readingrobyn's reviews
666 reviews
Get Well Soon, by Julie Halpern
4.0
Let me begin by saying when I'm in the young adult section of any book loaning establishment I am very much the type of reader who judges a book by it's cover and perhaps because of this there are only so many times I can pass by a book on the shelf before I have to stop and actually read it. This was one of the first reasons why despite some hesitation I added this book to my reading list for the year.
Get Well Soon was one of those books I was a little worried about reading, despite its humours outside it had the potential to be personally depressing. When picking up books about the serious emotional issues of being a teenager I always put on my caution lights, I have been fooled before into reading books that I believed would deal with these issues in a humorous manner only to read 300 pages of hopeless angst that in the end do more harm then good for my own emotional standings.
Now that I have finally read the book I am happy to report that it was not one of those stories. Julie Halpern tells Anna Bloom's story in a manner that I could not only connect with but walk away from smiling. The characters were interesting, the perspective was amazingly written and the story flowed in a way that kept me reading well into the night.
In the end I have to say I have never been so pleased with my cover judging ways. :)
Get Well Soon was one of those books I was a little worried about reading, despite its humours outside it had the potential to be personally depressing. When picking up books about the serious emotional issues of being a teenager I always put on my caution lights, I have been fooled before into reading books that I believed would deal with these issues in a humorous manner only to read 300 pages of hopeless angst that in the end do more harm then good for my own emotional standings.
Now that I have finally read the book I am happy to report that it was not one of those stories. Julie Halpern tells Anna Bloom's story in a manner that I could not only connect with but walk away from smiling. The characters were interesting, the perspective was amazingly written and the story flowed in a way that kept me reading well into the night.
In the end I have to say I have never been so pleased with my cover judging ways. :)
The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan
3.0
This installment of the Percy Jackson series has lived up to my previous expectations and I found myself drawn back into Percy's world quite effortlessly.
In the first book of the series it was all about introducing us to Greek gods in a modern setting, this time around Riordan incorporates the characters found in the epic Greek tale of The Odyssey.
Percy takes a walk in the shoes of Odysseus as he goes on an unauthorized quest to The Sea of Monsters in search of Grover and the magical Golden Fleece with the hopes of saving a dieing camp half blood. This time around without Grover he also has a new companion a young, homeless Cyclops, Tyson.
I really enjoyed reading this book and was excited to see it had added some aspects that lacked in the previous book such as, more attention is paid to developing the main characters and their relationships, Percy puts a bit more thought into what it exactly means to be Poseidon's son, Questions surrounding the specifics of the story are answered with more clarity, and there is more of a flow between the original Greek myths and how they are incorporated into the story.
I have a feeling that as the series continues and the plot and characters continue to develop things will simply get better and better.
In the first book of the series it was all about introducing us to Greek gods in a modern setting, this time around Riordan incorporates the characters found in the epic Greek tale of The Odyssey.
Percy takes a walk in the shoes of Odysseus as he goes on an unauthorized quest to The Sea of Monsters in search of Grover and the magical Golden Fleece with the hopes of saving a dieing camp half blood. This time around without Grover he also has a new companion a young, homeless Cyclops, Tyson.
I really enjoyed reading this book and was excited to see it had added some aspects that lacked in the previous book such as, more attention is paid to developing the main characters and their relationships, Percy puts a bit more thought into what it exactly means to be Poseidon's son, Questions surrounding the specifics of the story are answered with more clarity, and there is more of a flow between the original Greek myths and how they are incorporated into the story.
I have a feeling that as the series continues and the plot and characters continue to develop things will simply get better and better.
It's a Book, by Lane Smith
4.0
Best picture book I've read since I stopped reading picture books. I loved it all of it the art, the words, the story. Simply brilliant.