Do you like adventure? Do you enjoy Greek mythology? Is so, the Percy Jackson series may be the perfect book series for you. The book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan was a thrilling, relatable story that kept the reader on their seat. In the story, Percy Jackson, a twelve year old with a knack for misbehaving, discovers that he is the son of a Greek God. After encountering several monsters, and discovering that his best friend is actually a satyr (half-goat, half-human), he travels to a summer camp for the children of gods, called Camp Half-Blood. Before he arrives, though, his mother disappears after being captured by a minotaur, which Percy then kills. At camp, he discovers his father is Poseidon, and befriends Annabeth, daughter of Athena. Just as Percy settles into his new home, an issue arises. Or, descends, rather, down from Mt. Olympus. Zeus’ all-powerful lightning bolt has been stolen. Because Zeus and Poseidon had been fighting, the gods believed that it had been someone under the sea-god’s influence. Someone named Percy. Though Percy hasn’t stolen it, he decides to embark on a quest to find the missing lightning bolt and return it to Zeus. Along with Grover (the trusty satyr) and Annabeth, he sets off recover it before the summer solstice, in order to prevent a war between the gods. Assuming the thief is Hades, Percy travels great distances to recover the bolt, along the way encountering many monsters and mortals alike. When they arrive in the Underworld, the three young heroes discover that there is something much more evil stirring. The way Riordan portrayed the characters made them appear as if they were actual people, not just characters in a book. The relationships between them were so realistic, as was the dialogue. For example, in one scene, Percy and Annabeth have to go on a ride called the Tunnel of Love. Both of them are embarrassed and awkward about it, which the reader could picture themselves as in the same situation. Annabeth and Percy exchange insults back and forth, but in the end they care about one another. This relationship is similar to many brother-sister relationships. The dialogue seems as though it would be said in real life. The plot was riveting and fast-paced enough so that the reader was never bored. There was always a new problem and new events in every chapter. The chapter titles were interesting and humorous to read, and added anticipation for the reader. Riordan expertly created a story that allows readers to picture themselves in each situation. He created a balance of serious happenings and humor, and added just the right amount of danger. The Percy Jackson series is very popular among teens, and by reading the first book, it is clear to see why.
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The Lovely Bones is a great story written by Alice Sebold. It is fictional and has an interesting plot that makes you want to keep reading. In my opinion, this book is a great read for teenagers and will make the reader not want to put it down. This book is about Susie Salmon who is a teenage girl who lived a normal life but dies suddenly. She was walking home when her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, talks her into going into a hidden shelter. He then kills her, and she tells the rest of her story from heaven. Susie’s elbow is found near the spot where she was killed and her family assumes the worst. More evidence is found such as Susie’s school notes and a love letter written to her, which leads to the fact that Susie is dead. While she is in her heaven, she is able to watch over everyone and follow her murderer to see what he is doing. Mr. Harvey hides her body, and her family is not taking the news well. Susie tries to tell her father that Mr. Harvey is her murderer, and more people start to question Mr. Harvey. Throughout this whole process, Susie’s family is getting further from each other, and they are getting older. Mr. Harvey comes back to the neighborhood after many years of being nowhere to be found. He never gets punished for his crimes but instead dies at the end of the story. The Lovely Bones has many elements to it that make my opinion of the book very good. The characters in this story make it realistic and lets the reader connect with the story. Having Susie in heaven throughout the book caused the story to have more detail and made it very interesting to read. Also, in the very beginning of the book before she gets killed, there is a lot of suspense and not knowing what will happen next. It was a great way to start of the story and get the reader engaged in the book. This hook also made me want to keep reading to see what would happen to Mr. Harvey and if he would get caught. The plot events throughout that lead up to the end of the book were very descriptive, and I think they flowed well to create a great story. There is a prominent theme of good vs. evil in this book. It is between the two main characters, Mr. Harvey and Susie. Mr. Harvey is the evil and Susie is the good force who is trying to stop the evil from doing any more harm to anyone else. Also, she doesn't want him to be able to live his life guilt free and “innocent” to other people. So throughout the story she tries to give hints. For example when her dad is helping Mr. Harvey, Susie sends messages down and her father gets suspicious. This is how good vs. evil is incorporated into the plot of this story. All together this was a great book, and I would recommend it be read by many people. It allows you to wonder what is happening to the victim and how the murderer is getting away with it. I believe that that is what kept me entertained and made this story interesting and a good read. “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, is probably one of the best books I have read. Like most John Green books, it includes its fair share of romance, some