Book Review - The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson #4) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Battle of the Labyrinth, Percy Jackson and The Olympians #4

Author: Rick Riordan

Publisher: Miramax

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

Format: Paperback, 359 pages

Genre: Juvenile/ Middle Grades Fiction, Fantasy

Summary from back of book and website:

Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos' army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.

Along the way Percy will confront powerful enemies, find out the truth about the lost god Pan, and face the Titan lord Kronos’s most terrible secret. The final war begins . . . with the Battle of the Labyrinth.

Review:

Percy's mom has been dating a very nice man named Paul Blophis (not blowfish) who teaches at the Goode School. He's finagled Percy's enrollment into the school, despite some apprehension from Percy and his mother. They haven't told Paul about Percy being a demigod and therefore attracting monsters. While Percy might not know how he feels about Paul, he understands that Paul is a good guy and makes his mother happy. Percy doesn't want to mess this relationship up, so he's understandably wary when he must attend orientation.

At orientation he runs into Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the mortal girl who saved him at the Hoover Dam. She recognizes Percy and pulls him away from orientation, demanding explanations for what she saw at the dam. He realizes that Rachel is like his mother, one of the rare mortals who can see through the Mist that disguises the gods and monsters. They are then attacked by killer cheerleaders (empousas) who, of course, set fire to the school, but not before saying something about enslaving the campers. Percy and Rachel get away, but run into Annabeth who was coming to meet Percy for the movies ("it's not a date!"). Of course Annabeth isn't instantly suspicious/jealous/angry/rudely sarcastic, Rachel snipes back, and poor Percy is such a boy - he's totally lost as to why they girls are mad at each other and him.

Percy wants to tell Chiron what the empousa said, so he and Annabeth make their way to Camp Half-Blood. It's soon clear that problems seem to be heaping up on the campers. The new sword master, Quintas, is a bit suspicious; demigods are joining Kronos' army or being killed; Percy is receiving mysterious Iris messages and having prophetic dreams; minor gods are joining Kronos; old sea gods are stirring; and Grover is in trouble with the Cloven Council. (On the bright side, Tyson is back.) It seems that Luke is looking for Daedalus' Labyrinth. It seems that if he had Ariadne's string, he'd be able to navigate the Labyrinth to any place in the world, including the middle of Camp Half-Blood. It's decided that Something Must Be Done and Annabeth is sent to get a prophecy from the Oracle.

When she returns, Annabeth doesn't share the entire prophecy, but chooses Percy, Tyson, and Grover to accompany her. Together they descend into the Labyrinth in order to beat Luke to Ariadne's string. Oh, did I mention that the Labyrinth pretty much guarantees death or insanity?

So much is happening in this book, but it doesn't get too confusing. Percy is supportive of Annabeth as she leads her first quest, but worries for his brother and best friend. Readers are introduced to more minor gods, monsters, and characters from Greek myths. Characters evolve and grow realistically.

The Battle of the Labyrinth sets up the final book quite nicely: things are bad, dangerous, and friends are being lost. This is a darker book than the previous 3: more death (including campers), some murders, more understandable anger from unclaimed demigods, and Luke gets darker too. That being said, the fight sequences are great, the banter funny, and the story moves along nicely.

Verdict:

Still not as good as The Lighting Thief, but I liked the character development, and it was a good addition to the series. The kids are growing and maturing in a difficult world, but it moves along realistically. This is definitely one parents might want to read before their younger kids get ahold of it - just to gauge the darker aspects of the story and how your child will handle it. I'm going to give it 4 out of 6 stars.

Related Reviews:

Nayu's Reading Corner review

Other online resources:

Rick Riordan's website (includes a recommended reading list for kids)

Rick Riordan's blog

Percy Jackson and The Olympians US website

Percy Jackson and The Olympians UK website

Giveaway Registration:

International giveaway for the complete set of Percy Jackson and The Olympians

US giveaway for a pre-order copy of The Lost Hero, The Heroes of Olympus book #1

In My Mailbox - Scholastic Bonus Points + crazy fast shipping = AWESOMENESS

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. The goal of IMM is to bring new books to bloggers' attention and to encourage interaction between blogs.

Official rules can be found here.

Eeeee! I placed a Scholastic Book Club order last week because I had some bonus points and they had some free gifts... I ordered a lot. My husband was amazingly calm about the boxes we had to carry home from school. (We live across the street from the school we work at so we walk instead of drive.) I love how Life After Jane includes summaries of her IMM books... I recieved too many to do that. I've decided to include links to Goodreads for book info.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

(I've had my eye on this for ages and finally got it)

Empty by Suzanne Weyn (hardback!)

