Kids Books - Adventure Books

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

By Rick Riordan

There are five books in the Percy Jackson series, and many more books in the series Heroes of Olympus, which is kind of the sequel series to Percy Jackson. Today I will be reviewing the first book. The first book is good, I guess, it's okay. But it didn't appeal to me that much. *SPOILERS BELOW So basically the story centers around a kid named Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson has been expelled from every school he's been to so far because of accidents, like landing the whole class in a shark tank in the aquarium. When his current school, Yancy Academy, goes on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his class, including his nemesis, Nancy and his best friend, Grover. His teacher, Ms. Dodds, turns out to be one of the Furies. The Furies are demons, basically, in Greek Mythology. His other teacher, Mr. Brunner, gives him a sword that can be disguised as a pen, called Riptide. Percy defeats Ms. Dodds and sends her back to Tartarus, which is the ultimate-horrible-place-to-go-when-you-die- place. Percy and his mom drive to Montauk Beach, but is met by Grover, who gives them a warning to go back. However, while driving, they are attacked by a Minotaur (monster that is half-bull, half-man.) He takes Percy's mom and Percy kills the Minotaur, before falling with exhaustion. Later, he and Grover are rescued and taken to Camp Half-Blood. While at Camp-Half Blood, Percy discovers that he is a demigod, a son of a mortal and one of the gods/goddesses in Greek Mythology. He also learns that Grover is a satyr (a mythical creature with horse-like features) and that Mr. Brunner is a centaur (half-horse, half-man). He also meets other demigods, like Annabeth, who is a daughter of Athena, Luke, who is a son of Hermes, and Clarisse, who is a daughter of Ares. Since no one knows who his god parent is, they place him in the Hermes cabin. Later, when they play a game of Capture the Flag, a trident appears above Percy, revealing that he is the son of Poseidon. Percy learns that Zeus, the king of the gods, thinks Poseidon used Percy to steal Zeus' lightning bolt, Zeus' chief weapon. The Oracle (a fortune-teller) tells Percy to return the stolen lightning bolt to Zeus to prove that he didn't steal it. Percy then has to go on an odyssey to find the lightning bolt with Annabeth and Grover. Percy, Annabeth and Grover defeat several mythological creatures, including the demon Medusa, who has snakes for hair. Now here's where it gets super confusing - at least for me. The trio find Hades, god of the dead, who has taken Percy's mom because he thinks Percy stole the Helm of Darkness (Hades' most powerful weapon). He says if Percy returns the Helm, Hades will return his mother. Percy realizes that Ares has all the stolen items. The backstory behind that is that when the lightning bolt was stolen, Zeus sent four of the most agile, quick, young and smart gods out to search for it, Apollo, Artemis, Athena and Ares. Only Ares found the true thief, Luke (the son of Hermes) but didn't turn him in. Instead Ares took the lightning bolt and the Helm of Darkness to start a war between the gods (because Ares is the god of war.) Percy challenges Ares to a duel, and surprisingly, wins. After getting all the items and returning them to their rightful owners, (and freeing his mother), Percy, Annabeth and Grover return to Camp Half-Blood. At Camp-Half Blood, Percy doesn't know that Luke is the thief (because Ares left that detail out) but Percy gets it quick enough when Luke tries to kill him with a scorpion. It is also revealed that Luke is a servant of Kronos, the King of the Titans, the enemy of the Gods. After all that, Percy decides to not stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, only in the summer and to spend the rest of the year with his mother. Okay, here it is. There's a lot of five-star reviews, and I like this book. But it isn't one of my favorites because for one, the characters seem a bit one-sided. Percy's brave, Annabeth's witty, Grover's loyal. That was pretty much everything interesting about the characters. That kicked it down one star. The imagery and world building - amazing. Up one star. Descriptions were pretty good. Up one star. Managed to make my emotions go up and down and all around. One star more. One star less because it was so confusing and generally, I couldn't understand it near the end even though I have a solid base of Greek Mythology. It is a good book, I just feel it could use some improvement. But let's just say this - it's a book that stuck with me through and through and basically, it's worthy of putting on a special shelf on my bookcase. ~FelicisOwl

Rise of the Earth Dragon: A Branches Book (Dragon Masters #1)

Rise of the Earth Dragon: A Branches Book (Dragon Masters #1)

By Tracey West

This is a great book about a boy who works with his mother on an onion farm. He then is summoned to the castle for an unknown reason. He then gets separated from his mom and is very scared. He then receives a part of the crystal that will help him bond with his dragon. But when he meets his dragon it looks like a giant worm. But things get worse. Thy get trapped in a tunnel with no way out! Can they get out, or will they fail?

