Hola! I’m Drew, a resident upper schooler at SF Day and a hardcore reader. I write reviews of books for middle-schoolers and post them on my blog, http://taletraveler.blogspot.com/. (Check it out and follow me!) I believe in the importance of books and hope to inspire kids today to read more. Here are the latest reviews from my blog—enjoy!
Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
HOLA!!! Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan! YAY! Okay, so Percy is back, but he can’t remember what happened before. After spending a few weeks living with wolves and fighting-off working-class gorgons, Percy is a little more than confused. The only thing he can remember from his past is Annabeth, a girl he knows he cares for, but he can’t seem to recall anything else. When he stumbles into a camp full of Roman soldiers, his memory starts to come back, be even more exciting are his new adventures. Traveling with Hazel, a girl who seems to have even more problems than Percy, and Frank, a nice but kind of goofy guy only realizing his true talent. Together they take on the newest threat; Mother Earth. This book was really good. It was a satisfying follow-up to The Lost Hero, though I could have used a bit more about Percy. The characters are different and rather refreshing after so many books about the same people. However, the ending was horrific! The biggest cliffhanger ever! And I bet some people are with me when I say that it should be against the law to stop a book right before Annabeth turns up. Overall, a solid and deserving book, four stars.
Possession by Elana Johnson
Hola, Possession is by Elana Johnson. Violet lives in a world of rules. Always wear the hat, don’t walk with boys, don’t touch anyone, listen to the transmissions every night, but she doesn’t want that anymore. She rebels against the Thinkers, the strangely persuasive people that set the numerous laws, in her own ways. But one day she goes a step too far. Violet learns that she has an important role to play in the world, and that she must choose who to follow. Jag, an odd but unusually compelling boy, or Zenn, her oldest and best friend. This book was really weird. It was kinda Hunger Games-like, overlords oppressing the submissive population. The end was awful, it kind of made me want to forget I read the book in the first place. What is with authors these days? All they want to do is torture us with endings! If it had an alternate finish it might have gotten a higher score, because the book itself wasn’t all that bad. As a whole, though, bizarre and rather blah. And it annoyed me that she could never give up Zenn! Okay, two stars.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Hola! Shatter Me is by Tahereh Mafi (I agree, totally awesome name). Juliette Ferrars is not sure if she is sane. Which is perfectly sane considering that she hasn’t touched a fellow human being in 264 days. But she doesn’t want to touch anyone, because she is a monster. After living alone in a world of screams and blank white walls for so long, the shock of meeting a person, someone kind, is overwhelming to Juliette. So when Adam enters her life everything is different, but is it for the better? With the Reestablishment controlling the whole world, it will be a hard journey for Juliette to regain her lost life. This book was weird but good. It was a bit confusing because there are all these crossed-out bits, which are presumably thoughts of Juliette’s that she doesn’t like or want. And at the end it went totallyXmen! (I will give you a hint of her power, think Rouge.) Adam was lovable and a good balance to the bizarre story, but Warner is still a mystery. The ending was rather abrupt, I wouldn’t have minded a few more chapters to tie up the numerous loose ends. Three stars, good enough that I will follow the series for the rest of the story.
