The Son of Neptune

Title: The Son of Neptune

Author: Rick Riordan (Book # 2 of The Heroes of Olympus)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology

Review: Rick Riordan is one of my very favorite authors, and this is the seventh book by him that I have read. The Heroes of Olympus is, in essence, a continuation of the Percy Jackson series. Percy is a demigod - half god, half human - and his father is Poseidon, the sea god. Unlike the Percy Jackson series however, which was written in first person, this book is written in third person, and has several different points of view. It takes a little bit of getting used to, coming right out of the Percy Jackson series, but, as usual, I did enjoy it.

It has a very specific sense of humor, and that is one of my very favorite things about Riordan as an author. He has a way of making something serious and comical at the very same time, and that takes quite a bit of talent to do. I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout this book, which tends to be slightly awkward when there are people around.

The Son of Neptune takes up Percy Jackson's story once more, after having taken a break from him for a book. He finds himself at a Roman camp, not remembering anything about his past. However, there is a problem with the monsters that he keeps trying to kill, as they reform moments after he disposes of them. Death has been captured, and he has to free him. Not only is Percy an especially interesting character, but there are also two other points of view in this book - Hazel and Frank - each with their own secrets. Everything wraps up to a very satisfying ending, though it does leave you craving another book.

Overall, I would recommend The Son of Neptune to anyone who is a fan of Greek or Roman mythology, as Riordan definitely does a good job of making a story worth reading. In addition, even if you're just a fan of fantasy, this is definitely a fun series to look into. 

Origin

Title: Origin

Author: Jessica Khoury (This is her first book)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance, Mystery

Review: I have kind of mixed feelings about this book. If I was forced to give it a star rating, I'd probably say a 4 out of 5. I'm usually pretty easy to please, and find it extremely difficult to rate books less than 5. However, there were some good and bad things about this book. First of all, the action takes forever to get going. I read five to six chapters, and was about ready to give up. I hated everything about it, and it felt like it was just about a girl that wanted a boyfriend. I'm not a big fan of romance, but this book seemed to do a good job of making it not all about the love story, despite what I originally thought the book would turn out to be.

But it did get better. Also, in areas it was very difficult to read, as it felt like the author just took a thesaurus and looked up a ton of random words. The flow was very difficult. However, I do have some good things to say about the book as well.

After the action started to pick up, I was drawn in. I was still experiencing a few problems with the style of the writing, but I was able to ignore it for a good concept. That's something you should know about me. I'm a sucker for a good concept. In essence, Origin is about an immortal girl living amongst scientists - the mortals that created her. She is in the process of trying to become a scientist herself, so that she might help create a race of others like her to populate the world. But there is a possibility that there's evil lurking somewhere just out of reach.

It's a great concept. For me, it made reading the book worth it, and though it's definitely not the best book I've ever read, I would probably recommend it. However, there are some slightly graphic/intense scenes, and it explores the concept of just how far people would go for science. I wouldn't recommend it for younger children for this reason; it was very suspenseful, and there was a lot of exploration in life and death, as would be expected from a book of this nature. Overall, it was a decent book, and I enjoyed reading it.

Inkheart

Title: Inkheart

Author: Cornelia Funke (The first book of the 'Inkworld' trilogy)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Review: This was my second time reading this book, and I was definitely not disappointed. I've been wanting to read the entire Inkworld trilogy for a while now, but I came to the realization that I didn't quite remember what happened in the first book. Thus, I decided to read it over again. It certainly holds up to multiple readings, and I enjoyed it the second time around, even though the plot details kept coming back to me as time went on.

Mo, the main character's father, can read characters out of books, when he reads aloud. However, this always comes with a consequence, and because of it, our main character Meggie has never heard her father's reading voice. One day, one of the characters Mo had read out of the book comes to his house, begging him to try to read him back. This man's name is Dustfinger, and he calls Meggie's father 'Silvertounge', much to her surprise at the strange sounding name.

This is a story of thieves and fantasy villains come to life, and it is absolutely gripping. It was initially intended for a younger audience, I believe, but I found it interesting as a teenager, and I'm all but assuming some adults would enjoy it as well. If you like fantasy and adventure, then I would definitely recommend this book.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Author: J. K. Rowling; this is the first book out of seven in the Harry Potter series.

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Review: Harry Potter is one of those series that I've always wanted to read, but have never quite got around to. I knew everyone loved the books, but I was always in the middle of something else. However, I finally decided to just bite the bullet and read the first one. I'm definitely glad I did. It was well worth it.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone follows a young boy by the name (obviously) of Harry Potter through his adventures at his first year at the wizard school Hogwarts. He runs into various dilemmas throughout his first year, and you constantly find yourself feeling for him; about the second chapter is when you really start to feel bad for him. Throughout the book, you're thinking one thing, and, at the very end, Rowling twists it. And it makes sense. The ending is amazing. Lots of loose ends are tied up, and it's a very satisfying conclusion, even though there are major storylines that are clearly left open for what I know to be multiple sequels.

The book is written from a third person omniscient point of view, so you know how everyone is feeling at any particular moment; sometimes you even get the viewpoints of animals or some mystical creature. It's interestingly done, and doesn't get old very quickly. The book is very quirky and fun, and, for the moment, light-hearted. However, it did seem to have dark undertones at parts that promised something a bit more dangerous in the future. I also loved the sense of humor that Rowling used; I laughed out loud several times.

At any rate, I think that this book is more than worth reading, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of fantasy, or books with a quirky style.

I Am Not a Serial Killer

Title: I Am Not a Serial Killer

Author: Dan Wells - 'I Am Not a Serial Killer' is his first published book, and is the first of a trilogy.

Genre: Thriller, Young Adult

Review: Personally, I believed "I Am Not a Serial Killer" to be an excellent book. It is a bit out of my genre of choice, but I found it extremely intriguing. The book is written from the first person point of view of a sociopathic 15-year-old boy named John. He has all of the quirks and traits that are generally associated with serial killers, and is near obsessed with learning about others like himself. He is characterized extremely well, and I found myself feeling sorry for him, even though there's no way that I should have been. He was interesting, and it felt like he was legitimately trying to be nice. Or, in his mind, he was trying to be human. 

When a serial killer shows up in his town and starts killing people off, John feels himself becoming more and more interested in finding out more about him or her. About halfway through the book, there is a major twist that I never saw coming, and didn't seem like it should work. However, Dan pulled it off very cleverly, and it just worked. The ending sent chills up my spine and left me craving more.

Overall, I found it an excellent book, and would definitely recommend it, especially if you're a fan of thrillers. Or, as is true in my case, even if you're not. I honestly can't wait to read the next one.