Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

Continuing this journey of reading books I should have read years ago, I'm working my way through Percy Jackson & the Olympians, by Rick Riordan. This is a series that my youngest sister has been telling me to read for a couple years now, much like the Artemis Fowl series. (I'm going to admit that I liked Artemis Fowl a lot more than I like these books, but I digress.)

I was obsessed with Greek mythology when I was a kid. Weird thing for a young girl to be obsessed with, I know, but I was homeschooled and hey, I enjoyed it. So reading ancient myths wasn't really like school for me. And quite frankly, I have always had a soft spot for mythology; Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Norse, Japanese (another favourite), etc. That's another post for another day, though.

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The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the Olympians series, following The Lightning Thief. At the start of this book we see Percy Jackson at the end of his seventh grade year of school. Surprisingly, nothing has happened all school year to get him kicked out, which he is amazed by because he's a half-blood, a son of Poseidon. And then gym class happens. And wouldn't you know it, there are Laistrygonian monsters after him. Not because they want to kill him for any higher power, but because they want lunch. Go figure.

Amazon.com

Percy and his big bumbling friend Tyson manage to get out of the mess only with the help of Percy's friend Annabeth, also a half-blood, a daughter of Athena. When they finally reach Camp Half-Blood on Long Island, they learn that Thalia's tree, which protects the camp, is dying. The only way to save it is to find the Golden Fleece (yes, that one). That's where Percy and Annabeth's satyr friend Grover comes in. Percy had already been having dreams about him being trapped somewhere by a Cyclops, presumably where the nature magic is plentiful, since Grover is on a search for the god Pan.

Oh hey, that island is where the Gold Fleece is hanging out! But of course, it's in the Sea of Monsters, which is a place not entirely related to the actual sea. In fact, just like Hades and Mt Olympus, the location of the Sea has moved around depending on where the height of Western Civilization is. So while Hades is under Los Angeles and Mt Olympus is above the Empire State Building, the Sea of Monsters is off the cost of Florida somewhere.

Getting into the Sea is kind of a problem, though. After all, one must pass by Scylla and Charybdis. And then there's the Sirens, somewhere in the Sea. And so on. And all this time, the kids have to be worrying about the fact that the Titan Lord Kronos is being awakened from deep in the pit of Tartarus. Like they didn't have enough on their plate already.

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I'm not going to tell you any more of the story for spoiler reasons, but I do have a few things I want to say about the book (and series, I guess) as a whole. Like I mentioned before the review section, I adore Greek mythology. And while I'm not sure how I feel about Rick Riordan's writing style (first person writing is just...well it's a preference thing I guess), he has such a wonderful grasp on mythology and I kept squealing with delight at things as they happened. Honestly, this is the kind of story I could have written, though probably not in the first person haha. So I will keep pushing through. I started the third book, The Titan's Curse, last night. I'm already almost halfway through, so there will be a review up by the weekend, I'm sure.

In conclusion, four stars for this book. So far, it's my favourite. Since I've only read two and a half, I don't know if that counts, but I was just really excited about the Golden Fleece and the Sea of Monsters.

RIP IX

Fourth post of the day? Ah, why not. I promise I will slow down; there's just been a lot of catching up to do, and I'm certain a few books have been forgotten somewhere in these reviews... But while I was reading a few of my favourite book blogs, I came across a reading event that I have seen before but did not choose to participate in. It's called R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, or RIP. This will be the ninth year, but I suppose better late than never. Basically, you choose a level of Peril in which to participate, and you have from September 1st to Halloween night to work on and hopefully complete your choice of challenge. You're not required to have a blog or even to blog about the challenge, but that's my plan. :)

I have chosen Peril the Third, which tell you to read just one book that you believe fall within the event parameters; basically any horror or thriller or whatever. At least that's how I've read into it. My book choices are The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, published in 1794. Fans of Jane Austen will recognize this title; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey loves this Gothic tale very much.
Udolpho is one of those books that I have been intending to read for years now, basically ever since I came across the title in Northanger Abbey and found it was a real book. I even own an Oxford World's Classics edition. So I'm excited to finally delve into it as part of RIP IX.

