Really Ravishing Review (Kevin's Point of View)

Review of Kevin's Point of View, by Del Shannon. (Awesome last name, by the way)

Quickie: A fun middle grade adventure. Perfect for a boy (or girl) needing an escape from the world for a bit.

Full: Kevin Tobin has lost his father. Kevin is only twelve years old and the loss of his father has left him lost and wandering, trying to make sense of his father's death and life without him. It's too much, too fast for poor Kevin, so he utilizes the only weapon he has- his imagination. He escapes his reality by creating multiple personas, usually a superhero or ship captain or some other very capable person. With these personas he can take on the world. The problem is that sometimes the world doesn't need to be taken on, and this lands him in trouble... or the front lawn when he jumps out of the bathroom window naked. His mother is at a loss and his sister is a typical older sister, involved in her own life and disinterested in her dorky little brother.

Kevin's whole world changes when a strange package arrive at his door, addressed to him- sort of. The address was marred and the original writing isn't complete, but the postman assumed it was meant for Kevin. Inside this mysterious box is something even more mysterious: a remote-like device with blinking lights and "Influxitron" lettered on the side. Being a twelve year old boy with a big imagination, Kevin of course hits one of the buttons... and blows a hole through his bedroom wall. He calls his best friend Tony over and thus starts their adventure.

The boys are intercepted on their way to camp by men in black vans, who apparently have no problem hurting even killing two children if need be. With the help of Kevin's alternate personalities, Tony, and a few extra folks, Kevin must keep the Influxitron out of the hands of the wrong people, discover its purpose, and of course, not die.

What a cute story. Kevin was adorable and funny and I wish I could have seen him when he was being Captain Disaster.

The story of the Influxitron was interesting and sinister and a wonderful element to the story. Kevin was cute, but the mystery of the Influxitron was what kept me reading. I wish I could talk more about the Influxitron itself, but I won't spoil you.  It was very cool, and definitely something to think about. Also, very powerful and definitely scary.

The ending has a delightful twist that I highly doubt you will expect. There is a convenient opening for a sequel, and I hope there is one. I wouldn't mind spending more time with the Tobin family and seeing more of the Influxitron and its mysteries.

Lots of action and plenty of adventure, I especially recommend this book to younger readers. Particularly boys, but girls will love it too.

4 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (The Lost Hero)

Review of The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan. 

Quickie: Fantastic! A must-read for fans of the Percy Jackson series, to be sure.

Full: I know, I know. There's no Percy. I've heard more than a few people say they weren't sure if the wanted to read this new series since Percy wasn't the main character. To those people I say- Read it! Jason, Leo, and Piper are lovable new characters that I was instantly attached to. Plus... I'm quite sure we will be seeing Percy very soon.

Jason is a student at the Wilderness School, a dumping ground for troublesome kids. He's got a girlfriend, Piper, and a hyper-active best friend named Leo. The problem? He doesn't remember how he got there, how he came to be Piper's boyfriend, or anything else- anything at all. His memory is entirely erased.

All three of them have shady pasts, Leo lost his mother to a fire that he was blamed for, Piper is amazingly good at getting people to hand over their BMW's, and Jason, well, Jason doesn't know exactly what he's done.

On a class field trip to the Grand Canyon, Jason and his friends are attacked by storm spirits, their Coach suddenly sprouts goat legs, and they are swept up into a world entirely new to them- the world of half-bloods, demi-gods and monsters. They are taken to Camp Half-Blood, where they learn about their parents and Jason struggles to uncover his past. While there, they discover that Zeus has locked up Mount Olympus and the gods aren't speaking to anybody, not even their children. This is a big problem though, because even though the Titans were defeated by Percy and his gang, there is an older evil threatening to rise up and demolish the world. Jason and his friends must find this evil, conquer it, and survive... in four days!

As a general rule, I don't like amnesia as a plot. It feels like a cop-out. But in this case, it completely worked, had a purpose, and made the story very interesting. It was also a convenient way to re-introduce the reader to the demi-god world. (Or introduce for the first time, whatever the case may be)

It was so nice to see some of my old favorite characters (Annabeth, Chiron, Clarisse, and others make appearances) in the familiar, comfortable world of Camp Half-Blood. It was fun getting to see it all again from a fresh perspective and to see all the things that changed as a result of Percy and his actions. Very cool.

The Lost Hero's heroes (hehe) are in their mid-teens, which gives it the vibe of a YA, not a mid-grade. Truthfully though, I liked that. I like when a series grows with its' audience. (Harry Potter, for example.) There was more focus on potential romances than in the Percy series, where the romance didn't really come in until the last few books.

I loved the new mythology plot that Riordan added to The Lost Hero. When I first learned that there was going to be a new series set in the same world but with new characters I was stoked. Then I thought about it, and I started wondering if it was really going to be all that good. After all, what more could happen? Would new characters really be all that was needed?? I didn't think so, and I was a little hesitant to read this new series. But lo and behold; a new line of mythology! Yes! That's exactly what was needed to keep things interesting. I really liked how Riordan introduced the Roman mythology. It really was a brilliant way to liven things up and keep the story moving.