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (hardback!)

(Started it this summer but had to return it to the library before I finished it.)

Never Slow Dance With A Zombie by E. Van Lowe

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (hardback/not pictured)

Mockingjay pin (free with book)

(I'm very nice and loaned it to a very responsible student)

Oh, hey, random tote bag. It's nice, but has this mystery pocket (that circle thing is the opening). Maybe an umbrella or water bottle pocket...?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - purchased with Bonus Points

(I've not read it yet!)

We Hear The Dead by Dianne K. Salerni - Free

Dark Life by Kat Falls (hardback!) - Free

Ways to live Forever by Sally Nicholls

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer

Forbidden Sea by Sheila A. Nielson (hardback!)

Scholastic was giving away a set of 6 free books:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

(Excited about this book - only able to read part of it before it was banned by the Kuwait Ministry of Education and pulled from our library. I can finally finish it.)

Battle Heroes: Voices From Afghanistan by Allan Zullo

(Couldn't find a link for this one)

The Girl Who Survived: A True Story of the Holocaust

by Bronia Brandman and Carol Bierman

(Couldn't find a link for this one either)

Thirty Days Has September: Cool Ways to Remember Stuff by Chris Stevens

The way I justified buying all the previous stuff, well, I was also getting stuff for The Kid:

This Is The House That Jack Built by Simms Taback w/ read-along CD

Five little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow w/ read-along CD

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Bull Martin, Jr. and John Archambault w/ read-along CD

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat! by Lucille Colandra w/ read-along CD

Don't Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog! by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems

Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty

Olivia by Ian Falconer (hardback!)

And, I don't know how I forgot to take a picture but:

I finally purchased the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series for myself!

The Lightning Thief, Book 1 (reviewed)

The Sea of Monsters, Book 2 (reviewed)

The Titan's Curse, Book 3 (reviewed)

The Battle of the Labyrinth, Book 4

The Last Olympian, Book 5

Ok, where do I start? :)

More Lost Hero goodness!

Rick Riordan has posted some information about the release of The Lost Hero to his blog. The release date is October 12, 2010 (I had read it was the 5th, so I'll have to fix my countdown widget.) The Lost Hero will be released in hardback, e-book (this includes Kindle and iBooks), and audio book simultaneously. He'll be holding a release party at Book People in Austin, Texas (you lucky dogs) and will be streaming live on the internet.

The Heroes of Olympus site is now up - there's a nice video clip where Riordan talks a bit about The Lost Hero. It's got some fun extras and pictures for the kids. This just makes me EXTRA excited about the new book - I CAN'T WAIT!

Oh, and it seems that Hera plays a big role in the new series. Eep!

The new site is not the same as the Camp Half-Blood site that lets you read the first two chapters of The Lost Hero. Click here to get the first two chapters. Remember - the password is newhero.

Hop & Follow!

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Jennifer atCrazy for Books.

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event! For more info, click here.

This Week's question: When you write reviews, do you write them as you read, or do you wait until after you've finished the book?

I might take notes or book mark a page that I want to refer to in a review, but I generally don't review as I read. I want to review the whole story, not just what I was thinking or understanding about one small part of a book. I do try to review as soon as I can after finishing a book. That way everything is fresh in my head. I don't publish the review right away. I like to come back to it after a day or so and re-read it. Maybe I've thought about the story a bit more or thought of something new that I want to add.

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View. It's a nice way for new people to find your blog. I especially like that Parajunkee has a new featured blog every week. Click on the picture for more information.

This week's featured blog is Tina at Book Couture. Tina also started the Book Contest Directory, you should check it out.

This week's question: What is your high fashion book, or, best book cover ever?

That just might be impossible to answer. Right now I totally love the covers for Forbidden Sea, Firelight, and Nightshade.

But I also like Incarceron, The Book of Lost Things, The Ruby Key (this is gorgeous in person), Melissa Mar's books (except for Radient Shadows), and I have to stop now.

And this doesn't even cover the picture books....

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Squee!! The Lost Hero sneak peak!

Rick Riordan has started a new Camp Half-Blood series called The Heroes of Olympus. The first book in the series is The Lost Hero and will be released on October 5, 2010.

Goodreads Summary:

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.
Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?
Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.

