The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is about a boy named Percy Jackson. He just thinks he is a normal boy but soon finds out that he's not. He goes through 6th grade learning about the Greek and Roman Gods to be a myth just to find out that they weren't and that he was the son of one. He was the son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea.

Percy finds out that he is Poseidon's son when he is at a camp for Half-Bloods and they are playing a game of capture the flag. Percy goes into a creek and Poseidon claims him as his son. After Percy finds out that Poseidon is his father he gets a quest. His quest is to find Zeus's master lightning bolt to stop World War III from happening. There was going to be a war if he didn't find the master bolt and return it to Zeus because Zeus was blaming Poseidon for taking it even though Poseidon did not take it. Percy goes on the quest with two of his friends Grover and Annabeth, they run into monsters and other Gods. They need to figure out who took the master bolt and where to find them with just a little amount of time so they use teamwork to stop the idea of World War III.

I really liked this book because it had adventure, and had a sort of a mystery to it so that you’re trying to figure out before Percy does. The book seemed to bring up pollution a lot and so I think the author thinks that people of this day and age seem to pollute the world all over. Even though this book had more to do with the Greek and Roman myths he still brought up pollution. I would give this book an A because it was good but at first I had a hard time getting into it. Also this book was made into a movie!

Little Women~ Louisa May Alcott

The book that I read this month was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. After reading the seemingly never ending book, I found myself wrapped in the lives of the  poor, but yet so happy March family. As you read through the book, you read about the lives of Mr. and Mrs. March and their four lovely daughters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. It tells of the many adventures they go on and the ever so abundant trails they have to face. The many different kinds of characters really just make the story though. Meg is the eldest and most motherly of the group. She is beautiful and kind. Jo is an amazing writer but has a short temper which is oft to get her in trouble but she is always trying to be her best. Beth is the quiet, shy girl that you can't help falling in love with. She is the peacemaker of the home and is always quick to help someone else before herself. She loves the piano and plays it quite well which many times brings peace to the home and joy to others' hearts. Amy is the youngest daughter that fancies much in money and riches even though they are few. Many times she feels her age gets in the way and is oft to feel left out. She also has a short temper which causes some trouble with Jo. Although so different they all get along for the most part with the help of their loving, gentle mother who is always watching out for them and helping them to become sensible little women. Mr. March is very much adored by all and many look up to his example. He gave his all for his family even though it is not as much as he wishes and shows nothing but love for his four daughters and lovely wive. These are but a few of the characters that really shape this story and make it unique.

If I had to describe this book in a few words I would say it is entertaining, real-to-live, and just simply grand. Yet, if I had to give it a rating I would give it a B. It was very well written and I loved all the characters it introduced and morals it taught but in the beginning it was boring, slow and hard for me to get into. No worries though becauces once it started moving it just went and was a joy to read. The way the author has written it, you really forget that it is fiction because the adventures, though some rather silly, could really happen in a normal, every day life. You just can't help to laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry, and feel as though you are right there with the March's through everything. Also, as you go through the author has cleverly put in little morals such as anger brings no lasting joy and when you all stand together, then you are all stronger. You learn with the daughters as they slip and their mother gives them clever old lady advice. I feel like this book has taught me many life lessons that I might have not learned otherwise. Throughout the whole book, the author really stresses that money isn't everything and even though you are poor you can still have a life full of joy. I must agree when she says this. Riches, though they may bring joy for a while, will never bring anything more lasting and having people who love you and good memories to look back on is a hundred times more important than some lousy golden ring and endless closet of clothes.  You can really hear the author's voice as if she is telling you the story herself and that makes it a little more personal. I really liked this book even though sometimes the language was a little hard to understand; but that is probably just because it is old and old people/ things get that was some times. I don't know if I would read it again, but I would definitely tell anyone to read it if they are looking for a close to life story that will make them laugh, smile, cry and if you're me, yell at the snotty characters. I loved this book and sure didn't waste my time reading it.

*Like my last few books, there is a movie for this one as well. Since it's probably at least an hour... I will just include the trailer for it and you can find it on Netfllix or something. :)*

Divergent By: Veronica Roth

This is a wonderful book that I could not put down. This book just sucked me in. Divergent is a book that really anyone would enjoy, so that being said, I recommend this book to anyone. This book really made me think about the world that we live in, and also I kept comparing the characters to real people in my life.

