Book ReviewTitle: The Heroes of Olympus Author: Rick Riordan Genre: Fiction/Mythology Reviewer: Brendan Duong Many readers have read amazing adventure books that have them trapped in the story and kept them page-turning. For me, there is a book series like that which really stands out. “The Heroes of Olympus” written by Rick Riordan is a fiction book series that includes seven main characters trying to save the world from destruction. In the books that have come out, 6 of the characters have been revealed, 3 from each book. The author has had countless praises for his books and has caught the attention of “The New York Times Book Review”, “The Publisher’s Weekly”, “The Los Angeles Times” and countless others. People have loved his adventure series and are specifically recommended to those of age 8 through 16. In the first book, you are introduced to 3 main characters. The most important character that you will meet is Jason Grace, the son of Jupiter, the Roman Lord of the Sky. He cannot remember anything of his past and somehow ends up in a Greek “demi-god” camp. Here, while he trains and prepares for battle, he tries to recover his memories. Apparently, he has a best friend named Leo and a girl friend named Piper. During his time at the new camp, Jason is sent on a quest to save Hera, the goddess of order and marriage with 2 of his friends. Jason cannot seem to remember anything but slight details, although he knows one thing for sure…everything seems to be wrong. Piper Mc-Lean is a daughter of the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite. To Jason’s eyes, she is beautiful even though she does not enjoy being “pretty” and would rather be a combat fighter. Despite her courageous look, Piper has a big secret. Her father is a famous actor who has been missing for 3 days. And in her dreams, a giant tells her the only way to save him is to betray her newly-found friends. Piper is lost and hopes she can help the team on their quest without getting them into trouble. Leo has a way with tools. His mother died when he was only 8 years old by Hera herself. Now, rescuing her isn’t something he’s very enthusiastic about. Besides his past, Leo is courageous and intelligent. Being the son of Hesphastus, the god of blacksmiths, he helps play a key role in Jason’s quest and rescuing Hera when it comes to building security and provides travel with his “pet” dragon Festus. Together the 3 teenagers go face many dangers and attempt to rescue Hera in an old abandoned mansion that Giea used as a summoning zone for the “anti-Jupiter” giant. You will learn in the 2nd book that while Jason, Piper and Leo go on their journey to rescue Hera that 3 other kids are having troubles of their own. Percy Jackson is lost and is confused. He (like Jason) lost his memory one day wakes up to find out that he is in a new “demi-God” camp as well. After showing his skills to the camp, he is accepted to stay there to live. He is urged to remember his memories but all her remembers is his girlfriend Annabeth. Then after he is sent on a quest to save Thantos, the god of the entrances and passageways of the Underworld, he hopes that during his quest he will be able to recover his memories and be back with his girlfriend. Frank Zhang is a skilled archer. All he wishes is to be chosen as a son of Apollo, the Greek god of archery. Although, he turns out to be a son of Aries, the god war, which upsets him deeply. He thinks that now everyone expects him to be strong and scary. This he looks like, but inside he is a big softy. His family has had an ability that has been passed down from generation to generation.. Frank can be anything he wants to be…literally. Inside though, he is timid and is afraid that someone is going to find out his weak flaw….how he is living off a stick.. When he was born his life had to be put into a piece of timber, so whatever happens to the timber happens on Frank. If you put the stick in a bag, he will suffocate and possibly die. But Frank knows he needs to give someone the stick to protect it….someone who he can really trust, trust with his life. Hazel loves horses and wishes to own one. She had always wanted one, so she could have a friend. Being a daughter of Hades, the lord of the dead and the underworlds treasures she is able to make gold and jewels appear from the ground, making her mother and she both filthy rich. Although, her ability has a backfire therefore everything that she creates from the ground is deadly making her cursed. On her adventure to save Thantos, she becomes the main planner and helps fight against the giants with both Percy and Frank. One thing I love about this book series is how each chapter is a different character’s point of view. So during the adventures, you get to read everybody’s feelings of the mission and “be in their shoes”. From time to time, the books can be quite humorous which makes you laugh and spread a smile on your face. Slightly like the Harry Potter series but with more action, any fantasy reader or adventure lovers would enjoy this book greatly. Or if you’re in 6th grade or higher, you might be able to relate yourself to the characters and contrast with them as well. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book series and if you see it around your local bookstore, I suggest you pick it up right away! Creative Book Project #1-3 - Newsletter with articles, comics & a play
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Student Creations > d) 2011-2012 > Creative Student Writing 2011-2012** > Book Reviews by Students from #222 (with creative book projects) >
