Book Review - The Mark of Athena

Title: The Mark of Athena
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus (book 3)
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 2 Oct 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0141335742

Synopsis
As Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo fly towards Camp Jupiter in the Argo II she can't blame the Romans for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon, she just hopes that the sign of their Praetor on deck will reassure the Romans that they come in Peace. All Annabeth really wants is to be reunited with Percy, but now it looks like there could be war.
And that's not her only worry, in her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with a demand: "Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me." but what more could Athena want from her, she's already battling the prophecy that will send seven demigods to find and close the Doors of Death.

My Review
Some spoilers may be included.

I have been a Percy Jackson fan for a few years now and always look forward to the new releases. It always seems like a long time between books but when you get them the wait is so worth while and they are always big. This book is a hefty 572 pages, but that's over 500 pages of sheer awesomeness!!!

It did take me a little while to get back into the story and remember what had happened in the previous books but once I was there, i was right back into the book. 
I'm not even sure where to start with this, this book just had so much to it that I'm finding it hard to sum it up.
I suppose characters are a big thing, after all - no characters, no story!
So Annabeth is kind of a main player in this book and she has grown a lot since that little twelve year old we first met. She is smart, feisty, passionate, logical, head-strong and vulnerable. She has moments of pure awesomeness, a really butt-kicker, but where Percy is involved she can be weak at the knees, that is when she isn't fighting to be with him, or protect him. I loved their connection and relationship. Their reunion just makes my heart melt!
And her whole solo quest thing, wow, that girl has some serious pressure on her and steps straight into the face of danger and the unknown. You got to admire the girl's courage.
Percy, ah Percy! Man I love that boy. He's cheeky and arrogant and boastful, yet insecure and sometimes shy. He's a fighter and true hero, but with a heart, one heck of a heart and a fierce love for Annabeth and the urge to do the right thing. He also has some great one liners.
Jason - I've been pretty indifferent to Jason up until now, I wasn't really bothered about what he did, or whether he was around, but throughout this book I found myself looking forward to his scenes, and his relationship with Piper was sweet, although there were moments when I was shouting at him to just 'kiss her already', he's a bit slow with the whole relationship stuff, but it's kind of endearing. And Piper herself kicks butt.
Leo is BACK!!! Leo has to be one of my all time favourite characters, he is so funny and immature, yet he always means well and tries his best and really you can tell he just wants to fit in. My heart goes out to Leo, seriously I love this boy, and he makes me laugh out loud more than any other character.
There are other characters to get to know better too, Hazel and Frank (who I just want to hug by the way) for a start. 
Having the book told from different POV's also allow us an extra insight into thier lives and personality and make you feel like you are connecting better to them.
The plot of this book is quite fast paced and there is always something going on. You tend to get 3/4 chapters with each character before it switches to another POV, this ensures that you are hooked in and pulled along, then moved along before you get bored. Although this did take me slightly longer to read than I thought it would, A few bits were slightly predictable, but overall it didn't lower my enjoyment of the book, I was still very impressed with it.
There are some truly laugh out loud moments, some 'Nooooooo' moments, some 'awwww' moments and some 'OMG EPIC!!!' moments, really a bit of everything.
Rick Riordan really is a master storyteller and I am truly looking forward to the next part 'The House of Hades', but why do we have to wait another year for it?

My Rating

            

 

Book Review - After The Snow

Title: After The Snow
Author: S.D.Crockett
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Release Date: 2 Feb 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0230759350

Synopsis
"I'm gonna sit here in my place on the hill behind the house. Waiting. And watching. Ain't nothing moving down there. The valley look pretty bare in the snow. Just the house grey and lonely down by the river all frozen. I got to think what I'm gonna do now that everyone gone. But I got my dog head on. The dog gonna tell me what to do. The dog gonna help me. The house look proper empty - don't it dog? You just sit quiet in these rocks Willo." Set in the haunting and barren landscape of a new ice age, AFTER THE SNOW is the story of fifteen-year-old Willo, a 'straggler' kid who loses his family in the opening pages. Completely alone, he is immediately flung into an icy journey of survival, adventure, friendship and self-discovery - with only the dog spirit inside his head to guide him. Meanwhile, across Britain, outlawed followers of survivalist John Blovyn are planning an escape to the fabled Islands talked of in a revolutionary book . . . 