From Percy Jackson: Camp Half-Blood Confidential (An Official Rick Riordan Companion Book): Your Real Guide to the Demigod Training Camp (Trials of Apollo)

From Percy Jackson: Camp Half-Blood Confidential (An Official Rick Riordan Companion Book): Your Real Guide to the Demigod Training Camp (Trials of Apollo)

By Rick Riordan

Super cool guide to camp half blood. Great read and i love the stories such as the curse, Rachel , etc. god (s) i can imagine how terrible the film was. Never hire Apollo to make you film. Def another great book by Rick Riodran

The Lost Continent (Wings of Fire, Book 11)

The Lost Continent (Wings of Fire, Book 11)

By Tui T. Sutherland

So wow, I'm really loving all the new things introduced in their next arc of the Wings of Fire series. This one takes place at the same time as the tenth book, and I definitely don't recommend trying to jump into the series here. You should definitely go back and read from the beginning. I also highly suggest you read the prequel, Darkstalker before you read this one. Now with that out of the way, I loved the new types of dragons brought into our journey through the world of Wings of Fire. They're all so cool and unique. I thought how we got the history of this Lost Continent was really well done, and you can see how over time the dynamics between the different types of dragons shifted and evolved along with the environment of the continent itself. I liked the characters a lot. Blue was sooo frustrating, but that's just how he is. I thought he went through a lot of growth in this physically and mentally which was awesome to see. Luna was a great sister character pushing Blue but not too hard. Cricket was a fun, eccentric character that asks all the questions I had while reading! I really liked all of the other characters as well, and Sundew actually made me laugh out loud as I was listening to the audiobook. There is some instalove in this which was kind of annoying, but I appreciated that the novel was self aware about it and kind of pokes fun of it using other characters. I'm pretty excited to see how the new dragonets will handle their situations going forward, because this new arc promises some awesome rebellion and personal growth. It was wonderful coming back to the series through fresh eyes. I certainly had fun exploring the world, as well as the new dragons, set up by the author. It was the best course of action to focus on three species of dragons in this new world as opposed to the six that were in the previous books, especially if we are going to bring the two continents together as hinted at in the end of the last book as well as the end of this book This series follows the wonderful pacing of the previous books, starting at a calm but curious beginning and immediately throwing you into the action. I certainly was never bored while reading the book. The characters were each unique in personality and I can tell that the author is trying to branch out their appearances to match their personalities I would say the only down side would be the protagonist. That doesn't seem like a good thing but I would say this critique is that the protagonist has a loose personality. We have the main things established for Blue: He follows rules, he doesn't want to fight and cause a scene, etc. but other than that we don't see until later how his personality falls in line with his belief (the author tries to make "following the rules" a personality but it isn't). I enjoyed seeing his character slowly coming into picture but I only wish that it was clear from the beginning so we could follow his growth better. This could also apply to the other characters but not as much. I would certainly recommend this book (I already have) because it is so much fun.

Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior (Book 1 8-Bit Warrior series): An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure

Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior (Book 1 8-Bit Warrior series): An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure

By Cube Kid

Runt is a twelve-year-old son of farmer villagers. His best friend is stump who is the son of village bakers. All runt wants is to be a warrior like Steve. his parents (especially his dad) expects him to follow in there foot steps and be a boring farmer. When he learns that the top 5 students (out of 150) will begin warrior training. With the opportunity him and his friend work extra hard, but is it enough for the coming dangers of even to become a warrior? Read this book asap to find out! I thought that even though it was short, it was funny & honestly I think you will change how you look at villagers for a longggg time haha. Thanks for reading -Ajg15's Reviews

Refugee

Refugee

By Alan Gratz

This book is amazing! It is about three different kids escaping their home countries to freedom. Isabel, a Cuban girl, is escaping in a small boat with her pregnant mother on board. The boat is built by family friends that were willing to lend a helping hand. Mahmoud, a Syrian boy, is escaping by foot and boat. He goes through many hard times on his long journey to Europe. Josef, a Jew, is escaping Nazi, Germany with his mother, father, and little sister Ruthie. He goes through challenges regarding his father who was captured and taken to a concentration camp where he was scarred for life. I made a connection to this book because I have read other books by Alan Gratz and with similar war-like themes. I would give this book a five-star rating because it is so enticing and makes you want to keep reading. I would recommend this book to 5th-7th graders.

