Did you know that Alexander the Great fought in many battles and never lost one of them? This book will tell you all about Alexander's many accomplishments. Alexander the Great did many brave things. One thing he did is when he was only a child he tamed a giant horse that no other person could tame, by wit. He saw the horse was afraid of its shadow, so knowing that he could not get on by force, Alexander faced the horse toward his shadow, then leaped onto its back. Alexander also defeated the massive Persian Empire. He accomplished this amazing feat only with the Macedonian and Greek armies under his command that were smaller then the Persian army. After Alexander conquered the Persians he set out on conquering everything else in his sight.
Alexander was born in 356 B.C.E and he died on 323 B.C.E. The story takes place from when Alexander is 14 to when Alexander dies at age 32. In 336 B.C.E Alexander became king of Macedonia at age 20. Only two years after he became king he set out on a long journey against the menacing Persian empire. Little did he know he would never step foot in Greece or Macedonia ever again. This book is special because it is action-packed and exciting unlike most biographies. I would rate this book five stars because I liked all of the action and because I learned a lot about Alexander the Great.
Enchantment at Delphi, by Richard Purtill
Alice, the main character, is a college student from America who is studying the
ruins of Delphi, Greece, when she accidentally goes back several thousand years in
time. To her astonishment, she meets the Olympian god Apollo. She also meets the
great gods Dionysus and Athena. Apollo uses Alice to trick a monster called the Python
into its death. When Apollo sends her back to modern day, nobody believes her story, but she meets a young Greek man and his father who seem to have a connection to Apollo.
Because of Alice’s time travel, this book takes place in Delphi, during modern
times, in ancient Greece in about 496-168 BCE, and also some time during WWII when Germany was in control of Greece. The
gods want to kill the python because the python lives in Delphi and the gods want to
rule over Delphi. Near the ruins of Delphi is an imaginary “line of power” which Apollo
uses to make the main character go back in time. Alice is not able to control the time
period to which she will travel, but each time she time travels, she realizes she has a mission to help the gods or the people she meets.
I thought this was an interesting book because of the time travel and the relation
to Greek mythology. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I liked Alice because she was
curious. When she traveled back in time she was curious as to where she was because
she couldn’t see where the ruins of Delphi were. I also liked Apollo’s personality
because when he explained things to Alice he acted as if he was the smartest man in
the world. I would recommend this book to someone who likes Greek mythology and
adventure books.
By Ben L.
Goddess of Yesterday, by Caroline B. Cooney Reviewed by Sarah M. Have you ever stolen an island, two identities, and a title? Anaxandra has. At age six, she is sent as a hostage as part of a tribute to King Nicander, who visited her father’s island. She lives on King Nicander's island of Siphnos until age 12 as a companion to the crippled Princess Callisto, when the island is attacked by pirates. She is the lone survivor. When King Menelaus of Sparta comes to rescue her, Anaxandra pretends to be Princess Callisto in order to not be made a slave. Later, Anaxandra tangles with Queen Helen, the most beautiful woman on earth and wife of Menelaus. Then Paris and Aeneas of Troy comes and endangers all of Sparta with Paris's love for Helen, which evolves into the Trojan War. How can Anaxandra survive all of this? This novel races from one adventure to the next in a fast-paced tale of traitors, lies, love, and family. Anaxandra is a unique character in that she travels from the most primitive of islands to the most modern of cities in less than 300 pages. Follow along as she lies, struggles to keep her lies going, appease her gods, and fight the most beautiful woman in the world.
HERCULES, RETOLD BY GERALDINE McCAUGHREAN (Fantasy and Mythology)
Hercules, the Strongest, Bravest, Mightiest and most Tortured man in the Greek world! Why? Well here… it all begins with Zeus. Now Zeus goes off and impregnates some random lady (as usual) and she gives birth to a demigod, Hercules. And so of course he grows up being the tallest and strongest in his class. However Hera, Zeus’s wife, gets angry and jealous and bestows burdens and tasks onto him in hopes that he is destroyed. It was kind of like his to-do list. Slay the Nemean Lion; Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra; Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis; Capture the Erymanthian Boar; Clean the Augean stables in a single day; etc. However through quick wits, remarkable strength, and favor from Zeus, Hercules gets through Hera’s traps one by one. Or does he? It is a great and quick read and a great interpretation of the myth. I give it five stars.
By David T.
The Iliad, Retold by Nick McCarty The Iliad takes place around 750 B.C.E. during the Bronze Age. The story takes place in Troy which is now northwestern Turkey. Helen, Queen of Sparta, is kidnapped by Paris, one of the Trojan princes. The Greeks sail to Troy for revenge but for nine long years are unsuccessful. Agamemnon, high king of the Greeks, demands that the great warrior Achilles give him his war prize, Briseis, a woman who was captured from Troy. This makes Achilles furious, and he refuses to fight in the battle, which causes the Greeks to suffer. Troy destroys the Greek ships and Hector, another Trojan prince, kills Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend. Achilles returns to combat to take revenge on Hector for what he did to Patroclus. He also comes up with a plan for the Greeks’ greatest ever attack on the Trojans and their city. Read the book to find out the plan for the attack and who will win the final battle. I rate this book five out of five stars because It made me so excited that I just wanted to read more and more. By Alex W.
Inside The Walls of Troy, by Clemence McLaren
Reviewed by Ari M.
Meet Helen of Sparta and Cassandra, daughter of the king of Troy, two women that tell us about their experience in the Trojan War. They tell us the story of the Trojan War from the home front. The story begins in Greece when it is time for Helen to be married. Helen’s father demands that every man that wishes to marry Helen has to swear an oath to protect her and her husband. Four years later, Prince Paris of Troy comes and steals Helen. Her husband comes to take her back from Troy but is refused. Read the book to find out what happens in the war that follows. Historians are not sure that the Trojan War even happened, but some think it may have happened during the 11th and 12th centuries BCE. I give this book 5 stars because it shows you how things were on the home front, not during the battles.
Inside the Walls of Troy, by Clemence McLarenReviewed by Benjy H.
Helen, who is believed to be the most beautiful girl in all of the land, must escape from the grasp of Theseus, a ferocious pirate. But that is only the beginning of her troubles. After being held captive for a rough three months, her brothers paid a ransom and she was allowed to return to her home, the great city of Sparta. When she returned home she knew many men were making marriage offers to her father. She finally decided to marry a man named Menelaus, who was the younger brother of Agamemnon, the high king over all Greece. She journeyed to the great palace of Menelaus, but after a while, she started to get secret visits from a man named Paris. She could not resist him, and so, she left her beloved daughter and husband to go to Paris’ palace. Menelaus, was infuriated, and he immediately wanted to get Helen back. That started a war between the Greeks and the Trojans. The time period of the book was about the 13th or 12th century BC.
I would give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating, because it had a lot of cool, and interesting facts and the plot of the book was very interesting. But, at times the book was confusing and I could not keep up with all of the information.
Inside the Walls of Troy, by Clemence McLaren (Historical Fiction--Greece) Inside the Walls of Troy is a wonderful novel about the Trojan War, with action, romance, and history. This is a book about two daughters of kings, Helen and Cassandra, who lived during this time period. One princess, Cassandra, was a daughter of the king of Troy. The other princess, Helen, was the daughter of the king of Sparta and was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Men came from far and wide to have a small chance of marrying her. Helen did get married to a wealthy man named Menelaus. He later became the king of Sparta after Helen’s father died. Everyone, including Menelaus, knew during the time leading up to the Trojan War that it was predicted that Troy and Sparta would go to war. It was also predicted that a prince of Troy named Paris would cause pain to Troy. To prevent a war, Paris went to Sparta to try to strengthen relations but he did the opposite. He fell in love with Helen and brought her back to Troy. This eventually provoked an attack on Troy from Sparta. This is a book I would recommend to anybody who likes to read. I would give this book 4 stars because it was suspenseful, thrilling, and entertaining, but at times confusing.
By Elliot B.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan Reviewed by Alexa U.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians the Lightning Thief, is about a teenage boy named Percy Jackson. Percy and his mother live in a small apartment in modern-day New York City, but every year, Percy and his best friend Grover go off the boarding school. This year, Percy is learning about the Greek gods, so his class takes a field trip to an ancient Greek museum. During this trip, Percy finds out that he is the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. Percy finds himself in a struggle between the Greek gods, and is no longer safe in New York. Percy is forced to go to Camp Half-Blood, where all half-human and half-gods can live in safety. Here, Percy meets a girl named Annabeth, and they are sent on a mission to help Zeus retrieve his lightning bolt. I really enjoyed this book, and gave it a four out of five stars. I recommend this book to anybody who would like to learn about ancient Greek mythology through the eyes of a present-day teenager.
The Last Olympian The Last Olympian is a thrilling story about the war with the Titans. The Titans are the most powerful gods. They are the parents of the new gods like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. And this war is about how they want to take over the Western Civilization. Camp Half Blood, a home for all half-bloods, must fight Kronos, one of the titans, and all his monsters that he has gathered. Kronos is slowly forming from Tarterus, which is a pit where all the powerful gods go when they die; and wants revenge on the Olympians who killed him. He has been in a pit called Tarterus for years. When gods dies and goes to Tarterus, they are there for a certain amount of time and over the years they slowly form back to themselves again. He has gathered a whole army, getting ready for the day he takes over Mount Olympus. His army also plans to take over Camp Half-Blood, which is a home for people who are half god and half human because one of their parents is a god and one is human. Camp Half-Blood is the only safe place for them so they don’t get killed by monsters. Meanwhile, Percy, a half-blood who is the son of Poseidon the sea god, and his friends are getting geared up for this major war. They are making weapons and traps, and training all summer. The people of Camp Half-Blood are very outnumbered and barely stand a chance, but they have to defend their camp. If Kronos takes over, the whole Western Civilization will go upside down! This book takes you through an adventure of a lifetime that you will never forget. Tamar C
The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan
When the Titans attack, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, must finally face the prophecy that he has battled with since he was 12. As the Oracle said four years before, “When you are at age 16, the world will fall in endless sleep.” Can Percy, Anabeth (daughter of Athena), and Grover (half man - half goat), defeat the Titans and save the world from the prophecy, or will the world fall to the Titans? Also, who will Percy choose? Rachel, the rich artist from home he just met last year, or Anabeth, the girl he’s liked for years? I found this book very interesting, mainly because of all the different storylines, characters, and problems, each getting resolved in the end. I give this book five stars. Since this was the end of a series of the four Percy Jackson and The Olympians books, it solved all the problems that had been going on since the first book. This book combines fantasy, action, and romance. A great read!
By Emma D
The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Dori H.F.
Set in New York, this exciting last volume of a five-book series of Percy Jackson stories takes the reader back to the time of the Greek gods and gives the reader the last part of Percy Jackson’s battle against the evil titan Kronos. Percy is a 16-year-old boy who is a demi-god and trains at a camp called Camp Half-blood, the only safe haven for the children of the Greek gods. Percy uses his wit and skills to find a way to defeat his enemies. But it isn’t just him who plays a part in this war. His friends Grover, a satyr, and Annabeth, one of the finest fighters at camp, help him too. In addition, the Greek gods do their fair share by defeating the worst monster of all, Typhon, father of all monsters. Percy and his friends end up fighting the last battle on Mount Olympus itself, except Mount Olympus is now on top of the Empire State Building in New York City. The exhilarating story makes this last Percy Jackson book unforgettable.