My Review
I went to the book launch party for this book last week and received a free copy which I got signed by the author. Everyone there was really excited about this book and I was feeling the buzz. I was eager to get started but had to finish the book i was already reading for work and so had to put this one aside for a couple of days. I was feeling the pressure a bit, hoping I would love it as I had seen so much excitement for it, but I have to be honest in my review.
I ended up reading this book in three different sittings. I'm going to split this review into the things I struggled with and the things I really enjoyed. There were definitely aspects of both and this book has me a bit torn really. I'll start with the negatives.
When I first picked up the book I really struggled, it's written in a sort of broken English, none of the sentences are fully structured sentences, which I found very hard to read. Sometimes I would have to re-read the 'sentence' a couple of times to get what was being said. I struggled for quite a while, it was about page 55 before i found a rhythm that I could read it to, once I had found the rhythm though I started to enjoy the story. 
However every time I put the book down for whatever reason, when I came back to it, it would take a few pages to get back into the rhythm so it became very disjointed and a bit frustrating. I don't know if the author was trying to make a point with the language, it probably did have a purpose, but for me it jsut didn't work properly. 
At 307 pages this should have taken me about 2 and a half hours to read, but in total it actually took about 6 hours I think.
Also the whole 'Dog' thing really confused me. Why would he have a dog skull on his head as a hat and why would he think it could talk to him? And it's not like it's a permanent thing, one minute the 'dog' would be giving out all sorts of advice, arguments etc, then it would go like 4 chapters without appearing. Was the dog supposed to be a sort of conscience? or a Spirit Guide? or an imaginary friend? I'm really not sure. Had me puzzled, I preferred the chapters where the dog didn't feature.
That's it for the negatives, two things that didn't work for me. Maybe I was missing a point, but for me, it just missed the mark. But now onto the positives.
The descriptions in the book are great, I had a perfect image in my head throughout the story as to what the places and people would look like, I could follow the character on his journey and have a perfect visual of where he was going. I really entered into the snowy landscape.
Once I got past the language issue, I did like Willo as a character, he comes of as strange and a bit simple at the beginning, but you see him grow and become more sensible, and you see he has got a big heart, he goes back and helps a little girl and a puppy in the book, even when he knows there is a risk. He has a good sense of right and wrong and a determination to help. He has a good head on his shoulders, but still makes mistakes like all humans. Although I'm still not sure how old he was supposed to be.
Mary, the little girl he rescues is another great character, I really liked her, she had determination to survive and a good instinct. I love how she can keep Willo in line even though he is older than her (i think). I love her moments of vulnerability, made me want to hug her.
The overall plot is good, Willo's hunt for his missing family is a good idea, and you see him grow and change throughout. I'm unsure about the ending, I did feel that his time in the city dragged a bit, it was like really slow then BAM big ending, lots of fighting and running etc, then a sense of calm and achievement. Although looking at the bigger picture it seemed like a long journey that didn't end up really going anywhere.  Maybe there will be a book 2 and it will progress there, who knows.
I really am torn with this book, there were bits that I thought were spectacular and I can see why everyone was so excited, but there were also bits that I really didn't like. 
I would say, good to read as it's very different in style from other books, but I don't think I would read it again. 


My Rating

Book Review - Lily Alone

Title: Lily Alone
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Publisher: Yearling
Release Date: 8 Dec 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0440869252

Synopsis
Lily isn't home ALONE - but she sort of wishes she was; looking after her three younger siblings is a lot of responsibility.

When Mum goes off on holiday with her new boyfriend and her stepdad fails to show up, Lily is determined to keep the family together and show they can cope without any grown-ups. But taking care of 6-year-old twins, her 3-year-old sister and the family's flat feels overwhelming and Lily is worried that school or social services might discover their situation and break up the family. What could be better than to take all the little ones for a camping adventure in the park? Plenty of space to run about, no carpet to vacuum, and surely no chance anyone will guess they're there . . .