comedy here and there, and of course; a tragic ending. However, of all the novels I’ve read so far by this extremely talented author (which is quite a lot), “Looking for Alaska” was a very well thought out piece of literature. It amazed me how even the titles of each chapter had meaning. The novel was surprisingly philosophical from what I had expected. There was so much meaning behind every line coming from a character’s theoretical mouth. Every beautifully unique character had their own background that all tied into the story at one point. The story is told from the point of view of Miles Halter, a teenage boy from Florida, keen on remembering significant people’s last words. He decides to attend the boarding school in the middle of Alabama that his dad had gone to in his younger years. All this in attempt to discover a Great Perhaps, Miles needed to find adventure. Upon arrival, Miles meets his roommate Chip Martin, but goes by “the Colonel”, a name awarded by the one and only Alaska Young. Miles is also adorned with the nickname of “Pudge”, completely out of irony. He is the absolute opposite as his nickname implies. In the reality of it all Miles is a lanky, skinny, slightly awkward, seventeen year old teenage boy. As the chapter names indicate, all of the events are counting down to a most likely tragic event, starting at having 136 days. Over the course of these one hundred thirty-six days and decreasing, Pudge, the Colonel, and Alaska become inseparable. Although the breathtaking and insightful Alaska does not make the best of decisions, she helps Pudge step in the right direction to finding his Great Perhaps. Does he find the oh-so desired Great Perhaps? The answer is unclear. Personally, I believe Miles (Pudge), finds just what he is looking for the nanosecond he laid eyes on Alaska Young. Over a very bumpy road of Alaska’s terrible driving, pranks, almost expulsions, love, and the unknown, Miles and his newly acquired group of friends learn the true meaning of living in the moment. “Looking for Alaska” is a poetic and absolute genius novel. John Green wrote an emotional and deep story, definitely one that really gets you to think. I would read it and thousand times over. For my independent reading this term, I read Looking for Alaska. The author was John Green. I am very passionate about this book and was quick to read because it was so hard to stop reading. From the beginning of this book, I knew it would be interesting. It starts off with a boy named Miles, a junior in high school, wants to find his Great Perhaps (a turning point in his life) which includes him going to a boarding school. When he gets there he meets Chip, nicknamed “the colonel”, who he becomes good friends with. Then he meets Alaska Young who he instantly likes and then everything leads up to one day before. Once the after days go by, he finds his Great Perhaps. The most interesting part of the book is the setup of it and how it is unlike any other books. Instead of chapters, it has days before and then when it reaches up to that day, it starts saying days after. I also like how each character in the book is unique in their own way. Some other books John Green has written are The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, and many others. This book is composed very well. While I was reading this book, I didn’t feel like I had to because I would have read even if I didn’t have to. This is by far one of the best books I have ever read and I like how different it is from other books. I recommend this book to girls. “Paper Towns,” by John Green was a different book, but also so astonishing and compelling. Everything was like trying to put together a puzzle piece which made it such a phenomenal book. As you probably know, John Green writes a whole lot of romance, but this definitely includes a little more comedy than most. Also like most of his books, it has a very bittersweet ending. It’s about a boy named Quentin Jacobsen who’s in love with his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo never really noticed him because of the fact that she was surrounded by all her “friends” and her boyfriend who she later finds out doesn’t really care for her. Margo finds out that her boyfriend, Jason, has been sleeping with her one of her best friends, Becca. Margo later thinks that Lacey, her other best friend, knew and didn’t tell her. This obviously made Margo feel extremely betrayed. Have you ever felt this way? I think we’ve all had someone or even multiple people in our life that haven’t been true friends to us or even betrayed us. Unlike most people, Margo later makes a whole scheme of revenge for those who haven’t been real friends. One night, the night of her retaliation, she climbs into Quentin’s window asking for his help. That’s where their story begins. He helps her, she then disappears only leaving behinds clues, and he goes to look for her. Along with Quentin, his two best friends Radar and Ben and Margo’s best friend Lacey help him search for her. What makes the book so much better though is how opposite Margo and Quentin are. Quentin is the son every parent wants. He never rebels against his parent’s wishes, does good in school, and is a bit boring, but is overall a great kid. Margo is such a mystery, which adds to the intensity of the book. Do you have any friends that you can relate to Margo or even Quentin? She’s always surprising in anything she says or does, she lives on the wild side, and is anything but boring. She likes to feel the rush and excitement in everything while Quentin has a heart attack going against the rules. The book really has you wondering what’s going to happen next and the outcome always surprises you. Once you start reading it, it’s hard to put it down. If you like romantic comedy with a little mystery, this is a great choice. |
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