Escaping Peril (Wings of Fire, Book 8)

Escaping Peril (Wings of Fire, Book 8)

By Tui T. Sutherland

I just finished Wings of Fire, Escaping Peril, a fantasy by Tui T. Sutherland, for the eighth time (It's still awesome!) and Wings of Fire is the best series ever! It is about a SkyWing named Peril who is a firescales (meaning that her scales are as hot as fire so she is super dangerous) and was very loyal to Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings. Until she met Clay. In the first book she is a Scarlet loyalist but then Scarlet Imprisons Clay and his friends and she falls in love with Clay. This makes her realize how evil Scarlet is and how horribly she treats her prisoners. Anyway now, in the eighth book Peril is no longer loyal to Scarlet and will do anything that she could ever possibly do to protect Clay. After Scarlet threatens Jade Mountain Academy, Peril realizes that the only thing that Clay wants, the only thing that will make Clay feel like he and his friends are safe, even if he will never admit it, is for Queen Scarlet to be killed. So Peril sets out to find the missing Queen and to kill her. Peril’s plan was to kill Scarlet immediately, without letting Scarlet talk her out of it. But things don't quite go as planned…

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire, Book 1)

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire, Book 1)

By Tui T. Sutherland

CleverGirl

This is my favorite book series EVER! I really wish they'd make a movie of the books. (Not anyone but Universal, otherwise they'd mutilate it) It has betrayal, battles, war, queens, friendship, romance, action, jokes, Hunger Games-style arena warfare, prophecies, secrets, and characters you love (Hello, DoD, and you too, Jade Winglet. Also Darkstalker, Deathbringer, and Riptide. 'Cuz they're too awesome) and characters you'll hate. (coughcough Scarlet, Morrowseer, Blister, and Burn cough) I can not believe that Warriors is more popular than this. I mean, Warriors is okay, but it kind of "lost the magic," by the time the second series rolled around. This one is still going strong. And it has DRAGONS! Not to mention, when I reread Warriors, I thought "I read this in the second grade?" (When I was in 2nd grade, I was OBSESSED with Warriors. I don't really recall why.) Long story short: 2nd grade. Bedtime. Couldn't get to sleep. Pulled out A Dangerous Path. Mom made a 'no Warriors at bedtime' rule after that. (What? Those dogs were scary as heck.) Now, this does have some violence. (Mostly in the first book, because, hey, when much of the plot revolves around an arena where dragons fight to the death, not everyone's gonna make it out alive) But unlike Warriors, you usually won't be lying awake at night because you're afraid to go to sleep. (Though I did have a couple of nightmares about these once.) All in all, this series is five stars out of five!!!!! (For age rating, I would read this to a MATURE 3rd grader and up. Don't read it to younger kids unless you know them well and they are very hardy. I mean, like, 2nd grade. Don't read these to kindergartners. They probably wouldn't get it anyway.)

The Enemy Above: A Novel of World War II

The Enemy Above: A Novel of World War II

By Michael P. Spradlin

The Enemy Above

The book The Enemy Above is the single greatest book I have ever read. I do not love reading books, however I had finished this book in one day without taking any breaks. It was thrilling, exciting, and had given me a deeper understanding on world war 2. If you are a fan of history, thriller and suspense you will undoubtedly love this book. For me this book is one hundred percent a 5 star. I have never read a book which allowed me to connect, and give me a life lesson at the same time. Anton's grandmother emphasized the theme and central idea of the story. For me, she was one of the greatest characters in the book. Reading this book allowed me to understand, connect and even visualize World War 2 and the holocaust. All hail Bube.

Dog Man: Mothering Heights: From the Creator of Captain Underpants (Dog Man #10)

Dog Man: Mothering Heights: From the Creator of Captain Underpants (Dog Man #10)

By Pilkey, Dav

It's so amazing Petey the cat got an Ineterveiw on his life. It was so sad and great it's funny when Li"l Petey was singing about POOP with his friend Molly. But even more funny when Commander cupcake came up haha. But the theme is love lasts forever and ever well at least all the characters are a family even with Petey. But Grandpa no do not count him.

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