The characters were, as I said before, lovable. Piper is Cherokee, and her father is a famous movie-star. Piper loves her father, but hardly gets the time of day from him with his busy schedule and travel. She steals things, or convinces people to give them to her, as a way to get attention (negative attention is still attention) from her father. She is/was Jason's girlfriend, but learns that their whole relationship, all those good memories were just a trick of the Mist. So what's real? Her feelings for him are real. But what are they based on? False memories? Or the present?

Leo is ADHD and is always pulling random bits of junk out of his pockets and fiddling with them. He often feels like the third-wheel to the maybe-possibly-kind-of romance that Piper and Jason have going on. He's spunky, fun, and trying desperately to come to grips with his past.

Jason, of course, doesn't know who he is. Apparently, he has a girlfriend. But what about the life he left behind? Was there a girl in that life? Would he be doing something wrong by liking Piper? And the big question- Why is he here? Who put him here and how?

If you are one of those people who - like me - had some doubts about this new series, I hope you can see that they are unnecessary. The Lost Hero was everything a Percy fan could hope for in a new branch of the same story. Give it a try.

5 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (Hurricane Mia)

Review of Hurricane Mia: A Caribbean Adventure, by Donna Marie Seim.
Quickie: Cute story, perfect for the age range it's aimed at.

Full: Mia has big plans for her summer- a trip to Maine with her bestie Sam, going camping, horseback riding, wakeboarding- but all her hopes and plans are shattered when her parents tell her she is being flown down to stay with her grandparents. Her little brother Jack is going too... perfect. Mia is bitter about the dramatic change in plans, and it's made worse by her grandmother's rules and rigid personality. Mia becomes envious of Jack when Gramps continuously chooses him to do things with, and not Mia.

Her outlook brightens a bit when she meets a girl her age on the island, Neisha, and they become fast friends. Together they learn of a lady on a neighboring island, Aunt Cecilia, who is considered a "wise woman" and practices bush medicine. To Mia, this is wonderful news, because her mother has leukemia and she's very, very sick. Aunt Cecilia is rumored to make a tea that can cure everything. Mia has got to get some to her mother so she can get better and everything can go back to normal.

The problem with that idea though, is that Mia has no way to get to the island Aunt Cecilia lives on. She and Neisha hatch a few plans, but none of them seem viable- until Mia lets Jack in on her plan. Suddenly they have the means to get to the island... even though it involves lying, "borrowing", and putting all of them in possible danger. That's not going to stop Mia though!

Hurricane Mia was a charming tale of love and friendship- perfect for a mid-grade reader. Mia sort of annoyed me with her attitude sometimes, but I'm an adult and she's a kid who feels like her life is ruined, so I think we both had normal reactions. ;-)  There were a few hilarious scenes, my favorite possibly being when the donkeys got into the courtyard. Of course Mia felt horrible, since it was her fault, but Jack running around trying to lasso the donkeys was just too funny.

My only complaint is that I wanted to know if the tea ended up helping her mother or not. But that's just my obnoxious mind. I always want to know everything!

4 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (Gregor the Overlander)

Review of Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins.

Quickie: An easy, cute book. If I was an eleven year old boy, I would adore it.

 Full: As it is, I'm not an eleven year old boy. I still enjoyed it, and plan to continue the series. Collins has a fantastic imagination and can create entirely new, entirely believable worlds.

Gregor and his two year old little sister, Boots, fall down a hole in the laundry room of their apartment building, landing in a strange place called the Underland. They meet all kinds of characters you'd expect to find in a world that is solely underground - cockroaches, bats, rats, spiders, and even humans. Gregor is amazed by this strange land, but ultimately he wants to get his sister and himself back home so his mom isn't worrying. He's afraid of what their disappearance will do to their mother- he hasn't forgotten how hard she took it when their dad disappeared two years ago.

The humans of the Underland are an odd bunch, and they whisper about Gregor, saying things like, "warrior" and "prophecy". They decide to show him "The Prophecy of the Gray", which foretells of a warrior who will save them from a great war with the rats. Gregor doesn't believe himself to be this warrior, but upon discovering that the rats have his father (who as it turns out, fell down the very same hole in the laundry room) he decides to play the part so he can rescue his father and make his family whole again.

What did I like about this book? A lot. I think my sons will enjoy this book when they're at the mid-grade reading level. The characters were interesting and totally "eleven year old boy" ish. Rats, cockroaches, spiders and bats? Yeah. The bats are what the humans use for transportation. (They're quite large) The cockroaches are large as well, and I especially liked the two you get to know well, Temp and Tick. For cockroaches, they were incredibly sweet.

I liked Gregor, because he was a family-oriented kid. He was determined to take care of his little sister and worried over her constantly. It was nice to see that, instead of the "my stupid little sister" attitude that you frequently see in kids his age.

Boots was probably my favorite character. Collins nailed the two year old language and attitude perfectly. It had me grinning. She wanted cookies, she had no fear, and she was just awesome.

Gregor the Overlander wasn't the best mid-grade novel I've ever read. But it certainly wasn't the worst, and it was quite good for a debut novel. I'm so glad she continued writing about Gregor and then moved on to YA. If she hadn't, the world would never have seen the awesomeness that is The Hunger Games.

4 out of 5 stars.