Ok, so once again, squee! My students and I are all so excited about The Lost Hero. The first two chapters start off with a bang! The cover looks awesome, I love the greenish blue color, and the mechanical dragon looks great. John Rocco continues to ensure that his book covers pop out of the shelves. Hmm, I don't think that sentence makes sense, but you know what I mean.

Check out the sneak peak at www.camphalfblood.com, this is the official Heroes of Olympus site. You'll have to type in the password: newhero

Enjoy!

Don't forget to check out the Percy Jackson series giveaway (it's INTERNATIONAL) and The Lost Hero giveaway (US only, sorry).

Book Review - The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson #3) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Titan's Curse, Percy Jackson and The Olympians #3

Author: Rick Riordan

Publisher: Miramax

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Format: Paperback, 312 pages

Genre: Juvenile/ Middle Grades Fiction, Fantasy

Summary from official website:

When Percy Jackson receives an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he'll need his powerful demigod allies, Annabeth and Thalia, at his side; his trusty bronze sword, Riptide; and... a ride from his mom.

The demigods race to the rescue, to find that Grover has made an important discover: two new powerful half-bloods whose parentage is unknown. But that's not all that awaits them. The Titan lord, Kronos, has set up his most devious trap yet, and the young heroes have just fallen prey.

They’re not the only ones in danger. An ancient monster has arisen — one rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus — and Artemis, the only goddess who might know how to track it, is missing. Now Percy and his friends, along with the Hunters of Artemis, have only a week to find the kidnapped goddess and solve the mystery of the monster she was hunting.

Along the way, they must face their most dangerous challenge yet: the chilling prophecy of the titan’s curse.

Review:

There was just something lacking in this book. Percy came off as a bit of an attention hog and a bit petulant. I think in Riordan had spent just a little more time (like two or three well placed sentences) helping the reader feel that Percy feels driven to complete this quest. Percy finds himself with something of an identity problem. He's fourteen, been looked up to and treated as a competent demigod, and suddenly Thalia comes back and its all changed. He feels discounted, like people don't see him anymore. It's not so much that he's looking for attention, but positive acknowledgement (something he'd previously only ever gotten from his mother) would help. It also doesn't help that Artemis and her handmaidens view all males as incompetent, egotistical, and worthless - poor Percy makes a handy target for them. Add general growing up and confusion plus gods who still want to kill him because something he might do- and viola! Angsty (and occasionally lippy) teenager desperate to help his missing friend. On the other hand, I don't think the target audience is going to notice this. Kids will see it as another fast paced mystery adventure with great new monsters. The Titan's Curse was a bit more character-driven than the previous three books, but also a bit slower. I realize it was necessary for the development of the overall story line, but I got a little bored with the quest between Washington, D.C. and Arizona. Riordan also explains why Mr. D (Dionysus) hates heroes and Percy sees first hand how they have hurt people. These realizations will influence Percy for the rest of the series.

Verdict:

Good character development, a good bad guy, creepy new minions, but a bit slow at times. But what bothered me doesn't seem to bother the middle grades kids, which is fine. I recommend picking up the audiobook from the library or reading to the family. It just seems that maybe those slow parts would be a bit more interesting if read out loud.

Overall, it was a good book and I liked the book - it gets 4 stars.

Related Reviews:

The Lost Entwife's review

Ellipses of a... Middle Grades Author review

Wands and Worlds review

Other online resources:

Rick Riordan's website (includes a recommended reading list for kids)

Rick Riordan's blog

Percy Jackson and The Olympians US website

Percy Jackson and The Olympians UK website

Giveaway Registration:

International giveaway for the complete set of Percy Jackson and The Olympians

US giveaway for a pre-order copy of The Lost Hero, The Heroes of Olympus book #1

Bayou Moon excerpt

I'm REALLY excited about Ilona Andrews' upcoming release, Bayou Moon. The world that she and her husband Gordon have created is so different and new (at least new to me). I can't go into detail about the series as The Kid has just started screaming for release from baby jail (the crib) - so I'm throwing up so fast links.

Open letter to readers by Gordon Andrews explaining the series (it's funny).

Snippet! Well, actually, larger than an snippet - so I guess we call it an excerpt. (Ilona and Gordon regularly share the snippet love, I highly recommend stalking their blog!)

Additional info on the Weird, Broken, and Edge worlds on found on The Edge site.

Enjoy people! Only 8 Days until Bayou Moon is released!!

