Book Nerds Across America

Book Summary
Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?

One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.

But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them.

The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?

Flo's Review
Quite simply: if you loved the Percy Jackson books, you'll love this one. I don't want to simplify it so much, but it read to me as an Indian Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan's books are fun -- and all the ones I've read follow the same general formula, with different heroes and gods changed out. This is not a bad thing. I adored both Percy Jackson series. I did notice the formula of Riordan's stories in this first Aru Shah book.

That being said, Roshani Chokshi's own style did come through. I loved The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes because of the richness of the imagery, and we see the same beautiful descriptions in Aru Shah. Minnie and Aru made a great team, though I did miss the romantic tension that comes with having leads who are romantically attracted to each other. However, this is a middle grade book, and I think the intended audience will not miss that element like I did.

I listened to this audiobook and felt that the reader did a good job in making us feel like were in the story, and not just listening to it.

Related Reviews
The Star-Touched Queen: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2017/05/book-review-star-touched-queen-by.html 

A Crown of Wishes: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2017/06/audiobook-review-crown-of-wishes-by.html

Rick Riordan Author Event: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2012/10/rick-riordan-author-event.htm

Book Summary
How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

Flo's Review
I love me some Rick Riordan! Ever since I picked up the first Percy Jackson book on a whim, I'm excited to read anything this man puts out. Sometimes it doesn't quite work for me (Kane Chronicles), but most of the time I've got nothing but love.

Apollo's voice is quite different from Percy's or any demigods, and I applaud Rick Riordan for being able to write it consistently so. I think at one point my status update was "I can't with Apollo!" because maaan is this god-turned-human arrogant. But if you think about it -- he's a god, so the big head makes sense. But the beauty in this book was Apollo's character growth. Is he still arrogant at the end of the book? Yep. But he has also picked up some of the best traits of humans: dedication, perseverance, love, loyalty. The story dragged for me a little bit in the middle, but I think this was because of the combination of two factors: 1) it's the first in a series, so a lot of explanation needed to happen; and 2) I was listening to the audiobook, and that sometimes makes books seem slower. I loved seeing some of my favorite demigods from Riordan books past. There was also QUITE a plot twist that I did not see coming!! I'm looking forward to seeing how Apollo reacts to things in the next part of his trials.

Rick Riordan and the big, beautiful book. I grabbed this image from his blog: rickriordan.blogspot.com/.

Book Summary
A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week. 
So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that." 

Flo's Review
I wish Percy Jackson was around when I was studying Greek mythology in high school! Percy's voice makes these classic tales come alive in a new way that kids today will relate to and find interesting. I listened to this audiobook and I literally laughed out loud and several points in the stories. I have read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, along with all the Heroes of Olympus books to date, and I am really glad that Rick Riordan wrote this book to give some more back story and explanation to the gods. The stories of the most of the gods have been talked about briefly or referred to in both of the Percy Jackson series, but that was all I knew of them. It was great to learn more about how Athena sprung from the head of Zeus, for example. I also enjoyed learning about how the Olympian gods overthrew the Titans. I definitely did not know any of the Titan back story, and I really enjoyed learning about that. I have to give props to the audiobook narrator, who was fantastic. Percy writes with a lot of personality, and the narrator did a great job of really bringing forth Percy's thoughts and reactions with his voice.

Now I really want Rick Riordan to write Carter and Sadie Kane's Egyptian Gods. Can do, Rick?!

How can you not love an author who will do a dedication like this?!

Look! It's me and Rick!!

"In The Lost Hero, three demigods named Jason, Piper, and Leo made their first visit to Camp Half-Blood, where they inherited a blood-chilling quest:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death



I love Percy Jackson. Can I marry him? I know he is only 16 years old and also a fictional son of an Olympian god, but that kind of stuff has never stopped me from having crushes before.

I loved The Lost Hero, the first book in Rick Riordan's new series about demigods -- children with one mortal parent and one Olympian godly parent. I anxiously awaited the second book in The Heros of Olympus series, and it did not disappoint! While one of the great things about The Lost Hero was seeing Camp Half Blood through other eyes besides Percy's, one of the strengths of The Son of Neptune was seeing a whole different camp.

We are introduced to two more demigods who are part of the Prophecy of Seven -- Hazel and Frank. Just like Piper, Leo and Jason in the first book, I learned to love these new two characters for their strengths as well as their vulnerabilities. With them, we have the seven half-bloods of the prophecy: Hazel, Frank, Jason, Leo, Piper, Annabeth, and Percy Jackson.

Riordan does an amazing job of crafting his story. The action left me rushing through the pages and I continue to be in awe of how well all the littlest details end up connecting. I breezed through this book in a few short days and now have to wait in agony for the third book, The Mark of Athena, which will be released in Fall 2012.

If you haven't read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series yet, do so -- because they are incredible. If you have, and you miss Percy and his adventures, then pick up this series because Rick Riordan continues to bring the goodness.

~Flo~