Divergent is similar to the Hunger Games in the way that it takes place in a dystopian world that used to be in the United States. This book actually takes place in current Chicago. Anyways, the way their world works is that it is divided into Factions. The factions are : dauntless, amity, candor, abnegation, and erudite. In this world when you are little you are raised in what ever faction your parents come from, but when you are sixteen you take a test that tells you which faction you should go to. The thing is though that if you go to a different faction then your parents is a sign of betrayal.

In this book you follow Beatrice, who was raised in the faction of abnegation which is made to be selfless. When Beatrice takes the test to decide her faction her test is inconclusive. In stead of her test giving her one direct answer as to what faction she should go to, it gave her three. Having more than one choice makes her be divergent. Being divergent is very dangerous, and the faction leaders will kill you if they find out, what you are. She can choose between the dauntless, which protect the city from danger, the abnegation, which as I already said act selfless, and the erudite, which are incredibly smart.

I don't want to give to much to away. But, in the faction that she does choose she meets real friends that she has never had, also some much needed romance comes into play, and she faces danger of trying to hide her divergence. But, I just can't get over how much I enjoyed this book. The book Divergent really just interested me.

This book keeps playing over and over in my mind. I actually find myself kind of missing the characters.( I know I am a HUGE dork) All in all,, this book is really good and has definitely hit my top 5 for favorite books.

Of Grace and Chocolate By: Krista Lynn Jensen

Of Grace and Chocolate by: Krista Lynn Jensen is an amazing LDS fiction novel that includes mystery and a little bit of romance. This book teaches the importance of family and safety. In order to understand my summary, you need to know that Jill's younger sister has been a drug user since high school. You also need to know that Jill's mother died of an infected liver caused by alcohol.

Jill Parrish is an author and editor at a local publishing company. One day, an old friend, who Jill hasn't seen since her trip to Costa Rica in high school, tries to get her attention by stealing her cell phone and her car keys. However, Jill is anything but impressed but this will not be the last time she sees Scott Gentry over the next few days. That night, Jill's long lost sister, Evie, arrives at Jill's apartment asking for Jill to take care of her and her baby girl, Shiloh. Evie makes Jill promise that Shiloh is safe with Jill. The next morning, Jill wakes up and hears Shiloh crying. When Jill goes to get her, she realizes that Evie is gone. Jill was immediately panicked and called her singles ward bishop and the police.

Her bishop and his wife arrive with plenty of baby supplies and began taking care of Shiloh while Jill is talking to the police. The police begin to search for Shiloh's mother. Jill begins to relax and have fun with Shiloh. The next day, when Jill returns home from church, someone has broken into her home and destroyed it. Over the next few days, Jill gets to know her bishop's family and Scott Gentry at her bishop's cabin on the beach. However, the person who broke into her apartment continues to search for her. He tells her that he wants to get back at Evie. Eventually, He is captured by the police without hurting anybody. However, Jill never returning Shiloh to Evie.

This book shows exactly how drugs and alcohol can tear a family apart and hurt relationships. This is through Evie's story. She ran away to be with another drug addict who Caused her many griefs and gave her a child. This is also shown through Jill's mother. Because her mother chose to drink alcohol, she passed away of liver disease. Before reading this book, I didn't realize how damaging drugs were to families.

This book also talks about the principles of the LDS church. They appear often in this book so if you don't know them but are wanting to read this book, you may want to learn at least the basic principles and facts.

This book was an amazing novel that I could not put down. This book was a quick read and is very suspenseful. If you are going to read it, I would recommend reading it when you have a lot of free time for reading because once you put it down in a suspenseful part,you can't wait to pick it back up. I would rate this book an A+.

Ironhand

Once again, this is a sequel review. If you want to read the other review, click here





If you don't complete three challenges, a string of bronze will crawl up your arm and kill you. That is the main problem for thirteen year old George Chapman. When he decided to not to put the dragon head back on its body, he then chose The Hard Way. The Hard Way has you to complete three challenges that are going to be extremely difficult for George to handle. One of the challenges has George dueling a powerful knight, and another one pits George against the Walker. If he doesn't accomplish them in time, he will die. While this is happening, The Gunner is trapped by the Walker in a strange area. George will have help along the way in the forms of Edie, and a newly formed alliance with a cat.

