Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another from Emma. She’s in 7th grade and a voracious reader. We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too! Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.
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Hey! It’s me! I have returned with a glorious book! The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan!!!!! The Hidden Oracle is the first book in Riordan’s new Greek mythology series, The Trials of Apollo. Just let me tell you right now, this book was flippin’ amazing!!! It was easily some of his best writing yet. Here’s the GoodReads summary…
“How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favor.
But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.”
If you’ve read any of Rick Riordan’s books before, you know that this a very different plot than what we’ve seen before. From Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief, to Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard, and all the books in between, Riordan has spun tales about a teenage demigod battling monsters, spirits, and magicians. And don’t get me wrong, I live for those stories, but it was starting to get a little repetitive. Not that they are all the same story, because they’re not, they’re completely different. It’s also Rick Riordan’s writing style; troubled teenagers who happen to be half god. So it’s not like I was getting tired of it, it’s that I wanted something a little different. And Trials of Apollo is exactly what the fandom needed.
For the first time ever, instead of writing as a teenage demigod, Riordan has given an actual GOD their own series. This series is from the perspective of the Greek god of archery, music, and medicine, Apollo. All of Riordan’s signature traits, including witty and sarcastic remarks, shine through but in a new way. Riordan definitely executed this amazingly. Just the quality of the writing was unbelievable. Seriously, as I was reading it, I felt like I was reading the original series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, all over again.
Another big point about this is the naturalness of the plot and the character arcs. In the beginning of the book, we saw Apollo as spoiled, whiney, and rude. But as the story went on, he slowly grew to realize that he needed to take the blame for his mistakes and fix them. Sometimes in a book, the author will force this kind of change onto the character, and it doesn’t feel right. In The Hidden Oracle, it was timed perfectly and it was a natural change.
The relatability to the characters is another important factor too. As a teenager, I could relate to problems that these characters were dealing with, such as dealing with immense amounts of pressure or feeling like the whole world is against you. The characters are so REAL, and that’s a gift to not only the readers, but to the author.
The last big point is the captivating-ness. I grew up with all of Riordan’s characters. Percy Jackson, Carter and Sadie Kane, Magnus Chase, and so many more, are all heroes of mine. The first time I read the Lightening Thief, I was 9 years old. And now I’m 13, and I still connect with the characters. With Rick Riordan’s writing, it’s so easy to be a part of the story. You can feel and think like the characters without trying. It’s so dang captivating.
I give The Hidden Oracle a 10 out of 10, 5 star, 100% rating. I really hope you guys read it because it’s a must! I absolutely loved it and I have no doubt you will too. Bye!
P.S. Here’s a little sneak peek to my next book review…
“A Selection can only have one winner. A princess only has one heart.”
-ECtheBOOKLION
Buy the Book:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Trials-Apollo-Book-Hidden-Oracle/dp/148473274X/
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