The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

It took me a little over a week to finish The Son of Neptune but that was only due to starting college again and my schedule not leaving me much free time, but as usual I practically flew through this book. There's something about Rick's writing that makes me not want to put the book down once I've gotten into it, maybe its because these books are intended for younger readers so they're not as mentally draining as most YA novels.

The second installment in The Heroes of Olympus series begins with Percy's POV. This was my favorite thing about this book as I missed Percy during The Lost Hero. I connected with him so much during the Percy Jackson books that I struggled to get into The Lost Hero without him. Also with Percy being a main character again, I found it easier to push through the first few of Frank and Hazel's chapters in order to get back to Percy again. Much like any book with new characters I struggled with getting through the scenes with characters that I hadn't quite connected with yet/didn't know much about. But, by the end of the book I had fallen in love with everyone and couldn't wait to start The Mark of Athena in order to see what happens next. Especially with some of the questions that had been left unanswered at the end of this one.

I want this review to be as spoiler free as possible so I'm not going to say much about the overall plot however we do find out quite quickly that Hazel is the daughter of Pluto meaning she's related to Nico. Because of this Nico is present for a bit at the start of the book however, as much as I love Nico, he irritated me a bit purely because I wanted Percy to remember who he was and Nico wouldn't tell him, which I understand was part of Juno/Hera's plan, but it still annoyed me. It was similar to how I felt with Jason's amnesia in The Lost Hero however because I was aware of Percy's prior life, I was rooting for get his memory back ASAP.

Overall, I loved this book. It was filled with the usual from Riordan. Diverse characters, funny lines and an overall great plot with some awesome character development. For the few who still have yet to read this series, I highly recommend it!

The Program by Suzanne Young | Review

This review is spoiler free (There are a few minor spoilers from the first 20-30 pages but nothing major/plot spoiling)

 

"Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them."

 

I found the concept of this book really interesting. It reminded me of the Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver and slightly of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. So basically in the world where Sloane lives. suicide and depression are a national epidemic which is slowly spreading across the globe. Many countries are opting to run versions of 'The Program'. The Program is where you get sent if you are flagged. Being flagged is being marked as high risk of having depression. You are sent to a facility where you are treated with medication and therapy. You then return to society and all the memories that 'caused' the depression are gone.

 

The main character Sloane is kind of naïve. Like not loads, but slightly,but other than that this book is filled with great characters. There is James, Sloane's boyfriend. He is just awesome and wants to do right by everyone he loves. There's Miller who is the cutes cinnamon roll and Sloane's bestie. There's Lacy, Miller's ex who has returned from treatment of The Program. There are many other characters who are awesome but I must mention Brady before I stop talking about characters. Brady is Sloane's brother who killed himself. Many of Sloane's (and her family's) fears and issues are deep-rooted within Brady's death. There are many other awesome (and not so awesome) characters that I could mention but that would spoil it and this is spoiler free.

 

There were many great plot developments in this book. Some where predictable and others were not. The only thing I had to complain about is that there was not enough of Miller in this book. I wanted more. Other than that I thought it was great and gave it 5 stars on goodreads. I recommend this to anyone who likes YA (I would say a trigger warning on mentions of suicide, self harm and depression throughout the story). I wish I could go into more detail but I don't want to spoil this book so you'll just have to read it for yourself.  I cannot wait to get started on the sequel and I hope you read this book soon.

 

-Beth

Miss Perigrine's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs | Review

This review is spoiler free (There are a few minor spoilers from the first 20-30 pages but nothing major/plot spoiling)

Miss Perigrine's is the first book in a trilogy by American author Ransom Riggs. The story follows a boy named Jacob Portman who travels to an island of the coast of Wales after his grandfather dies in what is deemed a fatal accident, but is actually a murder.

 

Whilst growing up, Jacob's grandfather told him tales of his life on an island during World War 2. He also told Jacob about the people he met and their peculiar powers. He also shows him photographs, which are included in the book which I feel really add to the readers enjoyment of the book. The rest of the story is Jacob traveling to the island and falling face first into the world of the Peculiars and September 3rd 1940.

 

The pictures included in this book really helped me form a bond with these characters and understand them. This book was full of humour and great characters. The plot and storyline was well thought out and wasn't to complex or too simple. 

I really enjoyed this story and I gave it a 5 star rating. I found the whole concept original and creative. The style of writing was really easy to get into and the pictures helped create a great visual image. I definitely recommend this book and I cant wait to see the movie this winter.

Youtube

EEEK! I have not posted anything review like on here for ages. I struggle to find the time to sit down and write, edit and publish anything at the moment.
However, I am still using YouTube as my platform so if you want to check it out
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXN7LcdNY4z6dI3roTae1Bw?app=desktop

Books that I have read in 2015

I doubt that anyone would've read this in my pages but there is a list of all the books that I have read in 2015. I feel like 2015 has been a great year for books and I have read some amazing ones.

My book reading goal of 2015 was to read 50 books. I managed to beat my goal by reading 56 books.

1. The kill order - James Dashner
2. The Bane chronicles - Cassandra Clare
3. Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
4. Day 21 - Kass Morgan
5. Blood brothers - Willy Russel
6. All the bright places - Jennifer Niven
7. Forever - Judy Blume
8. Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman
9. Callum - Malorie Blackman
10. Looking for Alaska - John Green
11. Summer's shadow - Anna Wlison
12. Four: A Divergent collection  - Veronica Roth
13. Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
14. More than this - Patrick Ness
15. The 5th wave - Rick Yancey
16. Fallen - Lauren Kate
17. Love and muddy puddles - Cecil Anne Paterson
18. Invisible - Cecily Anne Paterson
19. Invincible - Cecily Anne Paterson
20. Shatter me - Tahereh Mafi
21. We were liars - E. Lockhart
22. Apple and Rain - Sarah Crossan
23. The unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin
24. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens agenda - Becky Albertalli
25. The DUFF - Kody Keplinger
26. Of mice and men - John Stienbeck
27. Paper towns - John Green
28. All I know now - Carrie Hope Fletcher
29. Knife edge - Malorie Blackman
30. A court of thorns and roses - Sarah J. Maas
31. The heir - Kiera Cass
32. Rebel Belle - Rachel Hawkins
33. The hit - Melvin Burgess
34. Cinder - Marissa Meyer
35. Fire colour one - Jenny Valentine
36. Song of Secrets - Tate Hallaway and Rachel Calish
37. The perks of being a wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
38. In real life - Joey Graceffa
39. Legend - Marie Lu
40. Pig heart boy - Malorie Blackman
41. The accidental life of Jessie Jefferson - Paige Toon
42. The Martian - Andy Weir
43. The amazing book is not on fire - Dan Howell and Phil Lester
44. An Inspector calls - J.B.Priestly
45. iBoy - Kevin Brooks
46. Anna dressed in blood - Kendare Blake
47. Carry on - Rainbow Rowell
48. Born to endless night - Cassandra Clare
49. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
50. Lying out loud - Kody Keplinger
51. Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins
52. Percy Jackson and the lightning thief - Rick Riordan
53. Percy Jackson and the sea of monsters - Rick Riordan
54. The Giver - Lois Lowry
55. Percy Jackson and the Titans curse - Rick Riordan
56. Percy Jackson and the battle of the labyrinth - Rick Riordan