In Stoneheart, I saw George as a whiny boy who seemed to have low self-esteem. Now George matures into a hero that you want to root for, and someone who could actually defeat the dark forces. I thought that this book focuses on using your skills to your advantage. In the book when George is getting attacked by The Celtic Knight, he states that he is one of the fastest runners at school; he then uses that skill to run away from the Knight which allowed him to live.

SPOILER!!! In the book, if a Spit (the good statue) is broken, they can return to their plinth to heal, if they don’t get back by midnight, they will never move again. So George has to use his epic running skills to get to The Gunner’s plinth, so that The Gunner can live again. END SPOILER!!!

This book is by far better than the original. It still maintains a balance of action and story while adding a new puzzle element to the book. This book also seemed to go by faster than Stoneheart. Overall, if you didn’t feel that Stoneheart was a great book, you need to try this one. A+

Eighth Grade Bites By Heather Brewer

Eighth Grade Bites is the first of a set of books called The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. It was a pretty easy read. It was only a couple hundred pages, and it incorporated fantasy with real life. I think that is the main reason why I finished it so fast.

The story starts out with a chase scene. Mr. John Craig is running from a hungry vampire who is searching for Vladimir Tod. Mr. Craig gets caught, tormented, and eaten. Mr. Craig was, however, successful in keeping Vladimir safe from harm, for now.

Vladimir Tod, or Vlad, is a typical eighth grader, right? Of course not! Vlad is a vampire, or at least part vampire. His dad was a vampire, and his mom was human. His parents died a few years back in a house fire. Now Vlad lives with his Aunt Nelly. It turns out she's not even his aunt, but his mother's best friend. Anyways, Vlad has one friend, Henry, the most popular kid in school. Even that doesn't stop him from being bullied every day.

One afternoon, a new substitute for Language Arts comes in his name is Mr. Otis Otis. With the help of Otis later out in the book, Vlad is able to discover who he really is. He also discovers a hidden vampire world that his dad hid him from.

I honestly thought this is one of the best books I've ever read. It's filled with action, suspense, and a few jokes here and there. It mixes fantasy with every day life to create a truly unique story. I highly suggest this book to anyone that likes vampires(not the sparkly kind).

Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth was an amazing book! I loved it so much. It was a fast paced, exciting adventure. This kept me up all night flipping the pages.

People were living in this post-apocolyptic society where you got to choose a faction to go into. There were five factions- Candor, where you go if you always tell the truth, Abnegation, where the selfless go, Amity, where the peaceful people end up, Dauntless, the brave, and the Erudite, the intelligent.

Before you chose your faction, you would go into a test. The test would tell you what faction would be best for you. When the main character, Beatrice went into the test, the results weren't so good. She got Divergent, which means that your personality was good for more than one faction. In that society, this was especially dangerous.

Beatrice, was born into Abnegation. But when it came  time for her to choose, she chose Dauntless. This shamed her family. What was even worse for her parents, was that Beatrice's brother chose to go into Erudite instead of Abnegation. You see, if somebody chose to switch factions like Beatrice and her brother did, it shamed your entire family.

After an exciting train ride/ jump off the train, Beatrice was forced to jump off a building and into a hole. If she had not done that, she would not have been able to be in that faction and would end up factionless. Being Divergent, Beatrice had to be very careful. She told people her name was tris, met a boy named Four, and found out something big.

Beatrice discovered the protagonist's plan. Which was to gather Dauntless people and put them into an army. The protagonist was the leader of the Erudite faction. Erudite and Abnegation were natural enemies. Once the Dauntless people were gathered, the Erudite leader put something into their brains to make them act much like zombies. But since Beatrice was Divergent the thing that they put into her brain didn't work. Beatrice goes on to decide if she will help or play along.

It's a very interesting book. I really liked it. Although, it did have some romance that I thought was rather forced. Other than that, it was a very good book and I recommend it to anyone and everyone who loved the Hunger Games. I give this book and A.