The Forbidden Library

It's funny, because when I was a teenager, I found myself wanting to read the books in the adult fantasy and sci-fi section of the library. Now, I'm returning to the children's fantasy that I have always loved. I'm disillusioned with adult books because so many of them are just too inappropriate and weirdly amoral for my taste. That's not to say there aren't good ones, obviously, but I digress. The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler is a new kids fantasy book that I happened upon at the library a few weeks ago. It's relatively short; fairly large print and under 400 pages, so I ate it up in a day, three days ago. I have this bad habit of staying up way too late reading, but then at least I get lots of reading done! But on to the review.

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from Amazon.com

Alice Creighton doesn't believe in doing things halfway. Even if she dislikes something (such as algebra), she will work as hard as she can to become skilled. One night she is working hard on her algebra homework assigned by her tutor, Miss Juniper, when she hears her father arrive home from work. She creeps down the servant stairs towards the kitchen, but stops short when she hears a voice and a low drone she does not recognize.

Turns out fairies are real, and this one is a real monster-looking thing. He's yellow and black and is threatening Alice's father. She eavesdrops, which she knows she shouldn't have. Not long after this late-night encounter, Mr. Creighton leaves on a journey by ship. News comes back that the ship has gone down. Alice is sent to live with her uncle on his creepy and eerily silent estate, The Library.

Geryon is an incredibly old man that Alice thinks cannot possibly be her uncle. He also tells her that the actual library on the property is off-limits unless she is with someone. This library happens to be an unattached building away from the main house; it recedes into the woods, so one cannot get a sense of how big it actually is.

One night Alice decides to investigate the library alone, after she has been taken into it by the oddly bland servant girl Emma. She meets a talking cat, Ashes, and suddenly discovers that things are not at all as they seem. Geryon is a Reader, a type of wizard who uses the power of books and words as his magic. And he is in the midst of a small war. And Alice finds she, too, has these magic powers, which she realizes will help her find the fairy again and discover what really happened to her father.

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As far as I can tell, The Forbidden Library is actually the first in a series, and I have to say I am quite excited. Django Wexler tells this story so well, and he also uses the word susurrus twice so I kind of have to like him. Anyway, I give this book five stars (yes, I liked it that much) and eagerly await the next installment.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I'm just a little behind the times in that I finished A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket just four days ago, on the 13th. I do have to laugh at the irony of finishing a series chock full of bad luck, with thirteen books, on the 13th. Thank goodness it wasn't a Friday. Anyway, I suppose I ought to preface this by saying I probably read the first few books in their entirety while I was shelving books at the Bloomington Public Library. And I have seen the movie, which I enjoyed for various reasons, despite it not really covering the extent of the Baudelaire's plight. So there's that. But I decided I would begin at the beginning again, and so I did.

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Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are enjoying a gloomy morning at Briny Beach when they receive the bad news that their parents have perished in a fire that also utterly destroyed their mansion. They go to live with Count Olaf, who is *supposedly* a relative. Clearly, he doesn't care about the children. In fact, he is trying to get hold of their apparently enormous fortune. Oh joy. But these children are resourceful. Violet is an amateur inventor, Klaus is an avid researcher, and Sunny is a baby who loves to bite things. Between the three of them, and the use of a library, they manage to escape Olaf's clutches. And so on, and so on. In every book, Olaf disguises himself and comes after the children, always managing to be defeated by their skills, though certainly not with the help of any adult. The adults in these books are particularly ridiculous, because they are wishy-washy people who believe everything and nothing and are basically idiots.

The children are sent to their Uncle Monty, their Aunt Josephine, a horribly run sawmill, a very strange school, a townhouse with a fake elevator, and a really creepy and stupid village before finally ending up on their own. Then they set out across the hinterlands in search of somewhere safe, even though they are fairly certain there is nowhere safe, at least not until Olaf is finally gone. They then volunteer at a half-built hospital (really, what is with these people???), disguise themselves as freaks at a circus, and suddenly find themselves alone in the mountains. Meanwhile, the mysteries about their parents and an organization only known as VFD keep piling up.

In the mountains, they finally reach the last known safe place, only to discover that it too has been burned down. It is here, in book ten, The Slippery Slope, that things start to make some sense. The children also struggle with doing the right thing, and I found the morality struggle incredibly interesting. Though they are only kids (Violet is 14, Klaus turns 13 at some point, and Sunny is probably around 2 or 3), they know that there are things that are wrong and that doing those things doesn't really make them any better than Count Olaf and his troupe.

