The Heroes of Olympus

(Not your normal Percy Jackson series)

By Rick Riordan

Behind the Scenes

 The Heroes of Olympus  is the series that came out after the final book The Last Battle in the Percy Jackson series. I myself am a die-hard Percy Jackson fan and the question I am most commonly asked is "Is the new series any good?" I must say Rick Riordan has pleasantly surprised me with this series. I was very careful about picking it up, but I am now convinced that it is a good addition to the Percy Jackson legend.

****Warning Spoilers**** 

(I will do my best but there will be some spoilers in this review. Not life-threatening spoilers but spoilers none the less. If you are picky about that then go to the end and read the conclusion. ;) )

  The Prophecy for this book series.

Book 1: The Lost Hero

 Summery: In book one we begin the series by opening with Jason, Piper, and Leo. Jason has lost his memory and doesn't know where he is or who he is. Piper and Leo think they know Jason and convince him that he goes to school with them. As the story progresses they run into Annabeth (!!!) and she takes them to Camp Half-Blood.  Piper, Jason and Leo seem to sense that something is off at camp and their right, something is off. Percy Jackson has gone missing. Annabeth had found Jason, Piper, and Leo when she was searching for Percy. Meanwhile while Annabeth is running around looking for Percy, Chiron is worried about Jason who keeps spitting out Roman terms and has some weird markings on his arm that seem to make Chiron worried. Of course, in all Percy Jackson books there has to be a good quest, so that is what they do. These new characters run all across the country trying to save the goddess Hera, who has been captured. This is just the beginning, I will not reveal the rest of the book because you will have to read it and find out for yourself! Overall though I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

Good: The points I loved most in this book were that we were introduced to some great new characters with a vibrant personality. Jason gives you that little bit of Percy in the book, and Piper gives you that bit of Annabeth mixed with a girl we have never met before. Leo is a lot like Grover but brings  a side to the story that only he can bring. You will quickly fall in love with these characters. Jason slowly gets his memory back along the side.

Bad: I am sorry to inform you that Percy Jackson is not in this book. :( That is really the only part that I am torn up about.

Book 2: The Son of Neptune

Summery: Finally we get to Percy. The Son of Neptune starts with Percy doing what he does best. Fighting monsters. Unfortunately just like Jason he doesn't know who he is. The only difference is that he does remember one name. Annabeth. Percy is pretty sure that this is important but he can't tell why. Percy is found by a Roman camp a lot like camp Half-Blood. Camp Jupiter. There he meets Hazel and Frank. He befriends them quickly but they are pretty much the only friends he has for a while. Everyone else is very cautious about him.  The person who is most cautious of him is *SPOILER* Nico! Yes Hazel's "brother" Nico Valdez. Surprised? I was too. Anyway as the story goes on they, Percy, Frank, and Hazel, go on a quest. It is now in the series that we learn what the end game is. Gaea, the earth goddess, mother of Titans and all things creepy, is awakening. This quest brings Percy to places that he has and has not been. Along the way remembering stories from his past that will have you excited all the way to the end. Overall I give this book another 4 out of 5 stars.

Good: Personally I think this whole story is good. Rick Riordan did a good job at revealing some things about Percy that we never knew and bringing back, that same old Percy Jackson that we know and love.

Bad: Nico is the only thing that gets me in this book. He stands there and watches as Percy struggles to remember everything. I get where he is coming from. If he tells Percy who he is then it will ruin the prophecy but he still could have been nicer.

                                    

Book 3: The Mark of Athena 

Summery: The third book in the series is one of my favorites. We open the book with Percy finding Annabeth again (!!!) but we also open on Romans and Greeks. By now we have come to realize that there were to camps for half-bloods that never got along. Romans and Greeks have been fighting since the beginning of time. They are not exactly friends but must work together in order to defeat Gaea and stop her from rising. This book is really all about the half-bloods in the prophecy learning how to work together and become one team or family. The half-bloods are Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Piper, and Jason. As the quest to find Gaea, save Nico and find the Mark of Athena, threatens to pull them apart it also pulls them together. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. As you probably noticed I did not give as much detail in this book as the others, this is because I would be giving away to much and that is why you need to read it. This book is very good and well written.

Good: While some of the characters will get on your nerves at times you will grow to love them. I also enjoyed the relationship between Percy and Annabeth and how it really has not changed since the last time they were together. They both stay the same. 

Bad: It is hard to explain the bad aspects about this book. Annabeth gets a little it to stubborn at times and Piper is constantly worried about her relationship with Jason but other than that I enjoyed this book immensely.

