I just finished the fourth book in the series, and am anxiously waiting for my order of the fifth book to arrive. I'll add more then!