I would give this book five stars because it told a story that had me on the edge of my seat!
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is a normal 12-year-old boy…… or almost. He has been expelled from six schools and has to deal with bullies, dyslexia and monsters. That’s right, monsters. You see Percy is a half-blood. It means he’s half mortal, half god. But he doesn’t know that until he gets to Half Blood Hill. There he fights a minotaur, it seems like his mom dies, and he has to drag his best friend down to camp. At camp he learns that he is the son of Poseidon and the reason all the monsters have been chasing him is because he is being accused of stealing Zeus’s master lightning bolt. He then goes on a quest to the underworld to get the lightning bolt back. Along with him is his best friend Grover and his other friend Annabeth. Together they face everything in store, which is a lot. They meet Medusa, Ares, Hades and monsters of all kind. But Percy needs to get that lightning bolt fast or there might be a war!
I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 because it was amazing. It was action packed and th[[image:barrackbooks/i/c.gif width="10" height="21"]]ere was something going on all the time. And it’s a good way to learn about Greek Mythology in a fun way!
By Emily G.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Review By Madelyn S
Oh no! Zeus’s lightning bolt was stolen. He says the thief is Poseidon’s demigod son, Percy Jackson. Percy, a twelve-year-old, doesn’t know his father is Poseidon, and that he is a demigod. He soon finds out at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron, a centaur, tells Percy that Zeus has given him ten days until the summer solstice to find the bolt. His friends Annabeth and Grover (a satyr) join him on his quest bringing the winged shoes that Luke gave them. Luke is the son of Hermes. The two young people and the satyr go across the United States to Los Angeles to find Hades. They think that Hades was jealous of his brother Zeus so he stole the bolt to get revenge. Except Hades’ Helm of Darkness is gone, so who is the real thief? That is the question. I rate this book five stars because of how interesting it is. Once you start, you finish without breaks. It hooks you the moment it says the word “Prologue”. It is a good book to read on the weekend or when you have nothing to do. I was on the edge of my seat every time I sat down and read it. And you will be too.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan This story takes place in modern time. The 12-year-old main character, Percy Jackson, isn't a normal person like me and you. He is a half-blood. That means that his father is a god and his mother is a normal person. Percy is going through a very weird stage in his life. He keeps having dreams of mythological creatures trying to kill him, and one day his teacher turns into a monster and tries to kill him. People are trying to kill him because he is being accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. So, after going on a scary journey to Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for half-blood children, Percy is on an adventure to find Zeus' bolt with his new friends, Grover and Annabeth. Some of the monsters they encounter are: Medusa, Ares, Furies, and Hades. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 because the book has a lot of mythological information and a great adventurous plot. I hope you like this book! By Ben J
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson was an ordinary eleven-year-old trying to live normally while being dyslexic and having ADHD. Everything was going smoothly until a school field trip to a museum, when things get bad. Percy’s math teacher tries to kill him, but Percy vaporized her with his pen that turns into a sword that another teacher gave him. Percy and his mom decide to go on vacation to the beach, for fun, but then they have to go to Camp Half-Blood, because Grover, Percy’s protector and best friend, said that it wasn’t safe for Percy where he was. At Camp Half-Blood he might never be able to see his mom again, but he has to go for his safety. On the way from their beach house to the camp, they get attacked by a Minotaur and get chased to the edge of Half Blood Hill. The Minotaur grabbed Percy’s mother by the neck, and then she vanished. At camp, Percy finds out he is a half-blood, which is the child of a god and a mortal. He finds out he is a son of Poseidon. Percy gets a prophecy from the oracle, the spirit of Delphi, to retrieve the lightning bolt of Zeus. Zeus’ lightning bolt was stolen and he thought that Percy stole it to help his father, Poseidon. So Percy, Grover, and his new friend Annabeth set out on a dangerous quest to retrieve the lightning bolt.
I thought The Lightning Thief was an amazing book. I rate it five out of five stars, because it was so amazing. After I read this book I fell in love with Greek Mythology.
By Yonah H.
The Lost Hero, by Rick RiordanReport by Noah B. G. The Lost Hero is about friendship and coming together. In a place where the ancient, mythic world of Greece is a reality, a boy named Jason (age 16) is found by apparent strangers on a bus. Somehow his memory had been wiped clean and he doesn’t remember a thing. Two other people’s memories have been modified as well. Piper McLean and Leo Valdez (the same age as Jason) have found Jason on the bus believing he is their best friend, but the feeling is not mutual. After flying miniature storms attack them, their teacher turns into a psychotic goat, and Jason miraculously learns to fly. Things only get weirder from there. The group is taken to a special camp by an extraction squad (ouch), where they find out that the Greek gods are “still alive”, and better yet, they are told this by a talking horse. An oracle foresees a journey Leo, Piper, and Jason must take together. Their mission: to find and save the queen of the gods and then the world. Along their quest they meet malicious monsters, face murderous mortals, encounter dreadful deities, and grapple with grotesque giants. But in the end everybody has their secret. What is fiery Leo hiding? While hanging out with drop dead gorgeous Piper, will the boys drop dead? When Jason’s memories return, will he turn out to be Greece’s sworn enemy? All of the characters in The Lost Hero have their own unique traits. Jason, the powerful son of Jupiter who suffers from serious amnesia, must take a perilous journey to recover his precious memories. Piper, the stunning daughter of Venus, has a choice between friends or family. Wouldn’t life be easier without making difficult decisions? Leo, the hot tempered son of Vulcan, has been haunted by many things from maniac babysitters to sleeping women covered in mud. The setting of the book is in the ancient Greek world, today. Greek mythology comes to life from as far west as California, as far east as New York City, as far North as Quebec, as far south as Arizona, and right in the middle of the Midwest in Illinois. Rick Riordan combines humor, thrill, and history to create a story even parents can enjoy.
I award this amazing novel five stars for outrageous humor and fantastic accuracy.
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan (historical Fiction-Greece) Three teenage half-bloods (which means half-god and half-mortals) named Jason, Piper and Leo, go on an epic quest to save the queen of goddesses, Hera, who was captured by an evil Titan. They face all kinds of creatures like storm spirits and goat men! Jason has no idea why, but he doesn’t know who or where he is! He just knows he is not in the right place. Piper isn’t only on this quest to save Hera. She has a secret: her father, Tristan McLean, has been captured by an evil Titan, who was a ruler before the gods, and who wants to destroy the gods. Leo is the son of the god of blacksmiths and fire, Hephaestus, and he keeps seeing weird ghosts. He even sees his creepy old nanny from when he was a kid! The three friends all get taken to Camp Half-Blood to train by their former gym coach, Coach Hedge, because he is their “keeper” (a half-goat, half-man, who watches half-bloods). Why? Because these are not your normal everyday kids; these kids are part god! I really liked this book. It had a lot of adventure but you learn a lot about Greek Mythology. Talia R.
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan In a present-day setting, Rick Riordan crafts together a magnificent story about three modern-day demigods. These three demigods, the offspring of a mortal and god, travel across the country to save Hera, queen of the gods. Jason Grace, leader of the trio, left Camp Half-Blood for his quest with no recollection of his past. All he knows is that he woke up a few days earlier on a bus, on his way to the Grand Canyon, alongside Piper and Leo, his two best friends. Although he doesn’t know them, the quest to save Hera remotely sparks his memory of them. Jason, Piper and Leo all brought something special to the team. Jason is the son of Jupiter and can fly and summon and control his father’s lightning. Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite and can charmspeak people to give her whatever she wants. Leo is the son of Hephaestus and can control fire and is a great mechanic. These qualities are their most valuable assets during their quest. Will Jason ever remember who he is? Will this unlikely trio save Hera and survive their quest? Who is the Lost Hero? Read the book to find out all this and more! I thought that The Lost Hero was Rick Riordan’s latest and greatest page turner and I rate it 5 of 5 stars for its page-for-page intensity. By Noah M.
Nobody's Princess, by Esther Friesner Reviewed by Miriam S.
Have you ever felt that you wanted to be more than what everyone else thought you should be? That's the way that Helen of Sparta feels. She decides that she wants to learn to fight like a man. In the time period before the Trojan War, 1200 B.C.E., this would have been impossible for a woman at all, let alone one from one of the royal families. Helen would have been restricted to "womanly" tasks and been forced to spend her days in the castle weaving and sewing. Instead of that, Helen discovers the wonderful world of blood, grime, and sweat. When Helen's sister Clytemnestra is traveling to Mykenae to be married, Helen travels with her to comfort her and help her. After the wedding, a messenger from Claydon comes to the palace and tells the occupants of a wild boar ravaging the land. The king has called for heroes to kill the boar and Helen's brothers, Castor and Polyduces, are eager to go. On her travels, Helen meets numerous women like her, who have power to be what they want to be and use it correctly. People should read this book because it will give them the courage to go down the right path and be who they want to be and not what others tell them to be. I would give this book four and a half stars because it's full of courage and can inspire people to choose their own life and make their own choices.
Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner Reviewed by Elena E. She is nobody’s princess. Helen of Sparta dreams of doing more with her life than just picking a husband for herself. Helen starts her journey by secretly learning how to fight in her brother’s fighting lessons. After much hard work she earns a beautiful and intricate knife. When Helen's sister, Clytemnestra, is sent off to Mykenae to be married, Helen and her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, come to support her and make sure she is safe. While in Mykenae, they get news that in Calydon, the kingdom where Helen's mother grew up, there is a wild boar, which was sent by Artemis to destroy the kingdom. The boar has murdered anyone who tries to destroy it. Helen's brothers decide to go fight the boar before coming home. During the voyage back to Sparta Helen finds new friends, encounters dangers, and learns how to fight for others and herself. Helen is also still trying to figure out what it means to be beautiful, and what advantages and disadvantages it gives her. This novel is very special and unique because it is about someone who does not want to follow the "rules" of her society. I think this is a great story for anyone because we can probably all relate to Helen in some way. Out of 5 stars I would give this book 4 because I found myself rooting for Helen and wanting to read more, but I also did not understand some things in the book. I loved it and suggest that you should read Nobody’s Princess because it is interesting, and funny. Nobody’s Princess is a spectacular book.
Nobody's Princess, by Esther FriesnerReviewed by Michal L.
Who was Helen of Troy? Nobody’s Princess answers that question. Helen lived almost 2,500 years ago, during the Bronze Age. The story begins in Sparta, where Helen was growing up as future queen. She was forced to do “women’s work” such as weaving and spinning yarn. Helen did not like to do that work, so she convinced her brothers’ trainer to give her lessons in combat. Queen Leda, Helen’s mother, was a huntress growing up, so Helen convinced her mother to teach Helen how to hunt. One day, Helen received word that her sister, Clytemnestra, was going to be married to the prince of Mykenae. Helen and her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, begged to go with Clytemnestra. Their mother and father finally consented. While in Mykenae, Helen and her brothers heard an announcement that there was a huge boar attacking Calydon. Castor and Polydeuces went to Calydon to fight the boar, and Helen went with them. In Calydon, Helen met Atalanta, the only female huntress at the boar hunt. They became good friends, and together, they killed the boar. Atalanta left Calydon, but gave Helen a slave named Milo as a present, whom Helen freed. On the trip back to Sparta, Helen, Castor, and Polydeuces stopped in Delphi, where Helen made friends with the Pythia, who was also known as the Oracle of Delphi. Towards the end of their stay in Delphi, Castor and Polydeuces were invited to go on a trip for heroes to find the Golden Fleece. Helen wanted to go too, but was not allowed. So, Milo and the Pythia helped Helen devise a plan to get onto the ship, and go on the adventure. I would give this book 5 stars because it is action-packed, creative, well written, and intriguing.
Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Leah M.
Helen of Sparta was one of the only girls in the Bronze Age to do something incredible: she used a sword. How, may you ask? She was adventurous. She hated sewing and weaving, because that was a woman's job. Helen of Sparta is the younger version of Helen of Troy (the woman who was taken by Paris, Prince of Troy, in an action that could have started the Trojan War). Even though her favorite goddess is Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty), she learns from her mother to be a huntress. She also learns to be a swordsman with her brothers, Polydeuces and Castor, and their teacher, the best warrior in Sparta, Glaucus. Before Helen knew about swords, she and her sister Clytemnestra were always fighting. When they got older, they still fought even though they were as close as two peas in a pod. Throughout this book, Helen meets many people, and goes all over Greece. She attends Clytemnestra’s wedding at Mykenae, then she travels to Calydon for the Great Boar Hunt and is introduced to Atalanta the famous huntress. Atalanta teaches Helen how to ride a horse. Also at Calydon she buys and frees a slave named Milo. Finally she journeys to Delphi and meets the Oracle of Delphi (the Pythia), Eunike. Helen has many adventures in this book as well as in the sequel, Nobody’s Prize, by Esther Freisner. In the Great Boar Hunt, as Helen physically fights the boar, in her mind, she feels as if her adventures are battles for her own freedoms. Helen wants to be as free as a man or boy and does not like the fact that she is a girl and has fewer rights. If you are a young adult who craves adventure, this book (and series) is for you.
I rate this book five stars because of how interesting it is. Once you start, you finish without breaks. It hooks you the moment it says the word “Prologue”. It is a good book to read on the weekend or when you have nothing to do. I was on the edge of my seat every time I sat down and read it. And you will be too.
Nobody’s Prize, by Esther Friesner Reviewed by Libi W
Have you ever wondered what it was like to go on the most adventurous adventure in the 1200 B.C.E.? Helen the princess of Sparta, a young teenager, is on her way to her very first adventure. Dressed as a boy, because she is jealous of the fact that boys have all the adventures, she sneaks her way onto the boat that will take her to places bad and good. She will meet with the nicest of peasants, and merchants. She meets the craziest of kings and princesses and knights…On the boat are Prince Jason, her two brothers that she is trying to stay away from so they won’t send her back home, her best friend Milo who happens to be her ex-slave, Hercules and his weapon bearer Hylas, and the other people who are helping prince Jason on his journey. They go to so many great places, Sparta, Iolkos, Colchis, islands, and other small unimportant places that they travel to. People should read this book because it very exciting. But I don't think boys would like it because it would make them feel uncomfortable. The book is also a way you can learn the way people stalk people like a king tries to do to Helen, a crazy girl named Medea that would stalk Helen and even kill her to get love and more. I would rate it 5 stars because it was a very action packed story with a lot of adventure. There are so many conflicts in the story that get resolved and roll into other conflicts.Besides boys being uncomfortable reading this I don’t have any problem with this book.
Nobody's Prize, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Leah M.
Helen of Sparta cannot be controlled. She lives in the Bronze Age, before the Trojan War. She goes on a hero's journey by ship, to find the Golden Fleece. She tries not be noticed by her brothers, the princes of Sparta, who specifically told her not to go. Helen travels with her friend Milo. On the way, though, she meets a friend named Iolaus that she saw at Mykenae when she was there for the Great Boar Hunt. He pretends that Helen and Milo are his weapon bearers so that they will be allowed on the ship. Helen pretends to be a boy named Glaucus because girls were not allowed to go on this kind of adventure, especially heirs to the throne. The ride to the Golden Fleece is long and tiring. During the trip, Helen gets acquainted with Hercules and his weapon bearer, Hylas, and during this long journey, Hercules starts to pick on Helen. Helen gets close to Hylas and wants to talk to him alone, so they go to a mountain and she tells Hylas that she is actually a girl not a boy. Hercules comes out of nowhere and scares Hylas so much that he falls off the cliff and dies. Hercules goes crazy because of grief and the crew of the Argo (the ship they are sailing in) decides to leave him on the mountain. Later in the book, when the crew is at the islands of Colchis near the Golden Fleece's location, Helen has her first period and her cover as a boy is broken. She decides to pretend to be Atalanta, the famous huntress, so that she won't get sent home. The crew then sails to the island of the Golden Fleece and the princess of the island wants to kill Helen because of her beauty. Luckily, Helen sails safely to Athens with Milo, pretending to be a boy again. She is taken to the castle and the King of Athens, Theseus, sees that she is Helen and makes her his bride-to-be. Helen always hated Theseus and still does; how can she marry him? She is trapped: a captive. Read this amazing, exciting, adventurous book about the heir to the throne of Sparta, Lady Helen of Sparta, to find out what happens.
I rate this book five stars because of the creativity and the excitement. I was also intrigued by the plot. How the princess wanted to kill Helen and what she did was an amazing twist. Throughout the book you are tied to the book, as if you were Helen in the Athenian king’s grasp, but in a good way. The prequel, Nobody's Princess, is as exciting as this book is. I loved it and I hope you do too.
Odysseus in the Serpent Maze by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris Reviewed by Pearl V It was a beautiful morning to set sail and Odysseus couldn’t wait to go home to Ithaca. Odysseus, aGreek prince, got on the boat with his friend Mentor and waved goodbye to Odysseus’s grandfather as they set sail to Ithaca. Suddenly they ran into a storm, and Odysseus and Mentor fell overboard. While swimming to find their boat the two boys almost died. On their journey to get home they raninto pirates, met a Satyr (half man half goat), floated towards a Cretan island while experiencing Sirens (half bird half woman). They found another boat and finally landed on the island. The adventures continued on the island with Odysseus finding himself in a Labyrinth to save his friend from the serpents. This heroic story in the heroic age approximately around 1700 B.C. is a pre-story to Homer'sIliad and Odyssey, similar to the way the story Wicked is to the Wizard of Oz. I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars because the story was a bit confusing, but at the same time it was also adventurous. I would recommend this book to people who really like fighting and adventure.
Pankration, The Ultimate Game, by Dyan Blacklock
Reviewed by Matthias L.
Have you ever wondered if you had the ability to compete in the most taxing and extreme fighting tournament? Do you think you could compete in the ancient Greek Pankration? A young boy named Nicasylus, or Nic, didn’t think he could, either. He did, however, meet someone who could, in the novel Pankration: The Ultimate Game. The story is about Nic, who is the son of a wealthy jewelry merchant back in Athens, in 430 BCE. During this time, Athens was at war with Sparta. Too many people crowded into Athens for safety. A plague broke out and was devastating the city, so Nic’s father told him to travel to his uncle. Nic gets on a ship and meets the captain, a man named Gellius, who wants to compete in the Pankration, or a fighting tournament without rules. This would take place in the Olympics, in Olympia. They travel toward Nic’s uncle, but at sea, pirates, led by a man with six toes, raid the ship and capture Nic. They separate him from Gellius, and sell him as a slave. Gellius, meanwhile, starts training to be a Pankrationist. The idea of the story is to not only teach the reader about the ancient Olympics, but also about friendship and loyalty. When Nic is captured, Gellius blames himself for what happened. He expresses dismay at the loss of his friend, as any loyal friend would. If your best friend were captured, wouldn’t you be deeply sad? You should be, if you were truly friends. I rate this story four-out-of-five stars, because I liked the story and the idea, but it was not one of my favorites. I liked how the story rolled from one thing to the next, and how all the cliff-hangers made me read on. I also felt that some parts could be a little more exciting, and occasionally more detailed. If you like reading exciting adventure stories, or novels about sports, or simply like the Olympics, you should read this novel. Do you want to know if Nic escapes? Are you wondering how Gellius trains? If so, come to the Pankration, read the story, and learn how it all resolves.
Pankration: The Ultimate Game, by Dyan Blacklock (Ancient Greece) Pankration is an Olympic game where two players come out to the arena and try to inflict as much pain as possible onto their opponent. There are two main characters in the book Pankration. Gellius is a captain of a ship and a pankratiast. Nic, a wealthy Greek, was escaping from the plague in Athens on Gellius’ ship in about 430 B.C.E. The ship was attacked by pirates. The pirates kidnapped Nic and sold him as a slave. Gellius is the only person that might know the trouble Nic is in because Gellius was the captain, and saw Nic being carried away. Gellius was now at Olympia, participating in the Pankration games. Will he be able to help Nic? I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. I would have enjoyed more clues about the relationship between some of the characters. By Ben L.
Pankration: The Ultimate Game, by Dyan Blacklock
In the book Pankration: The Ultimate Game, Nicasylus is a boy who gets captured by pirates who sell him into slavery. He then runs away to try and find his friend at the Pankration games. Gellius is Nicasylus’s friend who barely escapes death from the pirates who try to kill him. This story takes place in 430 B.C.E. during the Peloponnesian Wars, when Athens and Sparta were at war. The story has three settings: Olympia, and Athens in Greece, and various towns in Italy. It begins with a man and a boy on a ship. The man, Gellius, is going to Olympia to compete in the Pankration games, which are part of the Olymplics. The Greeks called a truce during their wars so that people could worship their gods at the Olympic games every four years. The boy, Nicasylus, is going to his uncle. One day the ship is raided by pirates. Gellius puts up a big fight but is wounded and believed dead and left on the beaten up ship. Nicasylus gets captured and sold into slavery. Later Gellius is found by fishermen who help heal his wounds. Will Gellius ever be able to compete in the games, or will Nicasylus ever find Gellius again? The story is an epic tale of their adventures. I give this book 4 ½ out of 5 because the plot and characters are terrific, but it has a little too much blood for me.
By Adam R.
Percy Jackson series, Book Two: The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan Reviewed by Ezra B. The Sea of Monsters is the second book in a five-part series about a boy named Percy Jackson and a number of his friends, including his best friend Annibeth. In this book, Percy has a dream about his friend Grover being chased by a huge monster; Grover is in big trouble, and Percy and Annibeth defy rules to go save him. The story starts out in Manhattan, in the Meriwether School, where kids go when they have trouble learning. Percy was excited because he nearly got through the year without getting attacked by monsters or being betrayed by allies. Percy was looking forward to the summer and his return to Camp Half-Blood, his favorite place in the world. Ironically, he gets attacked by monsters on the very last day of school. With the help of his friend Tyson (who he later finds out is a Cyclops), he wins the battle and escapes with Annibeth to the camp. Once there, they are disappointed because the magical tree that protects the camp was poisoned, which allows monsters to force open the barrier. Later, Hermes encourages Percy to go on a quest to save Grover and retrieve the Golden Fleece, which would heal the tree. They meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares, and sail through the dangerous Sea of Monsters. They eventually rescue Grover and the Fleece from the dangerous Cyclops Polyphemus, and sail back to the camp as heroes.
