Troy High by Shana Norris

Genre: YA Fiction

Publication Date: August 2009

Author Website: www.shananorris.com

One Word Review: Fun

First Line: “It was a late Sunday afternoon when I kissed my best friend.”

Synopsis: “Narrated by Cassie, a shy outsider who fears that an epic high school rivalry is about to go up in flames, the story follows the Trojans and Spartans as they declare war on the football field. After the beautiful Elena—who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders—transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie’s brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten. The Trojans and Spartans pull wicked pranks on each other as homecoming approaches. And the Spartans’ wildcard football star, Ackley, promises to take down the Trojans’ offensive line. But the stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school.” -GoodReads

Kathy’s Review: I really enjoyed this one! It’s a great retelling of Homer’s Iliad. Cassie is a likable character. I think she suffers from “brothers-shadow”. She has two popular older brothers and thinks the cool genes ran out by time she came along (I can relate to that, having three amazing older brothers myself). Since her brothers are so popular she never really tries to fit in at her school Troy High (Trojans). Her best friend goes to Lacede High (Spartans) and she seems to get along pretty well with people at that school, at least at the beginning. So, I’m thinking her “uncoolness” is really all in her head.

Anyway, I digress. Cassie is all about keeping the peace while maintaining her friendships. She is surprised when cute girl Elena befriends her and really wants to keep that friendship going even when it means risking her friendship with her Spartans friends. The pranks are pretty funny, all the encounters between the Spartans and Trojans were also entertaining and of course the chemistry with Cassie and Greg was fun to watch as well. I really enjoyed the book and how everything ended up. A great read for anyone who likes retellings mixed with a little high school fun.

Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs

Genre: Greek Mythology (YA Fiction)

Author Website: www.teralynnchilds.com

One Word Review: Fun

First Line: “I am a goddess.

Kathy’s Review: I think I enjoyed the first book a little more than this one. Having said that, this was still a fun, entertaining read. If you haven’t read the first book this review may give away spoilers. The story picks up a few months after the first book. Phoebe is still getting use to the idea of being a “goddess” and learning how to control her powers. She isn’t very successful and in order to master her new talents her step-dad has enrolled her in “Goddess Boot Camp.” Not only is she having to master her powers, she also is preparing for the Pythian Games (kind of the Olympics for the Gods) with her boyfriend Griffin.

I think the reason why I enjoyed the first book so much was because of the tension/chemistry with Griffin and Phoebe. I was wondering how Child’s was going to pull that off with this installment. Overall, I think she did a good job. There were still some misunderstandings, and they still had good chemistry. Griffin did lose a little bit of his edge and was almost too “perfect”. I do have a couple problems with that storyline, I’ll add those in the comment section. Phoebe was still a lovable character and it was fun watching her grow throughout the book. I’ve read that Child’s has plans for a third book and I’m hoping her publishers will let her continue Phoebe’s story.

Reading Order:
Book One: Oh.My.Gods.
Book Two: Goddess Boot Camp

Oh.My.Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

Genre: YA-Mythology

Author Site: www.teralynnchilds.com

First Line: “When I’m running I can almost feel my dad at my side.”

One Word Review: εξαιρετικός (Great, in Greek)

My Review: I really enjoyed this one and I felt like a got a great workout at the same time! Does it count as my workout if the main character runs a lot in the story? Probably not, but it did make me want to go for a nice long job while I was reading (which is not really like me). Anyway, Phoebe is about to start her senior year of high school when her mom up and surprises her with news of her wedding (to a guy she has only known a week…scary!), and plans to move the whole family to a little island in Greece. When Phoebe arrives in Greece she soon finds out that she will be attending an ultra private school full of superhuman students, where she’s the only one without any power. Poor Phoebe! I really liked her character, I thought she was tough and stood her ground. Enter Griffin, a super hot guy who also happens to be a major jerk. Phoebe is a little too swoony for my taste, but she still pulls off some witty comebacks and does hold her own. I admit, I did enjoy their interactions and thought they had good chemistry. I thought their situation was settled a little too easily for me, but I’m happy with how everything ended up.

The story did remind me a bit of the Percy Jackson series, with the half-god angle. However, this really took on a life of its own and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to reading the next book, and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys teen-lit, jogging, or a little Greek mythology.

(So, I’m not sure if my “one word review” is translated properly. I just entered “great” in the Google translator and out spit εξαιρετικός, I hope it’s right, but if not…o-well).

Reading Order:
Book One: Oh My Gods
Book Two: Goddess Boot Camp

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Genre: YA-Mythology

Author Site: www.emilywhitman.com

First Line: “Stay here, Persephone,” says my mother. “I have some work to do.”

One Word Review: Enjoyable

Book Synopsis: "He smiles. "Hello." It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes. I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin. Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more—something dangerous and exciting—something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself. In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is." -GoodReads

My Review:

I really liked this book. I’ve always loved Greek mythology and didn’t realize when I picked this up that it was a retelling of the story of Persephone. I just thought the cover looked good and checked it out. All the old myths claim that Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, God of the Underworld. This story is told in the voice of Persephone and how she fell in love with Hades and willingly chose to become his queen. I thought it was very well written, and still had the same feel as the old stories. The relationship between Persephone and Demeter (her mother) was one that a lot of girls could probably relate to. Demeter wanted to keep Persephone sheltered and safe. Persephone saw this as a prison and didn’t realize how much Demeter actually cared for her. I like the growth that Persephone goes through and I enjoyed hearing the story from her point of view. I also liked how Hades was portrayed in the book. He is power-hungry but you could tell that he was really in love with Persephone and saw the great potential that she had. Overall, a very fun read. If you like Greek mythology than you will like this book. I hope Emily Whitman writes more books, especially ones based on Greek lore.

Other Reviews:
The Compulsive Reader

My Favorite Author

GreenBeanTeenQueen

Bookworm 4 Life

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

"All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos's army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan's power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time." -GoodReads

This is the last book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympian saga, and definitely one of the best. Rick Riordan is a very consistent author. The characters grow and face new challenges in each book and yet they remain the same loveable characters that we met in The Lightning Thief. Percy is a great hero and he faces each new obstacle with unwavering bravery. Along for the ride are his two closest friends Annabeth and Grover. Different characters and events from the four previous books are cleverly woven into the story and reminded me of how much I enjoyed this entire series. It was sad to have it come to the end but I felt hopeful reading the Acknowledgment page at the end of the book where Riordan says, “As the first Camp Half-blood series draws to a close…”, which makes me think there will be another series down the road. Hopefully we will be reunited with Percy, Annabeth and some of our other favorite characters along the way. Definitely a fun and entertaining series for both the young and young at heart.

Book One: The Lightning Thief

Book Two: The Sea of Monsters

Book Three: The Titan's Curse

Book Four: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Book Five: The Last Olympian