Oh, and Bayou Moon is available on Kindle! I checked Apple's iBook store, but no info, maybe on September 28th it will be available.

Neil Gaiman reading "Instructions"

A little something I found at Jazz's About Books Blog.

And now for a word from our Librarian

In keeping with our Percy Jackson and The Olympians theme...

I found that the more I recommended the Percy Jackson books, the more I had kids coming in looking for books on Greek mythology. Some students had tried looking stuff up on the internet, but most of the articles that Google brought up were too academic or over their reading level. Our Greek mythology section started getting more action than it had seen since... ever. I wanted to share some of the books that the kids have really enjoyed, just in case your own kids are looking for additional Greek mythology reading.

I will mention reading levels or grade levels (third grade, etc.) - I hate making blanket statements like that, but as a general idea of text and target audience, it's pretty good. Kids of the same age vary in their reading skills, and reading with a parent/ guardian/ sibling is always a great and valuable experience.

Title: The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus

Author & Illustrator: Aliki

Publication Date: 1994

Review:

I have no problem saying that I do not like Aliki's illustrations. I find them to be very...amateur looking. But Aliki's narrative is fantastic, especially for the 2nd-3rd graders. The story flows nicely, information is presented clearly, it hits all of the 12 major gods, as well as a few of the minor gods and other creatures mentioned in the Percy Jackson series. This is a great introductory book to the Greek gods and goddesses and can be found in almost every public and school library. (I'll be floored if you can't find it at your school library.) The book has been around for awhile, I even remember reading it in elementary school. If your child is in the third or fourth grade and reading the Percy Jackson series and looking for some additional mythology reading, I highly recommend this book for them (second graders will struggle with the text but will understand ideas and concepts if it's read to them or with them.)

The current publisher, Harper Collins, has a browse inside widget that I've included below.

Title: The McElderry Book Of Greek Myths

Retold by: Eric A. Kimmel

Illustrator: Pep Montserrat

Publication Date: 2008

Review:

The vocabulary definitely makes this a 5th grade an up book for reading, but 2nd graders and up will have no problem following along with the story. Kimmel takes a selection of myths and weaves them together into a whole story told in chronological order. I liked the Author's Note explaining why these myths were important and how they have a lot to offer "...children who live in a world of cell phones, the Internet, iPods, and DVDs...". Twelve famous myths, from Prometheus and Pandora to Midas, the Minotaur, and Perseus, are illustrated in warm earth tones in a humorous style that borrows some of its shape and form from traditional Greek art. I'm going to sound like a teacher, but the words used in the stories will reinforce kids' vocabulary as well as helping the listener/reader visualize the story. This is a great one and I'll be picking it up for my personal collection. I think my son will enjoy it when he's older (he's only 16 months old).

Title: d'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

Author: Ingri d'Aulaire, Edgar Perin d'Aulaire

Publication Date: First published in 1962

Review:

Dude, it's d'Aulaires' , of course it's going to be on the list, it's been around forever! Granted, that doesn't automatically make it good, but this is a well written and thorough book for the 9-12 year old audience. It's even good for high school students (I used it as a reference for a Latin project). While the illustrations are reminiscent of Aliki's work, they are more polished. Emotive illustrations really help along the dry text. Not as much fun to read aloud, probably too hard for third graders to read without some help, and it wouldn't be my first choice. It's more like, if everything else is checked out, go for this one. (It's probably best to keep in mind that I still associate this book with text books, which probably isn't fair and most likely affects my opinion.) This is another book that should be in almost every school and public library.

Title: Oh My Gods!: Look-It-Up guide to the gods of Mythology / She's All That!: Look-It-Up guide to the Goddesses of Mythology /All In The Family: Look-It-Up guide to the In-Laws, Outlaws, and Offspring of Mythology (Mytholopedia series)

Author: Megan E. Bryant, Steven Otfinoski

Publication Date: 2009

Review:

Well, it's eye catching. The reading level is supposed to be for kids 9-12, but the M TV approach to illustrations (so much going on I thought I might develop ADD) and constant pop culture references might make this a more enjoyable read for middle and high school readers. It's packed with information... and illustrations, and jokes - there is just so much happening on each page. The Mytholopedia books read more like a hyperactive Technicolor encyclopedia than an actual narrative. It's a good choice for those just looking for bare bones information or are already familiar with the more popular myths.

Don't forget to sign up for the Percy Jackson giveaways!