I give this book a five-star rating. I couldn’t put it down; every page left you wondering what would happen next. The book also included exciting battle scenes with monsters, and explained a lot about Greek mythology and the gods. (I have since moved on to Book Three.) I award this amazing novel five stars for outrageous humor and fantastic accuracy.
The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson is twelve years old and lives with his mother, Sally Jackson, in New York City during the school year and at Camp Half-Blood during the summer. Camp Half-Blood is for “special” people. By special, I mean a demigod, a mixture of a Greek god and a mortal (regular) person. Demigods have a scent. When they find out they are a demigod, the scent becomes stronger so it is easier for monsters to hunt them down. Percy is a son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Percy is ADHD and dyslexic like most demigods. ADHD helps them in battle by keeping them moving, and dyslexia helps them read Greek more easily. Because of this, he goes to a school for challenged kids so everything is easier for him. He keeps having dreams about his friend Grover, who’s a satyr, which is half-goat half-man. Satyrs guide demigods to the camp for protection. Once they become senior protectors, they go out into the world to find Pan, god of nature, who has been missing for the last 200 years. In Percy’s dreams, Grover has been kidnapped by a Cyclops, named Polyphemus. He doesn’t know what to do to help Grover. On the last day of school when Percy thought he was going to go through a whole year without a monster attack, the school bullies turned into cannibal monsters. His friend Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, showed up right when one of the monsters was about to kill Percy. Annabeth stabbed the monster in the belly button “killing” it (monsters can’t die). Percy, Annabeth and his friend Tyson soon went to Camp Half-Blood. Percy learned Tyson is a baby Cyclopes who is also a son of Poseidon. When they got to camp, the magic borders were dying which kept monsters out. Percy and Annabeth agreed the only way to save the camp was to find the Golden Fleece, which could cure anything with its nature powers. In Percy’s dreams, the Golden Fleece was at the same place Polyphemus was keeping Grover. Percy, Annabeth and Tyson got the camp’s permission for a quest. Now they could save the camp and Grover at the same time. I would rate this book five stars because Rick Riordan made me feel like I was on the quest with Percy and his friends the whole time, and made everything feel so real, even though it isn’t. By Simon G.
The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan The Sea of Monsters is another great book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In this book, the tree of Thalia, the main source of power for Camp Half-Blood’s protection shield, has been poisoned by someone. That means anything immortal can enter Camp Half-Blood and attack it, and then it gets worse. Chiron, the camp activities director, is sent out of Camp Half-Blood because the camp owner Dionysus thinks he poisoned the tree. Chiron is one of Percy’s best friends. He was even Percy’s History teacher. Chiron is a Centaur, half-man and half-horse.
There has to be someone to replace Chiron. That person is Tantalus, who was a criminal and is probably from the Underworld. He is so mean and he hates kids, especially Percy Jackson. For anyone to go out and find the cure for the tree poisoning, they need to be given a quest. However, Percy doesn’t get a quest, so he sneaks out of camp to try to get the cure. Just to let you know, if you leave camp without a quest or permission, you will be expelled. That is not a good thing, but Percy takes the risk. So from there on out Percy and his friends, Tyson and Annebeth, are out to encounter the unbearable wrath of anything that comes in their way. I would rate this book 5 of 5 because when I started reading, I got sucked right in to the book. It actually felt like I was in the book.
By Ben J
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), by Rick Riordan Reviewed by Maya S.
The Golden Fleece, evil sea monsters, a manipulative sorceress, Titan lords, Greek gods, and camps are the things you will find in this book. In this story, the son of Poseidon, thirteen year old Percy Jackson, comes to his safe haven-- Camp Half-Blood. In this extraordinary camp, half-bloods (children of a mortal and a god) are trained in the art of fighting monsters. They enjoy dangerous rock walls, sword fighting, arts and crafts, and much more. Percy learns that the pine tree that protects the camp is dying, and he is desperate to save it. He and his friends Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and Tyson (his Cyclops half-brother), sneak out of camp. They come upon crazy enemies and freaky monsters, and finally realize that what they need is something called the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece has magical healing properties. It can turn a valley green and lush and it can heal a person in minutes. The Golden Fleece is from a golden winged ram. The ram was shaved and the hair was spun into a fleece. They know that they must find this incredible object to save their camp. What will happen? Read the book and find out.
I really enjoyed this book. I give it five stars because I love Greek mythology. This book also had a few funny sayings, which made it perfect. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a quick, fun, easy read and to people who like mythology.
THE SON OF NEPTUNE, by Rick Riordan Reviewed by Noah G. Thrilling, suspenseful, amusing. These are some adjectives that describe The Son of Neptune. This book is the sequel to Rick Riordan’s book, The Lost Hero. In The Son of Neptune, Percy Jackson tells the story of how he awoke in a strange place. Percy is a sixteen-year-old demigod, a person with a mortal parent and a godly parent. Percy’s dad is Neptune, or Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses (this gives Percy control of over sea, ability to create earthquakes, and ability to talk to horses). The only thing that Percy can recall is that he was found by a wolf goddess; she trained, guided and taught him; then he was sent on a journey to find a camp for other demigods like him. The wolf goddess taught Percy that he was born for the Roman gods and that he was going to the Roman camp, but what Percy doesn’t know is that there is a camp like his, but for Greek demigods. To get to camp he’d have to defeat two gorgons over and over and over and over again, and then he’d have to carry an old, heavy hippie across a lake. Percy befriended a couple of outcasts, who were seemingly crazy weirdoes. Frank Zang and Hazel Lavesh (about the same age as Percy) had problems of their own; their cohort (the fifth, which Percy was elected to be in) was in a rut, and they had deathly scary secrets. But that all changes when a god comes to camp only to claim Frank and send him, Percy, and Hazel on a quest. They must go on a quest to kill a giant, unchain death, and recover an eagle. The quest isn’t easy, with evil wheat, women warriors, and healthy organic cupcakes. I rate the book five stars out of five. This book was outstanding.
The Son of Neptune By Rick Riordan Reviewed by Mati Z
Rescue the god of death in a week from the hands of an immortal, all-powerful, giant enemy of the gods,
who cannot be defeated in his homeland where he is holding his captive? Why not? In The Son of Neptune, Hazel, Frank, and Percy are charged with this task. They are, before their quest, at a hero training camp for the children of the Roman gods. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto with strange powers and a secret, dark past. Frank is descended from a Roman exiled to China. He’s supposed to be powerful, but thinks himself helpless, and has a secret that he believes to be a weakness. Percy is new to the camp and has lost all of his memory. The three teenagers are sent off from hero training camp with nothing more than a small boat, their clothes, and their weapons. They must reach Alaska, the lair of Alcyoneus the giant; enemy of the gods, eldest of his kind, and bred to destroy the gods of Olympus. They fight their way through hostile wheat fields, unfriendly hot dog samples, Gorgons, seers, Canadians, griffins, undead warriors, and very large and unfriendly immortals. However, as in most adventure stories such as this, they receive help from many sources. Some of them are: very old ghosts, Amazons, death, a very cranky grandmother, a few gods, an elephant, a grizzly bear, an eagle and many more.
In this book, Rick Riordan continues the legacy of Percy Jackson while making use of his new design of narration. The book contains as much excitement or more as its predecessor, The Lost Hero, and smoothly incorporates the characters of his previous series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This book indisputably deserves five stars for its dazzling excitement, its uproarious humor, superb character development, and Riordan’s remarkable feat of combining all of the above into a fantastic, cohesive piece of literature. Riordan perfects his masterpiece by humanizing his characters. He makes them heroes but he also emphasizes that they too have great weaknesses, like all people. They too are subject to temptation. Heroes that they are, they still are not so sure of themselves that they cannot for a minute doubt their cause. They are human. The Son of Neptune is altogether a literary marvel of the 21st century.
Waiting for Odysseus, by Clemence McLaren
The main characters are Odysseus, his wife Penelope, Penelope’s sister Helen, the witch Circe and the goddess of wisdom Athena. This book takes place before the Common Era, when the Greeks believed in many gods. The story takes place in the golden city of Troy, on Circe’s island and on the island of Ithaca. The story starts when Penelope sees Odysseus and claims that one day she will be his wife. Afterwards there are many Greek kings in the banquet hall in the kingdom of Sparta waiting to discover who will be Helen’s husband (Helen is the most beautiful woman in Greece). The brother of Agamemnon, Menelaus, was chosen to be Helen’s husband. A few years later, Helen was kidnapped by Paris and they sailed away to Troy. Since all the suitors of Helen swore an oath that if anything happened to her they would help save her, they began the war that turned the great city of Troy to ashes, and sent Odysseus away from Penelope for 19 years. After the war Odysseus tries to return home to Penelope, but is faced with many difficulties. Meanwhile, at home, Penelope faces her own problems. I rate this book 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who likes Greek mythology.
By Ofek P.
Waiting for Odysseus, by Clemence McLaren Reviewed by Orli F Waiting For Odysseus is about Odysseus and his wife Penelope. Odysseus is told that he has to go fight in the Trojan War. Penelope is completely against this, but Odysseus has no choice and has a duty to go to. They have one newly-born child named Telemachus. Odysseus has told Penelope that once Telemachus has a beard and is an adult, if Odysseus hasn’t returned, Penelope has to get remarried and move on from Odysseus. Now Odysseus is away, and Telemachus is raised with no dad.
This book takes place in ancient Greece. The Greeks believed in gods and Odysseus is supposed to be related to one of them. The story mainly takes place wherever Odysseus goes which is mainly places in Troy. It also takes place in the house of Odysseus and Penelope in Greece. The main characters in the book are Penelope, Odysseus, Telemachus, Athena and Circe. Athena is one of the gods who takes Odysseus under her wing and helps him along his travels. Circe is a god who helps Odysseus figure things out but is sometimes very wicked. Penelope is very sweet, gentle, and sensitive. Telemachus is brave and courageous. I love how in the story sometimes things get really suspenseful and scary, but other times the book can be really exciting and happy. I would rate this book a 4. I really liked it but at times I wish the book would give us more background. Thanks for listening.
The Windswept City, by Henry Treece
Reviewed by Matan D The Windswept City is a about a slave boy named Asterius, from Thrace. His owner is Helen of Sparta. In the book, Asterius spies on many important people involved in the Trojan War because he is curious about what is going on. For example, he meets Agamemnon, the Lion of Mycenae, who is The High King of Greece, Odysseus, a Greek leader and warrior, and many more. Asterius also watches many people die on both sides, like Paris, Achilles, Hector, and Palamedes. The book takes place in 1180 BCE, the time of The Trojan War. The story takes place in Troy. Besides Asterius and Helen, the main characters are King Priam, the King of Troy, the father of Hector and Paris; Hector, one of the sons of Priam who liked to fight; Paris, the other son of Priam who took Helen away from her Greek husband and caused the war; Queen Hecabe, the Queen of Troy and the mother of Paris and Hector; and Achilles, the best Greek warrior of them all. The story was first written down about three thousand years ago, in 800 BCE, and is based on the poems of a Greek poet named Homer. I think the book deserves three stars because to me it wasn’t very interesting but it described the story very well.
