Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This third book felt more like a set-up for the grand finale than a well-defined quest. We get introduced to lots of characters who either die or play piviotal roles in the upcoming books. Still, I enjoyed meeting Apollo, with his fast cars and terrible poetry. Some of the baddies were really good, like zombie soldiers and Atlas (really, Atlas is a baddie?!). There were a few deus ex machinas (literally and figuratively) in this book, which is only fitting, being an ode to Greek literature and all.
Enjoyable overall, but not one of the best in the series.

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The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book captured by kids' imagination the most of any of the books--and I can see why, with a maze underground that constantly shifts and bends time and space. Each corner introduces the characters to new dangers, challenges, and wonders. Lots of adventure, lots of fun. It does a good job of setting up the series for the final book as well.

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan



The final book is full of action. In fact, there is so much of the grand and final show-down in the book, that it does tend to drag on a bit. The gods have all joined together to fight Typhon, a super-monster that is making it's way across the U.S. and the demi-gods are left to defend Olympus against Kronos. Monsters seem to overwhelm the heros, but new allies come to help drive them back. Then Kronos unleashes another new suprise monster/attack and a surprising new ally comes to the rescue, et cetra. Still, the story has enough emotional integrity to keep it from becoming too tiresome. The ending wraps up nicely, though there are a few inconsistencies. I won't quibble about them though, because overall the series was fun, adventurous, promoted good things like family, loyalty, and environmentalism, and most importantly, excited my 9-year old enough to read the whole series.

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The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was an interesting read for me, since as a Mormon, I haven't read literature about Mormonism that wasn't either written by a Mormon or was anti-Mormon literature. So there was more emotional baggage attached to this novel than I'm used to. Still, this novel, while historically enlightening, left a lot to be desired.
There are two tales entertwined--one of Ann Eliza, the 19th wife of Brigham Young, who divorced him and then campaigned vigorously against polygamy. The second is a murder mystery set in the cultish "Firsts" who still practice polygamy in modern day. The historical tale takes up the majority of the book, and is the more interesting of the two. Although it was a "memoir" written to show the abuse Ann Eliza endured as a multiple wife, I thought she came off a bit unsympathetic--selfish and vindictive as opposed to victimized and justified; in some ways it was hard to care about what happened to her. The modern day tale was, in my opinion, not well-developed, most of it was completely unbelieveable, and was wrapped up without much of a climax; even the epilogue left many questions still unanswered.
As far as the treatment of Mormons and Mormon history I have to say Ebershoff was more fair than I thought he'd be. There were even some parts of our history that I discovered as a result of reading this book. As far as the accuracy, the real memoir of Ann Eliza is available for free online, and it only takes a quick skim to see where Ebershoff deviates. Other questions of validity were quickly answered with a few google searches--and he has a quite lengthy note at the end of my copy addressing where he aquired his information.
The main character in the modern day story is gay mainly, I think, to point out the parallels between how early Saints were pressed upon to accept polygamy for their salvation and how gay practices are not tolerated today. So I get that--(although the characters fall into the stereotypes of either flamboyantly gay or clingy and neat, and all hypersexual, and so no one felt like a real person). But why the modern day characters have to swear so much, that I don't get.
In the end, the sole reason I liked this book at all was because it motivated me to read more about the early saints in Salt Lake, and because it prompted a few deep discussions with my husband late at night.

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Once a Runner

Once a Runner: A Novel by John L. Parker


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was described as the "best novel about running", and I read an excerpt in Runners World that was pretty good. I admit I checked it out hoping to help my motivation but I took the "best novel about running" in stride--add enough adjectives and anything can be the "best". I will readily admit that it's not the best novel--some parts are confusing, the subplot about being kicked out of school isn't very developed and doesn't seem to make much sense--but it may very well be the best novel about running (not that I've read any others--except if you can count The Time Traveler's Wife). Parker captures what it is like to run beautifully. I surely haven't experienced a tenth of what an elite runner must feel like, but Parker described the parts of running I do know so well and so elegantly that I readily believe the rest.

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Trial by Trail

The thing I love most about our subdivision is the running trail that circles the subdivision. If you run the complete loop, it comes out to about a 5K. At one point, the paved path becomes a dirt path that borders a lake. It's only about a quarter mile but I've had my fair share of adventures on it nonetheless.

I am not a fast runner but I compensate for my slowness in two ways. One, I wear fast clothes. You know, sweat wicking, slinky clothes that have racing stripes and swooshes. Two, I try to run at unpopular times, like say, 10 am or 1pm, so that I am the only runner out there. That way I won't be passed too often. I run as regularly as a SAHM with 4 kids can, and my times have slowly, (so slowly), but consistenly improved. I think I even convinced myself I wasn't so slow anymore until one Saturday when I broke one of my rules. I ran at the peak running hour for the weekend--9am.