By book eleven, The Grim Grotto, the children have really begun to take things into their own hands, and have also met with other members of VFD, discovering more and more instances where good people have done bad things, and bad people have done good things. In book twelve, which was probably my favourite, The Penultimate Peril, they finally reach the Hotel Denouement, which is laid out like a huge library. Almost everyone from their past is there, and of course, bad things happen and the building goes up in flames. But they escape...with Count Olaf. It seems for a time, that they are on the same side. Yet the children do not want anything to do with him, they want to be truly distanced from him, but they also don't want to commit murder.

And then comes The End, the thirteenth and final book in this madcap series. the Baudelaires wash up on an island where they are told "everything eventually washes up on these shores" which has a distinct air of finality to it. And unfortunately, if I told you any more, I would be truly spoiling it for those who have not read it. All I have to say is that this book confused me more than the rest put together and I was disappointed in how it ended.

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Lemony Snicket, or more accurately Daniel Handler, is a master of writing. The tale of the Baudelaires was overly ridiculous most of the time, but throughout the series there is an awesome emphasis on reading. In fact, most of the names of places and people (and indeed, the babytalk Sunny uses) are taken directly from literature. I'm actually glad I read these as an adult, because I think I understood every single literary reference that was hidden in the books.

It wasn't my favourite kids series ever, but it was a fun one to read, and I found myself alternately laughing and shaking my head in annoyance within seconds of each action. And just like in real life, stories confuse us and end abruptly, with no good explanation.

Four stars for the series as a whole.

Twitter-style book reviews no. 2

I had intended to just write book reviews on my personal blog, Alice in Faerieland, but then I realized I actually want to keep all my bookish writings separate. Occasionally I will cross post, but I'm too attached to this blog to quit entirely. That being said, I cannot write full reviews of all the books I have read recently (meaning in the last year or so), so here is another quick list.

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The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

      Fairly good opening to an incredibly popular series. Percy Jackson is a likeable boy, as are his friends. And Riordan (despite the fact that I don't much like his writing style) has a fantastic grasp on Greek mythology, which I greatly appreciate because I was obsessed with it when I was a kid. (I feel bad putting this book in this list when I just finished the second one and am going to write a full review, but I read this last summer so the details are not as fresh in my mind....)

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

     Where do I even begin with this one? It was a confusing and honestly hellish ride, but I absolutely loved it. Mitchell has a unique way of showing how we as humans are all connected in ways we may never know. I truly wish I had actually penned a review upon finishing the book, because there's no way I would get it right a year later. Sigh. It's definitely worth reading, though. The film...ugh. No.

Fruits Basket, Volumes 1-4, by Natsuki Takaya (link to volume one)

     Ah, manga, how I love thee. And I wish I had managed to keep up on reading Fruits Basket because I may need to reread these four volumes before moving on. The series is long, but manga is easily consumed. I find Fruits Basket to be an adorable tale, and that's really all I have to say at this point, haha. Must read the rest.

Translucent, Volume 1, by Kazuhiro Okamoto

     All I recall about this manga is that it was adorably romantic and the main character, Shizuka, has Translucent Syndrome, which causes parts of her body to basically go invisible over time. I don't know how many volumes there are of this and I intend to find them.

Pita-Ten, Volumes 1-3, by Koge-Donbo

     Yes, I was on a manga kick for awhile last summer. It happens. Often. And then I discover that my library only has a few volumes of a certain series and totally forget about it until I go back and look at what I read on GoodReads. Anyway, Pita-Ten is one of those that I feel like was written mainly for the cutesy factor. Misha, the main character, is an adorably hyperactive angel who is living on earth, and given her hyperactiveness, hilarity ensues. The translation is a little over the top, which I have noticed my fellow GoodReads people agree with, but oh well. Must find and read the rest of these. I truly dislike leaving a series unfinished, unless I hate it with a passion (I'm looking at you, A Song of Ice and Fire.)