Historical fiction about ancient Greece
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Alexander The Great, by John Gunther
Reviewed by Jacob F
Did you know that Alexander the Great fought in many battles and never lost one of them?
This book will tell you all about Alexander's many accomplishments. Alexander the Great did
many brave things. One thing he did is when he was only a child he tamed a giant horse that no
other person could tame, by wit. He saw the horse was afraid of its shadow, so knowing that he
could not get on by force, Alexander faced the horse toward his shadow, then leaped onto its
back. Alexander also defeated the massive Persian Empire. He accomplished this amazing feat
only with the Macedonian and Greek armies under his command that were smaller then the Persian army. After Alexander
conquered the Persians he set out on conquering everything else in his sight.
Alexander was born in 356 B.C.E and he died on 323 B.C.E. The story takes place from
when Alexander is 14 to when Alexander dies at age 32. In 336 B.C.E Alexander became king of
Macedonia at age 20. Only two years after he became king he set out on a long journey against
the menacing Persian empire. Little did he know he would never step foot in Greece or
Macedonia ever again. This book is special because it is action-packed and exciting unlike most
biographies. I would rate this book five stars because I liked all of the action and because I
learned a lot about Alexander the Great.
Enchantment at Delphi, by Richard Purtill
Alice, the main character, is a college student from America who is studying the
ruins of Delphi, Greece, when she accidentally goes back several thousand years in
time. To her astonishment, she meets the Olympian god Apollo. She also meets the
great gods Dionysus and Athena. Apollo uses Alice to trick a monster called the Python
into its death. When Apollo sends her back to modern day, nobody believes her story, but she meets a young Greek man and his father who seem to have a connection to Apollo.
Because of Alice’s time travel, this book takes place in Delphi, during modern
times, in ancient Greece in about 496-168 BCE, and also some time during WWII when Germany was in control of Greece. The
gods want to kill the python because the python lives in Delphi and the gods want to
rule over Delphi. Near the ruins of Delphi is an imaginary “line of power” which Apollo
uses to make the main character go back in time. Alice is not able to control the time
period to which she will travel, but each time she time travels, she realizes she has a mission to help the gods or the people she meets.
I thought this was an interesting book because of the time travel and the relation
to Greek mythology. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I liked Alice because she was
curious. When she traveled back in time she was curious as to where she was because
she couldn’t see where the ruins of Delphi were. I also liked Apollo’s personality
because when he explained things to Alice he acted as if he was the smartest man in
the world. I would recommend this book to someone who likes Greek mythology and
adventure books.
By Ben L.
Goddess of Yesterday, by Caroline B. Cooney
Reviewed by Sarah M.
Have you ever stolen an island, two identities, and a title? Anaxandra has. At age six, she is sent as a hostage as part of a tribute to King Nicander, who visited her father’s island. She lives on King Nicander's island of Siphnos until age 12 as a companion to the crippled Princess Callisto, when the island is attacked by pirates. She is the lone survivor. When King Menelaus of Sparta comes to rescue her, Anaxandra pretends to be Princess Callisto in order to not be made a slave. Later, Anaxandra tangles with Queen Helen, the most beautiful woman on earth and wife of Menelaus. Then Paris and Aeneas of Troy comes and endangers all of Sparta with Paris's love for Helen, which evolves into the Trojan War. How can Anaxandra survive all of this?
This novel races from one adventure to the next in a fast-paced tale of traitors, lies, love, and family. Anaxandra is a unique character in that she travels from the most primitive of islands to the most modern of cities in less than 300 pages. Follow along as she lies, struggles to keep her lies going, appease her gods, and fight the most beautiful woman in the world.
HERCULES, RETOLD BY GERALDINE McCAUGHREAN (Fantasy and Mythology)
Hercules, the Strongest, Bravest, Mightiest and most Tortured man in the Greek world! Why? Well here… it all begins with Zeus. Now Zeus goes off and impregnates some random lady (as usual) and she gives birth to a demigod, Hercules. And so of course he grows up being the tallest and strongest in his class. However Hera, Zeus’s wife, gets angry and jealous and bestows burdens and tasks onto him in hopes that he is destroyed. It was kind of like his to-do list. Slay the Nemean Lion; Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra; Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis; Capture the Erymanthian Boar; Clean the Augean stables in a single day; etc. However through quick wits, remarkable strength, and favor from Zeus, Hercules gets through Hera’s traps one by one. Or does he? It is a great and quick read and a great interpretation of the myth. I give it five stars.
By David T.
The Iliad, Retold by Nick McCarty
The Iliad takes place around 750 B.C.E. during the Bronze Age. The story takes place in Troy which is now northwestern Turkey. Helen, Queen of Sparta, is kidnapped by Paris, one of the Trojan princes. The Greeks sail to Troy for revenge but for nine long years are unsuccessful. Agamemnon, high king of the Greeks, demands that the great warrior Achilles give him his war prize, Briseis, a woman who was captured from Troy. This makes Achilles furious, and he refuses to fight in the battle, which causes the Greeks to suffer. Troy destroys the Greek ships and Hector, another Trojan prince, kills Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend. Achilles returns to combat to take revenge on Hector for what he did to Patroclus. He also comes up with a plan for the Greeks’ greatest ever attack on the Trojans and their city. Read the book to find out the plan for the attack and who will win the final battle. I rate this book five out of five stars because It made me so excited that I just wanted to read more and more.
By Alex W.
Inside The Walls of Troy, by Clemence McLaren
Reviewed by Ari M.
Meet Helen of Sparta and Cassandra, daughter of the king of Troy, two women that tell us about their experience in the Trojan War. They tell us the story of the Trojan War from the home front. The story begins in Greece when it is time for Helen to be married. Helen’s father demands that every man that wishes to marry Helen has to swear an oath to protect her and her husband. Four years later, Prince Paris of Troy comes and steals Helen. Her husband comes to take her back from Troy but is refused. Read the book to find out what happens in the war that follows. Historians are not sure that the Trojan War even happened, but some think it may have happened during the 11th and 12th centuries BCE. I give this book 5 stars because it shows you how things were on the home front, not during the battles.
Inside the Walls of Troy, by Clemence McLarenReviewed by Benjy H.
Helen, who is believed to be the most beautiful girl in all of the land, must escape from the grasp of Theseus, a ferocious pirate. But that is only the beginning of her troubles. After being held captive for a rough three months, her brothers paid a ransom and she was allowed to return to her home, the great city of Sparta. When she returned home she knew many men were making marriage offers to her father. She finally decided to marry a man named Menelaus, who was the younger brother of Agamemnon, the high king over all Greece. She journeyed to the great palace of Menelaus, but after a while, she started to get secret visits from a man named Paris. She could not resist him, and so, she left her beloved daughter and husband to go to Paris’ palace. Menelaus, was infuriated, and he immediately wanted to get Helen back. That started a war between the Greeks and the Trojans. The time period of the book was about the 13th or 12th century BC.
I would give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating, because it had a lot of cool, and interesting facts and the plot of the book was very interesting. But, at times the book was confusing and I could not keep up with all of the information.
Inside the Walls of Troy, by Clemence McLaren (Historical Fiction--Greece)
Inside the Walls of Troy is a wonderful novel about the Trojan War, with action, romance, and history. This is a book about two daughters of kings, Helen and Cassandra, who lived during this time period. One princess, Cassandra, was a daughter of the king of Troy. The other princess, Helen, was the daughter of the king of Sparta and was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Men came from far and wide to have a small chance of marrying her. Helen did get married to a wealthy man named Menelaus. He later became the king of Sparta after Helen’s father died. Everyone, including Menelaus, knew during the time leading up to the Trojan War that it was predicted that Troy and Sparta would go to war. It was also predicted that a prince of Troy named Paris would cause pain to Troy. To prevent a war, Paris went to Sparta to try to strengthen relations but he did the opposite. He fell in love with Helen and brought her back to Troy. This eventually provoked an attack on Troy from Sparta. This is a book I would recommend to anybody who likes to read. I would give this book 4 stars because it was suspenseful, thrilling, and entertaining, but at times confusing.
By Elliot B.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Alexa U.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians the Lightning Thief, is about a teenage boy named Percy Jackson. Percy and his mother live in a small apartment in modern-day New York City, but every year, Percy and his best friend Grover go off the boarding school. This year, Percy is learning about the Greek gods, so his class takes a field trip to an ancient Greek museum. During this trip, Percy finds out that he is the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. Percy finds himself in a struggle between the Greek gods, and is no longer safe in New York. Percy is forced to go to Camp Half-Blood, where all half-human and half-gods can live in safety. Here, Percy meets a girl named Annabeth, and they are sent on a mission to help Zeus retrieve his lightning bolt. I really enjoyed this book, and gave it a four out of five stars. I recommend this book to anybody who would like to learn about ancient Greek mythology through the eyes of a present-day teenager.
The Last Olympian
The Last Olympian is a thrilling story about the war with the Titans. The Titans are the most powerful gods. They are the parents of the new gods like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. And this war is about how they want to take over the Western Civilization. Camp Half Blood, a home for all half-bloods, must fight Kronos, one of the titans, and all his monsters that he has gathered. Kronos is slowly forming from Tarterus, which is a pit where all the powerful gods go when they die; and wants revenge on the Olympians who killed him. He has been in a pit called Tarterus for years. When gods dies and goes to Tarterus, they are there for a certain amount of time and over the years they slowly form back to themselves again. He has gathered a whole army, getting ready for the day he takes over Mount Olympus. His army also plans to take over Camp Half-Blood, which is a home for people who are half god and half human because one of their parents is a god and one is human. Camp Half-Blood is the only safe place for them so they don’t get killed by monsters. Meanwhile, Percy, a half-blood who is the son of Poseidon the sea god, and his friends are getting geared up for this major war. They are making weapons and traps, and training all summer. The people of Camp Half-Blood are very outnumbered and barely stand a chance, but they have to defend their camp. If Kronos takes over, the whole Western Civilization will go upside down! This book takes you through an adventure of a lifetime that you will never forget.
Tamar C
The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan
When the Titans attack, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, must finally face the prophecy that he has battled with since he was 12. As the Oracle said four years before, “When you are at age 16, the world will fall in endless sleep.” Can Percy, Anabeth (daughter of Athena), and Grover (half man - half goat), defeat the Titans and save the world from the prophecy, or will the world fall to the Titans? Also, who will Percy choose? Rachel, the rich artist from home he just met last year, or Anabeth, the girl he’s liked for years? I found this book very interesting, mainly because of all the different storylines, characters, and problems, each getting resolved in the end. I give this book five stars. Since this was the end of a series of the four Percy Jackson and The Olympians books, it solved all the problems that had been going on since the first book. This book combines fantasy, action, and romance. A great read!
By Emma D
The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Dori H.F.
Set in New York, this exciting last volume of a five-book series of Percy Jackson stories takes the reader back to the time of the Greek gods and gives the reader the last part of Percy Jackson’s battle against the evil titan Kronos. Percy is a 16-year-old boy who is a demi-god and trains at a camp called Camp Half-blood, the only safe haven for the children of the Greek gods. Percy uses his wit and skills to find a way to defeat his enemies. But it isn’t just him who plays a part in this war. His friends Grover, a satyr, and Annabeth, one of the finest fighters at camp, help him too. In addition, the Greek gods do their fair share by defeating the worst monster of all, Typhon, father of all monsters. Percy and his friends end up fighting the last battle on Mount Olympus itself, except Mount Olympus is now on top of the Empire State Building in New York City. The exhilarating story makes this last Percy Jackson book unforgettable.