I was pushing myself, running hard. I was sweaty and I could feel my form suffering. My hair was plastered to my face and I was making gasping noises. I was on the dirt path, rounding the lake. I knew I had less than a half mile and I was done with the run for the day. I fumbled with my mp3 player, trying to eek out some fortitude by amping up the beat, when from nowhere a runner side-stepped past me on the single-file path. Startled, I stumbled a little, and watched with dejection as toned, tan thighs and a perky pony tail bounced effortlessly past me.
I lurched awkwardly as I tried to answer with a burst of speed of my own, arms flailing, feet thudding, but it was pointless. I could have been standing still; the young runner steadily bounded from view. In a burst of recognition, I watched youth personified pass by me, without a look back, presumptuous and oblivious, now steadily receding from my grasp.

I sighed and resumed a joggers shuffle, ignoring pain in my knee, hip, and--was that a twinge in my back? My hips may have started their mid-life spread, age spots might be shadowing my face, my toddlers may have turned into teens, but I know my PR is still out there, and I have plenty of time to grab it. Youth may no longer be my adjective, but maturity has imbued me with tenacity and perseverance. I embrace this body with all its flaws and know that I have plenty of miles to wring out of it yet.

The Innocent Man

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ok, when I say I like this book, I mean that it is an informative, well-written book that tells an important story. But I can't say I "liked" it--it made me more heart-sick than anything. It's the story of a man, who is falsely accused of a crime, sent to death row, and at the eleventh hour, is exonerated. But it is really the story of several men who were badly mistreated, and falsely accused and prosecuted and found guilty all in the same small town in Oklahoma. Grisham doesn't tell the story from the side of the policemen and investigators who basically tortured "confessions" out of these innocent men, and I wished that he had. I find it hard to believe that these policemen could behave like that without some other motive than just trying to nail somebody, anybody, for a crime. But the fact that they behaved like this more than once doesn't demonstrate that they were full of "good intentions".
This is the story of how justice can be grossly miscarried. But it is also the story of how mentally ill people are minimilized, villified, and abused. It is also the story of how people without money are minimilized, villified, and abused. How Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were convicted of a murder they didn't commit is due more to their pocketbook than to the evidence at hand. I was also appalled by the conditions of prisons in this country. I was deeply saddened by the lack of care and respect people have for one another, people who should know better. How can we as humans see suffering and not try to relieve it somehow?
This isn't the best non-fiction I've read. It could be better researched. Some of it could be better told. And there are story lines that are delved into deeply in the story and then not referred to again (until the epilogue) but it is an engrossing story, and in the end, it is the story of how justice ultimately triumphed, at least in the case of the courts. What we can do for the mentally ill still seems to remain a big question.
Grisham said he could have written even more on this story, and I sort of wish he had. I wish he would have gone more into Gore's trial, told more of how the lawyers and people who helped him felt about Williamson, and what the original prosecutors thought, felt. But what is here is a great, tragic story. It's just too bad it's all true.

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Coraline

Coraline by Neil Gaiman


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In a world where the new YA novel is actually a 4-7 book-long epic, this little novella exposes the most imaginative and compelling world. Gaiman's simple tale of a little girl who walks through a door and discovers a world where nothing is what it seems sucks you in, and when you are done you are delighted and satisfied.
I was completely enchanted from the beginning. And then things got wierd, and then sort of disturbed, and I thought, should this be a kids book? But it's all about courage, and facing our fears, about looking at things in a new light. Toys forgotten at the bottom of toy boxes are actually precious, mirrors are really hiding places, other mothers who seem perfect--look again and they are not who they seem to be at all. I won't give it all away--just know that this little book is so much more than it seems. Truly amazing.

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If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mia-- a senior in high school who is mature, studious girl who plays the cello, has a tight family she loves, and a boyfriend who just may be the love of her life--has just survived a car accident, and now hovers between life and death. As she reflects on her past and contemplates her future will she choose to fight for life, or will she let go?
It's an interesting concept and, given the subject matter, of course, it pulls at your heartstrings. In the end, though, I'm not sure the book had that much to offer, given the fact that it's a life and death book and it's marketed to teens. I mean, what makes a book a "teen" book? And who decides this is a "teen" book vs. an "adult" book? Is it just because the heroine is a teen? Because I find when I read "teen" books, I expect different things from them (and maybe that's not fair, but there it is). I don't expect there to be as much literary sophistication (which this book didn't have), but I do expect to find more clean language and less sex (which, I guess, comparatively this book did have, though not as much as I wished)but more than that, I expect the book to offer something more to sink your teeth into, to inspire or make you think. I think YA fiction sometimes just skims the surface, like teens aren't ready for deep thinking, and while Forman thinks her readers can relate to a serious girl that perfers Mozart over punk rock, and is mature enough to relate to her parents, who are "cool" enough to give her and her underage boyfriend alcohol, and then let them go upstairs with a "knowing smile" then surely, the decision to live or die should involve more inner struggle than "I am so tired" and "I just have to squeeze his hand".
This is not to say it's a bad book. The characters are well-written and aren't stero-typed. It does make you think about the little things in life that make life worthwhile, and it does celebrate a good family relationship. I guess I'm just as confused as Mia whether her story is good enough to tell.

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