Book 4: The House of Hades 

Summery: We finally get to the most interesting of these books. Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus. Nico is safe but weak. The team is not sure what to do other than do what Percy asked right before he fell into Tartarus. They have to go to the Doors of Death. This book is very good but it seems to have some things in it that I do not consider necessary ***Warning Spoiler!!!*** Rick Riordan does something in this book that ruined a character for me. He made Nico gay. This was probably the worst part for me, because I believe it is unnecessary to the plot. I have had many people tell me that they will not read this book because of what Mr. Riordan did but I disagree! This is still a very good book and if you skip that one part it can be very exciting like any other Percy Jackson book. I am not condoning that Mr. Riordan wrote in a gay character, but I do not like it when people judge a book just because of one part in which they disagree. I am giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Good: Throughout the book it is very touching how Percy and Annabeth are there for each other during their struggles. Being stuck in Tartarus can really stress a relationship, (if you know what I mean) but they pulled through and came out stronger than ever. 

Bad: I already explained the low part.

Conclusion: 

The story ends with the group getting back together to go and fight Gaea. The next book will be coming Fall 2014, The Blood of Olympus.

The Heroes of Olympus  is well made and rather enjoyable. In the title of this article, I said that this was not your normal Percy Jackson book. I was not kidding. This series deals with some topics that are not for the 9 to 12 age range. They deal with relationships and topics that are pressing on society. Do not take me the wrong way, Rick Riordan never does anything inappropriate with the relationships but he does make these books for an older audience. That is why I suggest this book for 13 years and up. 

For the whole series, I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I loved this series! I didn't enjoy it as much as the first Percy Jackson series but it did give a satisfying sequel.

I hope that you enjoyed this preview of The Heroes of Olympus  by Rick Riordan.

Feel free to comment and ask questions below.

Peace out! God bless,

                Piper Diamond :) 

 

 

Why Who? Series 1-7, 2005-2013

Have you ever met one the 'those' people? The people that stare at statues, trying not blink as if their life depended on it? Freak out when they can't remember why they did something? Treat numbers as if they are people? Have emotional breakdowns whenever you use the words 'Rose' and 'Pond' and seem to think that 'Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey' is a perfect response for just about everything? Well, odds are you've encountered a Whovian. As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, a Whovian is: 'A fan of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who'. Doctor Who holds multiple world records, including Longest Running Science Fiction TV Show in the World. Now you are asking yourself, 'Great, but what is it about?' That is a very complex question to answer.

If you were to ask a a person who only watches Doctor Who casually (that is, if you can find one) what Doctor Who is about, they will probably tell you something along these lines: “Doctor Who is about a time traveling alien called The Doctor, who travels about time and space in a blue police box from the 60's. The Doctor picks up people to adventure about with him as he fights monsters.” But if you were to ask a dedicated Whovian (easily identifiable by the traits mentioned above), they will likely stare at you and laugh quietly to themselves. Then they will tell you: “There is too much to tell. You will have to watch it.” Then they may go into a long rant about how to start watching and which episodes to avoid. Now that you have found out (to a certain extent) what the show is about, you'll be wanting to find out whether the show is appropriate for everyone.

The positive themes and content of Doctor Who far outweigh the negative. The Doctor, troubled as he may be, always does what is right, with the help of his companions, who provide an anchor to the real world for The Doctor. The general themes of Doctor Who involve, as cheesy as it sounds, love, friendship, doing the right thing and sacrifice. These themes are woven so deep into the show's fabric that it could not exist without them. Every episode has a message, even if it is buried deep. As far as negative themes, Doctor Who deals with a few heavy subjects. Death is one of the most common negative themes, and is by far the darkest. The rest generally deal with power, corruption and greed. At the end of each episode, The Doctor has righted most of the wrongs. Thankfully, the writers of Doctor Who kept language to a minimum. Innuendos are sprinkled throughout the seven season run, and a few characters drop some double meanings. To answer the question, 'Is Doctor Who a show for everyone?', I would have to a say 'Yes', with the possible exception of those who are easily affected by movies and TV shows.

Now that we are done with the tangible 'this is good, this is bad' aspect of the review, it seems time for me to give my opinion. If you can not already tell, I am a Whovian. Doctor Who is one of the few shows, to my knowledge, being made today that just about everyone can enjoy.; from grandma who only watches a show for the characters, the younger brother who just loves action, the people who love a good plot with twists and turns, to teenage girls who will fall madly in love with The Doctor, (trust me on this, I know many). On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm giving Doctor Who a 9.5.

By Ronald Murphy.

Doctor Who is owned by BBC.

The Book Thief, is going to want to make you, steal this book.

The Book Thief    By Eve St. Claire

“It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has

never been busier, and will become busier still.”

---PLOT---

           

            When Liesel Meminger lifted The Grave Diggers Handbook, out of the

snow, by her brothers gravesite, she was a nine year old illiterate in Nazi,

Germany. But, with the help of her foster father, she learns that words

have power. And that sharing those words could overpower any of the

hardships in her miserable life. Liesel’s passion for books, ties her to others

including the mayor’s insane wife, her foster father Hans Hubermann, and

Max, the Jewish fist fighter her family hides in the basement. This is a tale

of courage, love, friendship, death and grief - from Death’s point of view.