I would give this book five stars because it told a story that had me on the edge of my seat!
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is a normal 12-year-old boy…… or almost. He has been expelled from six schools and has to deal with bullies, dyslexia and monsters. That’s right, monsters. You see Percy is a half-blood. It means he’s half mortal, half god. But he doesn’t know that until he gets to Half Blood Hill. There he fights a minotaur, it seems like his mom dies, and he has to drag his best friend down to camp. At camp he learns that he is the son of Poseidon and the reason all the monsters have been chasing him is because he is being accused of stealing Zeus’s master lightning bolt. He then goes on a quest to the underworld to get the lightning bolt back. Along with him is his best friend Grover and his other friend Annabeth. Together they face everything in store, which is a lot. They meet Medusa, Ares, Hades and monsters of all kind. But Percy needs to get that lightning bolt fast or there might be a war!
I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 because it was amazing. It was action packed and th[[image:barrackbooks/i/c.gif width="10" height="21"]]ere was something going on all the time. And it’s a good way to learn about Greek Mythology in a fun way!
By Emily G.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick RiordanReview By Madelyn S
Oh no! Zeus’s lightning bolt was stolen. He says the thief is Poseidon’s demigod son, Percy Jackson. Percy, a twelve-year-old, doesn’t know his father is Poseidon, and that he is a demigod. He soon finds out at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron, a centaur, tells Percy that Zeus has given him ten days until the summer solstice to find the bolt. His friends Annabeth and Grover (a satyr) join him on his quest bringing the winged shoes that Luke gave them. Luke is the son of Hermes. The two young people and the satyr go across the United States to Los Angeles to find Hades. They think that Hades was jealous of his brother Zeus so he stole the bolt to get revenge. Except Hades’ Helm of Darkness is gone, so who is the real thief? That is the question.
I rate this book five stars because of how interesting it is. Once you start, you finish without breaks. It hooks you the moment it says the word “Prologue”. It is a good book to read on the weekend or when you have nothing to do. I was on the edge of my seat every time I sat down and read it. And you will be too.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
This story takes place in modern time. The 12-year-old main character, Percy Jackson, isn't a normal person like me and you. He is a half-blood. That means that his father is a god and his mother is a normal person. Percy is going through a very weird stage in his life. He keeps having dreams of mythological creatures trying to kill him, and one day his teacher turns into a monster and tries to kill him. People are trying to kill him because he is being accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. So, after going on a scary journey to Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for half-blood children, Percy is on an adventure to find Zeus' bolt with his new friends, Grover and Annabeth. Some of the monsters they encounter are: Medusa, Ares, Furies, and Hades.
I would rate this book 5 out of 5 because the book has a lot of mythological information and a great adventurous plot.
I hope you like this book!
By Ben J
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson was an ordinary eleven-year-old trying to live normally while being dyslexic and having ADHD. Everything was going smoothly until a school field trip to a museum, when things get bad. Percy’s math teacher tries to kill him, but Percy vaporized her with his pen that turns into a sword that another teacher gave him. Percy and his mom decide to go on vacation to the beach, for fun, but then they have to go to Camp Half-Blood, because Grover, Percy’s protector and best friend, said that it wasn’t safe for Percy where he was. At Camp Half-Blood he might never be able to see his mom again, but he has to go for his safety. On the way from their beach house to the camp, they get attacked by a Minotaur and get chased to the edge of Half Blood Hill. The Minotaur grabbed Percy’s mother by the neck, and then she vanished. At camp, Percy finds out he is a half-blood, which is the child of a god and a mortal. He finds out he is a son of Poseidon. Percy gets a prophecy from the oracle, the spirit of Delphi, to retrieve the lightning bolt of Zeus. Zeus’ lightning bolt was stolen and he thought that Percy stole it to help his father, Poseidon. So Percy, Grover, and his new friend Annabeth set out on a dangerous quest to retrieve the lightning bolt.
I thought The Lightning Thief was an amazing book. I rate it five out of five stars, because it was so amazing. After I read this book I fell in love with Greek Mythology.
By Yonah H.
The Lost Hero, by Rick RiordanReport by Noah B. G.
The Lost Hero is about friendship and coming together. In a place where the ancient, mythic world of Greece is a reality, a boy named Jason (age 16) is found by apparent strangers on a bus. Somehow his memory had been wiped clean and he doesn’t remember a thing. Two other people’s memories have been modified as well. Piper McLean and Leo Valdez (the same age as Jason) have found Jason on the bus believing he is their best friend, but the feeling is not mutual. After flying miniature storms attack them, their teacher turns into a psychotic goat, and Jason miraculously learns to fly. Things only get weirder from there. The group is taken to a special camp by an extraction squad (ouch), where they find out that the Greek gods are “still alive”, and better yet, they are told this by a talking horse. An oracle foresees a journey Leo, Piper, and Jason must take together. Their mission: to find and save the queen of the gods and then the world. Along their quest they meet malicious monsters, face murderous mortals, encounter dreadful deities, and grapple with grotesque giants. But in the end everybody has their secret. What is fiery Leo hiding? While hanging out with drop dead gorgeous Piper, will the boys drop dead? When Jason’s memories return, will he turn out to be Greece’s sworn enemy?
All of the characters in The Lost Hero have their own unique traits. Jason, the powerful son of Jupiter who suffers from serious amnesia, must take a perilous journey to recover his precious memories. Piper, the stunning daughter of Venus, has a choice between friends or family. Wouldn’t life be easier without making difficult decisions? Leo, the hot tempered son of Vulcan, has been haunted by many things from maniac babysitters to sleeping women covered in mud.
The setting of the book is in the ancient Greek world, today. Greek mythology comes to life from as far west as California, as far east as New York City, as far North as Quebec, as far south as Arizona, and right in the middle of the Midwest in Illinois.
Rick Riordan combines humor, thrill, and history to create a story even parents can enjoy.
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan (historical Fiction-Greece)
Three teenage half-bloods (which means half-god and half-mortals) named Jason, Piper and Leo, go on an epic quest to save the queen of goddesses, Hera, who was captured by an evil Titan. They face all kinds of creatures like storm spirits and goat men! Jason has no idea why, but he doesn’t know who or where he is! He just knows he is not in the right place. Piper isn’t only on this quest to save Hera. She has a secret: her father, Tristan McLean, has been captured by an evil Titan, who was a ruler before the gods, and who wants to destroy the gods. Leo is the son of the god of blacksmiths and fire, Hephaestus, and he keeps seeing weird ghosts. He even sees his creepy old nanny from when he was a kid! The three friends all get taken to Camp Half-Blood to train by their former gym coach, Coach Hedge, because he is their “keeper” (a half-goat, half-man, who watches half-bloods). Why? Because these are not your normal everyday kids; these kids are part god! I really liked this book. It had a lot of adventure but you learn a lot about Greek Mythology.
Talia R.
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan
In a present-day setting, Rick Riordan crafts together a magnificent story about three modern-day demigods. These three demigods, the offspring of a mortal and god, travel across the country to save Hera, queen of the gods. Jason Grace, leader of the trio, left Camp Half-Blood for his quest with no recollection of his past. All he knows is that he woke up a few days earlier on a bus, on his way to the Grand Canyon, alongside Piper and Leo, his two best friends. Although he doesn’t know them, the quest to save Hera remotely sparks his memory of them. Jason, Piper and Leo all brought something special to the team. Jason is the son of Jupiter and can fly and summon and control his father’s lightning. Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite and can charmspeak people to give her whatever she wants. Leo is the son of Hephaestus and can control fire and is a great mechanic. These qualities are their most valuable assets during their quest. Will Jason ever remember who he is? Will this unlikely trio save Hera and survive their quest? Who is the Lost Hero? Read the book to find out all this and more! I thought that The Lost Hero was Rick Riordan’s latest and greatest page turner and I rate it 5 of 5 stars for its page-for-page intensity.
By Noah M.
Nobody's Princess, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Miriam S.
Have you ever felt that you wanted to be more than what everyone else thought you should be? That's the way that Helen of Sparta feels. She decides that she wants to learn to fight like a man. In the time period before the Trojan War, 1200 B.C.E., this would have been impossible for a woman at all, let alone one from one of the royal families. Helen would have been restricted to "womanly" tasks and been forced to spend her days in the castle weaving and sewing. Instead of that, Helen discovers the wonderful world of blood, grime, and sweat. When Helen's sister Clytemnestra is traveling to Mykenae to be married, Helen travels with her to comfort her and help her. After the wedding, a messenger from Claydon comes to the palace and tells the occupants of a wild boar ravaging the land. The king has called for heroes to kill the boar and Helen's brothers, Castor and Polyduces, are eager to go.
On her travels, Helen meets numerous women like her, who have power to be what they want to be and use it correctly. People should read this book because it will give them the courage to go down the right path and be who they want to be and not what others tell them to be. I would give this book four and a half stars because it's full of courage and can inspire people to choose their own life and make their own choices.
Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Elena E.
She is nobody’s princess. Helen of Sparta dreams of doing more with her life than just picking a husband for herself. Helen starts her journey by secretly learning how to fight in her brother’s fighting lessons. After much hard work she earns a beautiful and intricate knife. When Helen's sister, Clytemnestra, is sent off to Mykenae to be married, Helen and her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, come to support her and make sure she is safe. While in Mykenae, they get news that in Calydon, the kingdom where Helen's mother grew up, there is a wild boar, which was sent by Artemis to destroy the kingdom. The boar has murdered anyone who tries to destroy it. Helen's brothers decide to go fight the boar before coming home. During the voyage back to Sparta Helen finds new friends, encounters dangers, and learns how to fight for others and herself. Helen is also still trying to figure out what it means to be beautiful, and what advantages and disadvantages it gives her.
This novel is very special and unique because it is about someone who does not want to follow the "rules" of her society. I think this is a great story for anyone because we can probably all relate to Helen in some way. Out of 5 stars I would give this book 4 because I found myself rooting for Helen and wanting to read more, but I also did not understand some things in the book. I loved it and suggest that you should read Nobody’s Princess because it is interesting, and funny. Nobody’s Princess is a spectacular book.
Nobody's Princess, by Esther FriesnerReviewed by Michal L.
Who was Helen of Troy? Nobody’s Princess answers that question. Helen lived almost 2,500 years ago, during the Bronze Age. The story begins in Sparta, where Helen was growing up as future queen. She was forced to do “women’s work” such as weaving and spinning yarn. Helen did not like to do that work, so she convinced her brothers’ trainer to give her lessons in combat. Queen Leda, Helen’s mother, was a huntress growing up, so Helen convinced her mother to teach Helen how to hunt. One day, Helen received word that her sister, Clytemnestra, was going to be married to the prince of Mykenae. Helen and her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, begged to go with Clytemnestra. Their mother and father finally consented. While in Mykenae, Helen and her brothers heard an announcement that there was a huge boar attacking Calydon. Castor and Polydeuces went to Calydon to fight the boar, and Helen went with them. In Calydon, Helen met Atalanta, the only female huntress at the boar hunt. They became good friends, and together, they killed the boar. Atalanta left Calydon, but gave Helen a slave named Milo as a present, whom Helen freed. On the trip back to Sparta, Helen, Castor, and Polydeuces stopped in Delphi, where Helen made friends with the Pythia, who was also known as the Oracle of Delphi. Towards the end of their stay in Delphi, Castor and Polydeuces were invited to go on a trip for heroes to find the Golden Fleece. Helen wanted to go too, but was not allowed. So, Milo and the Pythia helped Helen devise a plan to get onto the ship, and go on the adventure. I would give this book 5 stars because it is action-packed, creative, well written, and intriguing.
Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Leah M.
Helen of Sparta was one of the only girls in the Bronze Age to do something incredible: she used a sword. How, may you ask? She was adventurous. She hated sewing and weaving, because that was a woman's job. Helen of Sparta is the younger version of Helen of Troy (the woman who was taken by Paris, Prince of Troy, in an action that could have started the Trojan War). Even though her favorite goddess is Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty), she learns from her mother to be a huntress. She also learns to be a swordsman with her brothers, Polydeuces and Castor, and their teacher, the best warrior in Sparta, Glaucus. Before Helen knew about swords, she and her sister Clytemnestra were always fighting. When they got older, they still fought even though they were as close as two peas in a pod. Throughout this book, Helen meets many people, and goes all over Greece. She attends Clytemnestra’s wedding at Mykenae, then she travels to Calydon for the Great Boar Hunt and is introduced to Atalanta the famous huntress. Atalanta teaches Helen how to ride a horse. Also at Calydon she buys and frees a slave named Milo. Finally she journeys to Delphi and meets the Oracle of Delphi (the Pythia), Eunike. Helen has many adventures in this book as well as in the sequel, Nobody’s Prize, by Esther Freisner. In the Great Boar Hunt, as Helen physically fights the boar, in her mind, she feels as if her adventures are battles for her own freedoms. Helen wants to be as free as a man or boy and does not like the fact that she is a girl and has fewer rights. If you are a young adult who craves adventure, this book (and series) is for you.
I rate this book five stars because of how interesting it is. Once you start, you finish without breaks. It hooks you the moment it says the word “Prologue”. It is a good book to read on the weekend or when you have nothing to do. I was on the edge of my seat every time I sat down and read it. And you will be too.
Nobody’s Prize, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Libi W
Have you ever wondered what it was like to go on the most adventurous adventure in the 1200 B.C.E.? Helen the princess of Sparta, a young teenager, is on her way to her very first adventure. Dressed as a boy, because she is jealous of the fact that boys have all the adventures, she sneaks her way onto the boat that will take her to places bad and good. She will meet with the nicest of peasants, and merchants. She meets the craziest of kings and princesses and knights…On the boat are Prince Jason, her two brothers that she is trying to stay away from so they won’t send her back home, her best friend Milo who happens to be her ex-slave, Hercules and his weapon bearer Hylas, and the other people who are helping prince Jason on his journey. They go to so many great places, Sparta, Iolkos, Colchis, islands, and other small unimportant places that they travel to.
People should read this book because it very exciting. But I don't think boys would like it because it would make them feel uncomfortable. The book is also a way you can learn the way people stalk people like a king tries to do to Helen, a crazy girl named Medea that would stalk Helen and even kill her to get love and more. I would rate it 5 stars because it was a very action packed story with a lot of adventure. There are so many conflicts in the story that get resolved and roll into other conflicts.Besides boys being uncomfortable reading this I don’t have any problem with this book.
Nobody's Prize, by Esther Friesner
Reviewed by Leah M.
Helen of Sparta cannot be controlled. She lives in the Bronze Age, before the Trojan War. She goes on a hero's journey by ship, to find the Golden Fleece. She tries not be noticed by her brothers, the princes of Sparta, who specifically told her not to go. Helen travels with her friend Milo. On the way, though, she meets a friend named Iolaus that she saw at Mykenae when she was there for the Great Boar Hunt. He pretends that Helen and Milo are his weapon bearers so that they will be allowed on the ship. Helen pretends to be a boy named Glaucus because girls were not allowed to go on this kind of adventure, especially heirs to the throne. The ride to the Golden Fleece is long and tiring. During the trip, Helen gets acquainted with Hercules and his weapon bearer, Hylas, and during this long journey, Hercules starts to pick on Helen. Helen gets close to Hylas and wants to talk to him alone, so they go to a mountain and she tells Hylas that she is actually a girl not a boy. Hercules comes out of nowhere and scares Hylas so much that he falls off the cliff and dies. Hercules goes crazy because of grief and the crew of the Argo (the ship they are sailing in) decides to leave him on the mountain. Later in the book, when the crew is at the islands of Colchis near the Golden Fleece's location, Helen has her first period and her cover as a boy is broken. She decides to pretend to be Atalanta, the famous huntress, so that she won't get sent home. The crew then sails to the island of the Golden Fleece and the princess of the island wants to kill Helen because of her beauty. Luckily, Helen sails safely to Athens with Milo, pretending to be a boy again. She is taken to the castle and the King of Athens, Theseus, sees that she is Helen and makes her his bride-to-be. Helen always hated Theseus and still does; how can she marry him? She is trapped: a captive. Read this amazing, exciting, adventurous book about the heir to the throne of Sparta, Lady Helen of Sparta, to find out what happens.
I rate this book five stars because of the creativity and the excitement. I was also intrigued by the plot. How the princess wanted to kill Helen and what she did was an amazing twist. Throughout the book you are tied to the book, as if you were Helen in the Athenian king’s grasp, but in a good way. The prequel, Nobody's Princess, is as exciting as this book is. I loved it and I hope you do too.
Odysseus in the Serpent Maze by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris
Reviewed by Pearl V
It was a beautiful morning to set sail and Odysseus couldn’t wait to go home to Ithaca.
Odysseus, a Greek prince, got on the boat with his friend Mentor and waved goodbye to
Odysseus’s grandfather as they set sail to Ithaca. Suddenly they ran into a storm, and
Odysseus and Mentor fell overboard. While swimming to find their boat the two boys
almost died. On their journey to get home they ran into pirates, met a Satyr (half man
half goat), floated towards a Cretan island while experiencing Sirens (half bird half
woman). They found another boat and finally landed on the island. The adventures
continued on the island with Odysseus finding himself in a Labyrinth to save his friend
from the serpents. This heroic story in the heroic age approximately around 1700 B.C. is
a pre-story to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, similar to the way the story Wicked is to the
Wizard of Oz.
I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars because the story was a bit confusing, but
at the same time it was also adventurous. I would recommend this book to people who
really like fighting and adventure.
Pankration, The Ultimate Game, by Dyan Blacklock
Reviewed by Matthias L.
Have you ever wondered if you had the ability to compete in the most taxing and extreme fighting tournament? Do you think you could compete in the ancient Greek Pankration? A young boy named Nicasylus, or Nic, didn’t think he could, either. He did, however, meet someone who could, in the novel Pankration: The Ultimate Game. The story is about Nic, who is the son of a wealthy jewelry merchant back in Athens, in 430 BCE. During this time, Athens was at war with Sparta. Too many people crowded into Athens for safety. A plague broke out and was devastating the city, so Nic’s father told him to travel to his uncle. Nic gets on a ship and meets the captain, a man named Gellius, who wants to compete in the Pankration, or a fighting tournament without rules. This would take place in the Olympics, in Olympia. They travel toward Nic’s uncle, but at sea, pirates, led by a man with six toes, raid the ship and capture Nic. They separate him from Gellius, and sell him as a slave. Gellius, meanwhile, starts training to be a Pankrationist. The idea of the story is to not only teach the reader about the ancient Olympics, but also about friendship and loyalty. When Nic is captured, Gellius blames himself for what happened. He expresses dismay at the loss of his friend, as any loyal friend would. If your best friend were captured, wouldn’t you be deeply sad? You should be, if you were truly friends. I rate this story four-out-of-five stars, because I liked the story and the idea, but it was not one of my favorites. I liked how the story rolled from one thing to the next, and how all the cliff-hangers made me read on. I also felt that some parts could be a little more exciting, and occasionally more detailed. If you like reading exciting adventure stories, or novels about sports, or simply like the Olympics, you should read this novel. Do you want to know if Nic escapes? Are you wondering how Gellius trains? If so, come to the Pankration, read the story, and learn how it all resolves.
Pankration: The Ultimate Game, by Dyan Blacklock (Ancient Greece)
Pankration is an Olympic game where two players come out to the arena and try to inflict as much pain as possible onto their opponent. There are two main characters in the book Pankration. Gellius is a captain of a ship and a pankratiast. Nic, a wealthy Greek, was escaping from the plague in Athens on Gellius’ ship in about 430 B.C.E. The ship was attacked by pirates. The pirates kidnapped Nic and sold him as a slave. Gellius is the only person that might know the trouble Nic is in because Gellius was the captain, and saw Nic being carried away. Gellius was now at Olympia, participating in the Pankration games. Will he be able to help Nic?
I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. I would have enjoyed more clues about the relationship between some of the characters.
By Ben L.
Pankration: The Ultimate Game, by Dyan Blacklock
In the book Pankration: The Ultimate Game, Nicasylus is a boy who gets captured by pirates who sell him into slavery. He then runs away to try and find his friend at the Pankration games. Gellius is Nicasylus’s friend who barely escapes death from the pirates who try to kill him. This story takes place in 430 B.C.E. during the Peloponnesian Wars, when Athens and Sparta were at war. The story has three settings: Olympia, and Athens in Greece, and various towns in Italy. It begins with a man and a boy on a ship. The man, Gellius, is going to Olympia to compete in the Pankration games, which are part of the Olymplics. The Greeks called a truce during their wars so that people could worship their gods at the Olympic games every four years. The boy, Nicasylus, is going to his uncle. One day the ship is raided by pirates. Gellius puts up a big fight but is wounded and believed dead and left on the beaten up ship. Nicasylus gets captured and sold into slavery. Later Gellius is found by fishermen who help heal his wounds. Will Gellius ever be able to compete in the games, or will Nicasylus ever find Gellius again? The story is an epic tale of their adventures. I give this book 4 ½ out of 5 because the plot and characters are terrific, but it has a little too much blood for me.
By Adam R.
Percy Jackson series, Book Two: The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Ezra B.
The Sea of Monsters is the second book in a five-part series about a boy named Percy Jackson and a number of his friends, including his best friend Annibeth. In this book, Percy has a dream about his friend Grover being chased by a huge monster; Grover is in big trouble, and Percy and Annibeth defy rules to go save him. The story starts out in Manhattan, in the Meriwether School, where kids go when they have trouble learning. Percy was excited because he nearly got through the year without getting attacked by monsters or being betrayed by allies. Percy was looking forward to the summer and his return to Camp Half-Blood, his favorite place in the world. Ironically, he gets attacked by monsters on the very last day of school. With the help of his friend Tyson (who he later finds out is a Cyclops), he wins the battle and escapes with Annibeth to the camp. Once there, they are disappointed because the magical tree that protects the camp was poisoned, which allows monsters to force open the barrier. Later, Hermes encourages Percy to go on a quest to save Grover and retrieve the Golden Fleece, which would heal the tree. They meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares, and sail through the dangerous Sea of Monsters. They eventually rescue Grover and the Fleece from the dangerous Cyclops Polyphemus, and sail back to the camp as heroes.