My Review
I was a huge Jacqueline Wilson fan when I was younger, I had most of her books and read tehm many times. As I got older I steered away from them, I stopped reading her work, but I did keep watching Tracy Beaker on TV (still do, I'm loving the new series 'Tracy Beaker Returns')
Anyway, when I first heard about this book I thought it was the story of one of the girls from Tracy Beaker Returns (there is a girl called Lily who has got used to raising her two little sisters) I soon found out this book had nothing to do with that character, it was completely different, so I moved away from it, but then I found a book trailer on Youtube for it and it looked really good. I kept thinking about it and wondering. I was then talking to some of the kids in the library and I got strong recommendations for it, so I decided to put a request in.
It arrived today. I got home from work just after 6 and had my dinner, I started the book just before 7 and had finished it by 9.15, so it took me just over two hours.
Jacqueline's writing has an easy flowing style to it that makes it easy to get into and quick to read. The characters became real and I could picture them all. I instantly wanted to slap the mother and tell her to grow up and stop being so selfish, but at the same time I wanted to give Lily a great big hug and tell her it would be ok.
her younger brother Baxter is a real live wire, mischievious and cheeky but a softy deep down, Bliss (his twin) is very timid and very shy, she is scared of a lot of things but has a great imagination and I could really feel the bond between her and Lily. Cute little Pixie is a little monster really, always hungry or wanting something, she depends on her big sister.
You have to admire Lily for everything she does for them, yes she makes some mistakes and some silly choices but you can tell she is trying.
I spent the whole book hoping for a happy ending, I really wanted it to work out for them. I know there are a lot of kids out there that really do have this sort of life and it makes you stop and think.
This book did remind me why Wilson is so popular and why I loved her books. I don't think I will necessarily read all the books by her that I haven't read but I will be more likely to pick another one up.

My Review

 

Book Review - The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

Title: The Brilliant World Of Tom Gates
Author: Liz Pichon
Series: Tom Gates (book 1)
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: 4 April 2011 
ISBN-13: 978-1407120690

Synopsis
Tom Gates is the master of excuses for late homework: dog attacks/ spilt water / lightning.. Tom's exercise book is full of his doodles, cartoons and thoughts, as well as comments from his long-suffering teacher, Mr Fullerton. After gaining five merits for his CAMPING SUCKS holiday story, Tom's work starts to go downhill - which is a pity, as he's desperate to impress Amy Porter, who sits next to him...  

My Review
This was another book on the list for 'Book Day' at work, and another one that I wasn't looking forward to. Last year I had to read 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' and I really didn't like it. I can see the appeal for children - it's quick and easy to read, but to me there was no substance, I was afraid this book would follow the trend.
Wow, was I wrong. Tom Gates is instantly likeable, he has a great sense of humour, his drawings make me smile and the book just grabs your attention.
There is a storyline throughout, it follows Tom through a term at school, he is desperate to impress a girl, he wants to see his favourite band 'Dudes 3' live and he wants to make his band "Dog Zombies" really good. Follow his notes as he humiliates his teachers, winds up his sister, gets in and out of trouble and generally has a bot of mischief. 
Although always seeming to be in trouble, Tom does it the nicest way, he always seems so innocent and I really liked him as a character.
His sister Delia is the main focus of his pranks, but I could see so much of me and my brother in their relationship that it just made me laugh. 
Altogether a fantastic book. If your children like Wimpy Kid then they will love this. And if they don't love Wimpy Kid, well still give them this I'm sure they'll laugh just like I did. The new generation of Diary/notebook writing has arrived.

My Rating

  

2012 Challenges

I signed up to Five challenges last year but only completed three of them.

This year I am signing up to FOUR different challenges, and I'm hoping to complete them all.

So first up is:

This challenge is hosted by 'My Overstuffed Bookshelf'. She hosted the 100+ Challenge last year and I passed that easily so glad she increased it to 150. Self explanatory really - read 150 or more books within the year. Hoping to do even more than that but it's a good goal.

Next up is:

This challenge is hosted by 'Gripped Into Books'. The idea is to read one book for every letter of the alphabet - so 26 in total over the year. I did one similar to this last year called the 'A-Z' challenge and i did 23/26. Hoping to fill it this year.

Next up is:

This challenge is hosted by 'Annette's Book Spot' the idea of this challenge is to clear all those books you have sitting round that are short enough to be read in a day.

Levels:

Level 1 - Read 15 books

Level 2 - Read 25 books

Level 3 - Read 35 books

Level 4 - Read 50+ books

 

I've signed up for Level 1 so far, but I think I can increase this as I go. 

The last challenge I have:

This challenge is hosted by 'Name Reading' The idea of this challenge is to spell out your name (real or blog) and then read a book that starts with each letter of your name.
I am going to use my screen name for this challenge 'Barmy Bex' so this gives me 8 books to read for this, (might struggle with the 'x' though)


You can sign up to any of these challenges throughout the year, and I can use any of the books I read in all of them - cross overs so thats good.
Wish me luck and check my progress under the 'TBR pile & Challenges' page tab in my blog.

Happy 2012 and Good luck.
What challenges are you taking part in?