---MY OPINION---

            Zusak’s mastery of the language is stunning. The fact that death

narrated the book was both gripping and chilling. Rarely have I read a

book as profound, and moving as this one. It will move you to laughter and

tears, for me mostly at the same time. Zusak often defies the rules of

grammar and writing but does so in such a way that makes it even more

powerful. As wonderful as the writing was, it was a bit hard to

get through the beginning, it just didn’t draw me in. I thought that he

could have developed some of the characters more thoroughly.  The only

one who changed throughout the book was Mama. Despite these miner

flaws I absolutely loved this book. I rate this book $ $ $ $ $ out of $ $ $ $ $.

---CONTENT---

(---SPOILER ALERT!---)

            The book presents some moral and ethical discrepancies when Rudy

and Liesel decide to steal from various farmers and rob a boy on his bike.

There is continued usage of the words “S**t” in both German and English,

and “D**n”  they playfully use the words “A**” in German and English. At

one point a thieving teenage boy calls Liesel a “S***” and a “W****” I

definitely wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone under 13.

(---SPOILER ALERT---)

Rudy dies L

---CREDITS---

The Book Thief is By Markus Zusak.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf / New York randomhouse.com/teens

The Avengers Makes Me Believe in Heroes

by James Owen

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence throughout, and a mild drug reference.

Director: Joss Whedon

Studio: Paramount and Marvel Studios

Starring: Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man/Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/the Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Tom Hiddleson as Loki, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Stellan Skarsgard as Dr. Erik Selvig, Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill

What's the only thing better than a superhero? How about a team of superheroes?

In Marvel's The Avengers, writer and director Joss Whedon breaks cinematic ground as he brings some of the most legendary superheroes in history together into one film.

When the alien artifact known as the Tesseract falls into the hands of a dangerous and vengeful god named Loki (Tom Hiddleson), Colonel Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) brings together a team of incredible people called "the Avengers" to stop this dangerous foe. The heroes include the Captain America (Chris Evans), the billionaire genius Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) the god of thunder, and the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Along with them are the elite assassin, the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the expert bowman Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

Themes

The film focuses on the ideas of teamwork and sacrifice. Early on, the team struggles to get past the individual's own arrogance and independence to achieve what they need to. During a large argument, Bruce Banner (the Hulk) comments in disgust, "What are we? A team? No...we're a time-bomb." The Avengers also addresses the idea of sacrifice for the team. Tony Stark is an arrogant and complacent character who was defined as volatile, self-obsessed, and narcissistic. Captain America comments angrily, "The only thing you really fight for is yourself." He adds, "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play: to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Tony replies arrogantly, sticking his chin out, "I think I would just cut the wire." Throughout the movie, characters display their willingness to put themselves in harm's way to save others.

Content

As a whole, The Avengers displays family friendly content and themes. 

The action is violent, but is not very graphic. At the beginning of the movie, Loki harnesses the Tesseract's power to completely level a S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. Loki uses a small device with spinning blades to scan a man's eye, although he gives the impression that he is shredding it. No gore is shown, though.  (SPOILER ALERT!) Agent Coulson: one of the key agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, is impaled by Loki through the chest and is killed. In the climax of the movie, aliens invade New York City and do all kinds of damage and it's obvious that several people would have died. 

The language of this movie is fairly mild. The strongest that it gets is one whisper of "Oh s**t." "H**l" and "d**n" are used four or five times each. "P**s" is used twice. "A**" is used once. Loki uses the British vulgarity "quim."At one point Tony Stark questions Bruce Banner about how he keeps the Hulk in check. "What's your secret?" he asks. "Yoga? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

Near the beginning of the movie, the Black Widow wears a dress revealing cleavage. Other female characters, including the Black Widow, wear tight, form-fitting bodysuits. Tony comments about Pepper "bunking over" with him. Pepper appears to whisper a suggestive comment into Tony's ear.

Conclusion

In all of the build up to this film since 2008, Marvel's The Avengers delivers everything expected of it and much more. The characters, even though they are superheroes, are well rounded and down-to-Earth. You will care what happens to them. The all-star cast delivers an extraordinary performance of these extraordinary characters. Even though nearly half of the movie is computer generated, the action is engaging and fun.

As Loki's forces begin to invade the Earth, the Avengers feel helpless. "How do we do this?" they ask. Captain America faces the invading forces confidently and replies, "As team." And this team is one that will be remembered forever.

Have anything you'd like to add? Leave us a comment below!

Welcome to Teen View!

by James Owen

Are you tired of hearing adults talk about entertainment? Having a hard time figuring out if they're too liberal or just simply too paranoid about what you read and watch? You're not alone.

Welcome to Teen View! This is the place to come for book, movie, and TV show reviews from a teenage perspective. We have a team of experienced writers that will tell you what we think of entertainment. We'll give you content reviews and let you know if we enjoyed it. And you haven't heard the best part: none of us are older than sixteen! You don't have to go to the adults to hear about entertainment. Just come to us.

Our Team

-James Owen

-Piper Diamond

-Ronald Murphy

-Ariel Iven

-Bob Schoch

-Eve St. Claire 

-Shaniqua VI

Have a movie, TV show, or book you'd like us to review?

Leave us a comment below!