I give this book a five-star rating. I couldn’t put it down; every page left you wondering what would happen next. The book also included exciting battle scenes with monsters, and explained a lot about Greek mythology and the gods. (I have since moved on to Book Three.)
I award this amazing novel five stars for outrageous humor and fantastic accuracy.
The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is twelve years old and lives with his mother, Sally Jackson, in New York City during the school year and at Camp Half-Blood during the summer. Camp Half-Blood is for “special” people. By special, I mean a demigod, a mixture of a Greek god and a mortal (regular) person. Demigods have a scent. When they find out they are a demigod, the scent becomes stronger so it is easier for monsters to hunt them down. Percy is a son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Percy is ADHD and dyslexic like most demigods. ADHD helps them in battle by keeping them moving, and dyslexia helps them read Greek more easily. Because of this, he goes to a school for challenged kids so everything is easier for him. He keeps having dreams about his friend Grover, who’s a satyr, which is half-goat half-man. Satyrs guide demigods to the camp for protection. Once they become senior protectors, they go out into the world to find Pan, god of nature, who has been missing for the last 200 years. In Percy’s dreams, Grover has been kidnapped by a Cyclops, named Polyphemus. He doesn’t know what to do to help Grover. On the last day of school when Percy thought he was going to go through a whole year without a monster attack, the school bullies turned into cannibal monsters. His friend Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, showed up right when one of the monsters was about to kill Percy. Annabeth stabbed the monster in the belly button “killing” it (monsters can’t die). Percy, Annabeth and his friend Tyson soon went to Camp Half-Blood. Percy learned Tyson is a baby Cyclopes who is also a son of Poseidon. When they got to camp, the magic borders were dying which kept monsters out. Percy and Annabeth agreed the only way to save the camp was to find the Golden Fleece, which could cure anything with its nature powers. In Percy’s dreams, the Golden Fleece was at the same place Polyphemus was keeping Grover. Percy, Annabeth and Tyson got the camp’s permission for a quest. Now they could save the camp and Grover at the same time.
I would rate this book five stars because Rick Riordan made me feel like I was on the quest with Percy and his friends the whole time, and made everything feel so real, even though it isn’t.
By Simon G.
The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters is another great book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In this book, the tree of Thalia, the main source of power for Camp Half-Blood’s protection shield, has been poisoned by someone. That means anything immortal can enter Camp Half-Blood and attack it, and then it gets worse. Chiron, the camp activities director, is sent out of Camp Half-Blood because the camp owner Dionysus thinks he poisoned the tree. Chiron is one of Percy’s best friends. He was even Percy’s History teacher. Chiron is a Centaur, half-man and half-horse.
There has to be someone to replace Chiron. That person is Tantalus, who was a criminal and is probably from the Underworld. He is so mean and he hates kids, especially Percy Jackson. For anyone to go out and find the cure for the tree poisoning, they need to be given a quest. However, Percy doesn’t get a quest, so he sneaks out of camp to try to get the cure. Just to let you know, if you leave camp without a quest or permission, you will be expelled. That is not a good thing, but Percy takes the risk. So from there on out Percy and his friends, Tyson and Annebeth, are out to encounter the unbearable wrath of anything that comes in their way. I would rate this book 5 of 5 because when I started reading, I got sucked right in to the book. It actually felt like I was in the book.
By Ben J
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Maya S.
The Golden Fleece, evil sea monsters, a manipulative sorceress, Titan lords, Greek gods, and camps are the things you will find in this book. In this story, the son of Poseidon, thirteen year old Percy Jackson, comes to his safe haven-- Camp Half-Blood. In this extraordinary camp, half-bloods (children of a mortal and a god) are trained in the art of fighting monsters. They enjoy dangerous rock walls, sword fighting, arts and crafts, and much more. Percy learns that the pine tree that protects the camp is dying, and he is desperate to save it. He and his friends Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and Tyson (his Cyclops half-brother), sneak out of camp. They come upon crazy enemies and freaky monsters, and finally realize that what they need is something called the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece has magical healing properties. It can turn a valley green and lush and it can heal a person in minutes. The Golden Fleece is from a golden winged ram. The ram was shaved and the hair was spun into a fleece. They know that they must find this incredible object to save their camp. What will happen? Read the book and find out.
I really enjoyed this book. I give it five stars because I love Greek mythology. This book also had a few funny sayings, which made it perfect. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a quick, fun, easy read and to people who like mythology.
THE SON OF NEPTUNE, by Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Noah G.
Thrilling, suspenseful, amusing. These are some adjectives that describe The Son of Neptune. This book is the sequel to Rick Riordan’s book, The Lost Hero. In The Son of Neptune, Percy Jackson tells the story of how he awoke in a strange place. Percy is a sixteen-year-old demigod, a person with a mortal parent and a godly parent. Percy’s dad is Neptune, or Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses (this gives Percy control of over sea, ability to create earthquakes, and ability to talk to horses). The only thing that Percy can recall is that he was found by a wolf goddess; she trained, guided and taught him; then he was sent on a journey to find a camp for other demigods like him. The wolf goddess taught Percy that he was born for the Roman gods and that he was going to the Roman camp, but what Percy doesn’t know is that there is a camp like his, but for Greek demigods. To get to camp he’d have to defeat two gorgons over and over and over and over again, and then he’d have to carry an old, heavy hippie across a lake. Percy befriended a couple of outcasts, who were seemingly crazy weirdoes. Frank Zang and Hazel Lavesh (about the same age as Percy) had problems of their own; their cohort (the fifth, which Percy was elected to be in) was in a rut, and they had deathly scary secrets. But that all changes when a god comes to camp only to claim Frank and send him, Percy, and Hazel on a quest. They must go on a quest to kill a giant, unchain death, and recover an eagle. The quest isn’t easy, with evil wheat, women warriors, and healthy organic cupcakes.
I rate the book five stars out of five. This book was outstanding.
The Son of Neptune
By Rick Riordan
Reviewed by Mati Z
Rescue the god of death in a week from the hands of an immortal, all-powerful, giant enemy of the gods,
who cannot be defeated in his homeland where he is holding his captive? Why not? In The Son of Neptune, Hazel, Frank, and Percy are charged with this task. They are, before their quest, at a hero training camp for the children of the Roman gods. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto with strange powers and a secret, dark past. Frank is descended from a Roman exiled to China. He’s supposed to be powerful, but thinks himself helpless, and has a secret that he believes to be a weakness. Percy is new to the camp and has lost all of his memory. The three teenagers are sent off from hero training camp with nothing more than a small boat, their clothes, and their weapons. They must reach Alaska, the lair of Alcyoneus the giant; enemy of the gods, eldest of his kind, and bred to destroy the gods of Olympus. They fight their way through hostile wheat fields, unfriendly hot dog samples, Gorgons, seers, Canadians, griffins, undead warriors, and very large and unfriendly immortals. However, as in most adventure stories such as this, they receive help from many sources. Some of them are: very old ghosts, Amazons, death, a very cranky grandmother, a few gods, an elephant, a grizzly bear, an eagle and many more.
In this book, Rick Riordan continues the legacy of Percy Jackson while making use of his new design of narration. The book contains as much excitement or more as its predecessor, The Lost Hero, and smoothly incorporates the characters of his previous series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This book indisputably deserves five stars for its dazzling excitement, its uproarious humor, superb character development, and Riordan’s remarkable feat of combining all of the above into a fantastic, cohesive piece of literature. Riordan perfects his masterpiece by humanizing his characters. He makes them heroes but he also emphasizes that they too have great weaknesses, like all people. They too are subject to temptation. Heroes that they are, they still are not so sure of themselves that they cannot for a minute doubt their cause. They are human. The Son of Neptune is altogether a literary marvel of the 21st century.
Waiting for Odysseus, by Clemence McLaren
The main characters are Odysseus, his wife Penelope, Penelope’s sister Helen, the witch Circe and the goddess of wisdom Athena. This book takes place before the Common Era, when the Greeks believed in many gods. The story takes place in the golden city of Troy, on Circe’s island and on the island of Ithaca. The story starts when Penelope sees Odysseus and claims that one day she will be his wife. Afterwards there are many Greek kings in the banquet hall in the kingdom of Sparta waiting to discover who will be Helen’s husband (Helen is the most beautiful woman in Greece). The brother of Agamemnon, Menelaus, was chosen to be Helen’s husband. A few years later, Helen was kidnapped by Paris and they sailed away to Troy. Since all the suitors of Helen swore an oath that if anything happened to her they would help save her, they began the war that turned the great city of Troy to ashes, and sent Odysseus away from Penelope for 19 years. After the war Odysseus tries to return home to Penelope, but is faced with many difficulties. Meanwhile, at home, Penelope faces her own problems. I rate this book 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who likes Greek mythology.
By Ofek P.
Waiting for Odysseus, by Clemence McLaren
Reviewed by Orli F
Waiting For Odysseus is about Odysseus and his wife Penelope. Odysseus is told that he has to go fight in the Trojan War. Penelope is completely against this, but Odysseus has no choice and has a duty to go to. They have one newly-born child named Telemachus. Odysseus has told Penelope that once Telemachus has a beard and is an adult, if Odysseus hasn’t returned, Penelope has to get remarried and move on from Odysseus. Now Odysseus is away, and Telemachus is raised with no dad.
This book takes place in ancient Greece. The Greeks believed in gods and Odysseus is supposed to be related to one of them. The story mainly takes place wherever Odysseus goes which is mainly places in Troy. It also takes place in the house of Odysseus and Penelope in Greece. The main characters in the book are Penelope, Odysseus, Telemachus, Athena and Circe. Athena is one of the gods who takes Odysseus under her wing and helps him along his travels. Circe is a god who helps Odysseus figure things out but is sometimes very wicked. Penelope is very sweet, gentle, and sensitive. Telemachus is brave and courageous. I love how in the story sometimes things get really suspenseful and scary, but other times the book can be really exciting and happy. I would rate this book a 4. I really liked it but at times I wish the book would give us more background. Thanks for listening.
The Windswept City, by Henry Treece
Reviewed by Matan D
The Windswept City is a about a slave boy named Asterius, from Thrace. His owner is Helen of Sparta. In the book, Asterius spies on many important people involved in the Trojan War because he is curious about what is going on. For example, he meets Agamemnon, the Lion of Mycenae, who is The High King of Greece, Odysseus, a Greek leader and warrior, and many more. Asterius also watches many people die on both sides, like Paris, Achilles, Hector, and Palamedes. The book takes place in 1180 BCE, the time of The Trojan War. The story takes place in Troy. Besides Asterius and Helen, the main characters are King Priam, the King of Troy, the father of Hector and Paris; Hector, one of the sons of Priam who liked to fight; Paris, the other son of Priam who took Helen away from her Greek husband and caused the war; Queen Hecabe, the Queen of Troy and the mother of Paris and Hector; and Achilles, the best Greek warrior of them all. The story was first written down about three thousand years ago, in 800 BCE, and is based on the poems of a Greek poet named Homer. I think the book deserves three stars because to me it wasn’t very interesting but it described the story very well.