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, by Ian Doescher

     I truly have no words for this utter masterpiece of a retelling of one of my favourite movies into the gorgeous prose of one of my favourite writers of all time. Ian Doescher has created a moment of perfection. This is worth reading aloud, by the way.

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys

     This is one of those YA novels that I found at the bookstore and brought home and left sit for months on my dresser. It is a historical novel, an account of a Lithuanian teenage girl and her family who are deported to Siberia during WWII. The writing is lyrical, Lina is a truly believable character, and the situations these people went through made me cry. I don't even want to tell you anything else, just read it.

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher

     This was a gorgeous and sad book. Clay, a high school student, receives a set of tapes that turn out to be from Hannah Baker, a girl whom he had cared for who had committed suicide. The tapes reveal her reasons for killing herself. It is a chilling account of how lies and rumors can hurt a person...and it makes you never want to spread a terrible rumor ever again.

The Towers, by Jordan Jeffers

     First off, one of my best friends painted the cover of this book, so there's that. Second, this is epic fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien. And third, it was sort of difficult to read at times, but it was one of the most beautiful fantasy novels I have ever read, with true sacrifice being a central theme. This is one of those that I will read again, and will most likely write a more detailed review. I cannot do it justice right now.

Death Note, Volumes 1-12, by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

    Oh look, a manga series that I managed to finish! This series gripped me in a way that I haven't experienced recently with manga. It was fast paced, hilarious at times, and raised many interesting questions about the morality of killing. Light Yagami, the main character, is a high school student who discovers a notebook which turns out to be a Death Note of a shinigami, a Japanese god of death. He learns he can kill anyone whose name and face he knows, so he begins to rid the world of criminals. Soon the Japanese Police are on the trail for this killer, known only as Kira, with the help of a teenage (I assume) genius by the name of L, who happens to be my favourite character. This is a series that I would recommend to people who have never even read any manga, honestly.

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Okay, I'm caught up now, with the exception of a few that I most recently finished. I will be writing complete reviews of those, including A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. Not each book separately, though!

Peaches for Father Francis

Also published as Peaches for Monsieur le Cure

 Yet another book that was not on my planned reading list but that called my name quite insistently when I saw it at the library...sigh. But in my defense, this is the third book in a trilogy (possibly series?) by Joanne Harris that I absolutely adore. The first two, Chocolat and The Girl With No Shadow (also published as The Lollipop Shoes), I didn't blog about on here, but I fell in love with Harris' lyrical style of writing. Until last summer when I read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, I had not seen such beautiful writing, at least not that I can remember. (No, Lord of the Rings doesn't count. That's in a class all its own.)

And before anyone gets upset that I love these books so much, since the main character identifies as a sort of witch, these are magical realism. They aren't real. Yes, set in the real world, alongside Christianity and (in this third book) Islam, but the point in this story isn't the religion. There.

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First, a little background on the main character, Vianne Rocher. She is a woman who moves with the wind, never staying in one place for very long. Her mother never had a husband, so Vianne doesn't either. She does, however, have a child. Anouk is a small eight year old girl when she and her mother first blow into the tiny town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes in the south of France. Her particular magic is making chocolates, and knowing everyone's favourites. Of course, she blows into the tiny conservative town as Lent begins. So, the priest is at odds with her for the entirety of Chocolat. Also in Chocolat Vianne finally allows herself to fall in love, with a river-gypsy with long red hair named Roux (played by Johnny Depp in the movie...mmm.). She does leave the town at the end of the book, with Anouk in tow. In the second book, they find themselves in Paris, with another tiny child, Rosette. The second book has Vianne facing off against a rather wicked foe, a woman who has no shadow, and who is entirely too charming to be true. Turns out she is the stealer of hearts. Roux returns in The Girl With No Shadow as well, which creates another dynamic when he realizes Rosette is his child. (At least if I recall correctly!) Now, as Peaches for Father Francis begins, Vianne has received a letter from Lansquenet, a letter that was written by a dear friend who died when she was there last, eight years ago. The old woman seemed to know that someday, the town would be in trouble and Vianne would be needed again.

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This time, the priest, Father Francis Reynaud, is in trouble. And when he sees Vianne, he is surprised, but eventually he accepts her help. The tiny church has been taken over by a hip, new priest, who thinks PowerPoint, guitar, and plastic seating are what the church needs. (UGH.) On the other side of the river, in the area known as Les Marauds, there is yet another problem: a community of Muslims has been growing exponentially, even to the point of building a small mosque. The people were peaceful, and mingled with the townspeople, until a man named Karim Bencharki showed up. Then, the people became hostile and closed up. The women and girls began wearing their headscarves, which they never had before. Father Francis, afraid for his community, and the suspected starter of a fire at Vianne's old chocolaterie that had been turned into a Muslim girls' school, is pretty much at his wits' end. Even the townspeople have mostly turned against him.

So, clearly, much has happened since Vianne Rocher closed up her chocolaterie and left Lansquenet. But, in typical Vianne fashion, she quickly gets to know a few of the people of Les Marauds, though of course she doesn't offer them chocolates right away, since they are in the midst of Ramadan. She does discover that Father Francis is not guilty, and that there is something much deeper going on in the Muslim community that has nothing to do with Lansquenet, but everything to do with their own religion.

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My favourite part about these books is that Harris writes about food so well. She can write about something I've never tasted nor even seen and I feel like I can smell it and my mouth waters. Her being French might have something to do with it! These books are also responsible for my new-found obsession with making excellent chocolates (which I haven't gotten around to yet...). And like I said earlier, these books are magical realism, but they really focus more on the people. I know true Islam is not peaceful, and I'm not sure if Harris intended to illustrate that, but she does, in a way, at least in its treatment of women. And though Father Francis is a pretty good example of the Catholic Church's works-centered theology, there's a small bit of truth shining through. And yes, Vianne is a witch, but you know what? She is a helper of the downtrodden, and she exposes things that are best not left in the dark. Does that make sense? Generally, I don't like people, but when you have a tiny community tearing itself apart in the name of religion, well, it makes for an excellent, feel-good story. And if all you take away from the book (or this review) is that small acts of kindness can have a huge impact, then my job is done. :)

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Just read the books. Yes, from a Christian point of view, there are many problematic situations, but gosh, it's a book. And quite frankly, these are more decently and modestly written than most other adult novels I've read.

Salt: A World History

You know, it's really frustrating when the internet decides not to work pretty much all week. Especially when I'm knocked out with a terrible cold and don't feel well enough to do much. Oh well. At least I finally got a chance to sit down and finish Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. It took me a long time to read this 450 page book, though it was fascinating and always held my interest. I guess one can only read so much about salt in one sitting, no matter how engrossing.

I've discovered that my favorite type of nonfiction is about food. I may have said this before, can't remember. But anyway. I had been intending to read this book about salt pretty much since it was published. Actually, that's a lie, because it was published in 2002, which was around the time that I wouldn't even look at a nonfiction book. I think I discovered this book about four years ago, though being in college at the time deterred me from picking up any extra reading. To make a long story short, I came across it earlier this year on the shelf at my library and decided to check it out. I believe I had to return it once, but I checked it out again and finally cracked it open. I'm quite glad I did.

You'd think the history of salt would be pretty mundane. But no. Salt was crucial to preserving food for so long that it became a central part of civilizations and wars. The Chinese were mining/making salt long before the rest of the world. Though, didn't they do almost everything before the rest of the world? The Chinese are a fascinating culture, not least because they've lasted for so long. But I digress.

This book takes you on a journey from sea to underground mine and back again. You see, there are two basic kinds of salt, sea salt and rock salt. Of course, from those two basic kinds you get many types. I sort of wish Kurlansky had included a master list of all types of salt from the various saltmaking regions of the world, but that's just me; I'm a list fanatic. The fact remains that people fought wars over salt, various salted fish, and the best salt-producing locations. You see, as recently as two hundred years ago, salting was one of the foremost methods of preserving food, whether by pickling or by packing in barrels of salt. It was absolutely necessary.

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Kurlansky does a wonderful job of telling the history of the world through the eyes of salt. He doesn't have a great organizing system in regards to his writing, though. Yes, each chapter trots through history in a chronological manner, but he repeated himself a lot and jumped from culture to culture rather quickly. But aside from that, this book is fantastic and will give you a brand new appreciation for the only rock we eat. Four stars, and I hope to read his other books, which include Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World and The Basque History of the World.