The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

This book will be my June 2016 Reading Assignment Read. Unfortunately I did not finish a book in May, so I will have to try to make that up in July. It also works for Once Upon a Time Challenge since I read it before June 21st, just have not had time to review it.

Disney Hyperion

Magnus Chase becomes more powerful after he dies. Magnus is the child of a Norse god, something he learns shortly before dying, when his uncle has him retrieve a sword that once belonged to his father. Magnus also happens to be the cousin of Annabeth Chase and they only share a brief conversation before most of the excitement begins. Because Magnus fights a fire giant and dies, a Valkyrie named Sam, takes him to Valhalla. There he learns that Ragnorak will begin soon, unless he can stop the Fenris Wolf from being released. Joined by a dwarf and an elf and Sam, who has been exiled from being a Valkyrie, the four race against time to stop the end of the world.

I liked hearing more about Norse mythology, which is one area of mythology that I haven't studied at all. This series is a little more YA than Riordan's other series, but still fine for middle school age. I didn't really like Magnus all that much as a character, which surprised me, but he is whiny at time, an "atheist," (really more of an agnostic, no matter how much he brags on being an atheist), and not all that impressive in this book. I think he will slowly mature. I did however really like Sam. Sam is a Muslim girl trying to deal with all the expectations in her life along with all the requirements of being a Valkyrie and she is not whiny at all. She is the stronger of the two, but has been dealing with her dual life for awhile, so I am hoping her mature will rub off on Magnus.  I did also love that the relationship between the two is not going to be romantic. Sam has an arranged marriage with a fiance she loves and the relationship between her and Magnus is more like brother and sister, reminiscent of Carter and Sadie. I am really happy about this, because it allows for more action in the book, rather than mooning over another character. Really the main problem I had was with religion in this book, which surprised me, because Riordan deals with this so well in his other series. He says Magnus is an atheist and tries to make this cool, but Magnus even admits to not knowing for sure, which makes him agnostic. Sam's religion is kind of glossed over and I would love to have seen a bit more of her Muslim heritage, because it does play a role in her life, but from the bit we see, it seems to be portrayed accurately. I am sure it is hard for him to include religion without really talking about his own beliefs and trying to accurately portray those of others, so other than Magnus' one rant, it was not badly done. This book is definitely more action packed than Riordan's others and a bit more mature. It is not quite as good as the Olympians and Lost Heroes, but few books are. 3.5 cups of cocoa and I can't wait until October!

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read this for the Little House Read-a-long and for the Story Sprite purple path for setting winter/snowy. It is also a Newbery read for the Newbery challenge.

Harper and Row

Well this book is definitely about winter and snow! Laura and her family who have settled down close to De Smet decide to spend the winter in the store that Pa built in town instead of in their shanty, after a Native American predicts a long winter. Good thing Pa believes the man, because blizzard after blizzard hits the area and the trains cannot make it to town. Living on meager provisions, Laura and her family struggle through the winter, but they are a family who grows stronger in horrible conditions. When the town is out of food, Almanzo Wilder and another young man, Cap Garland decide to risk their lives to find a farmer who may have grown some extra wheat. Will they make it before the next blizzard and will the families be able to survive until spring?


This one definitely shows how hardy the Ingalls and other frontier families were! It also shows Pa's levelheadedness in dealing with price gouging and Almanzo's heart as he braves the elements for others. I also enjoyed how music plays such an important role in keeping them sane and almost cried with Laura when Pa could not play because of his swollen fingers. It was also nice to have another Mr. Edwards cameo as he leaves money behind for Mary's college fund. Laura definitely matures in this one and becomes more of an adult than a child as she helps Pa twist straw and tries to keep a cheerful front with her younger sisters. 5 cups of cocoa and a sweet story of a scary time.

2016 Virtual Adult Summer Reading Program signup

Virtual Adult Summer Reading is hosted by Valerie and Octavia and you can sign up at this link. I love Summer Reading and the theme for this challenge is Get Hooked on Books! I would like to do Minnow Level which is 6 to 10 books. Valerie and Octavia are going to have monthly Twitter chats and weekly challenges, so this looks like a lot of fun. I am going to read books for my book clubs and a few books I have been wanting to read.

My reading list:
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Zookeeper's Wife
Kentucky Heat by Fern Michaels
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

I will update this as needed, particularly when I find out what August's book club books are. Thanks to Valerie and Octavia for hosting! 

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

This was my June TBR book and will also work for the Prequels/Sequels challenge and for the purple path for story sprites for book with a sarcastic character, since there are several of these in the book. It is also my first COYER read! I used it on the Bingo sheet as E24 on Board Two. This is the fourth book in the series, so it will have spoilers for the first three books.

Hyperion

Cammie knew when she left last summer that searching for answers about the Circle would be dangerous and she knew that her friends and Zach would be angry with her for not telling them she was leaving, but what she didn't know is that she would not remember the summer at all. Cammie wakes up in a convent in the Alps with no memory of the summer and finds out it is October. She quickly calls her mother and is taking back to the Gallagher Academy. Only she is not the same Cammie. She has black hair, is rail thin, and can now operate a rifle. She knows she must remember what happened this summer, because the Circle no longer needs her alive and that again makes her a danger to everyone. However she knows that she can't run anymore and that her friends and family always have her back.

I loved this one and so far it is my favorite in the series. Cammie and her friends have to mature quite a bit in this one and Cammie's relationship with Zach becomes a true relationship with shared secrets and a few kisses, definitely still middle school appropriate for younger YA readers. The plot in this one is awesome and wraps up a few dangling points, like what happened to Cammie's father and just exactly who the Circle is. I also loved that you can see the girls growing up, but still growing together. In ways the girls' friendship and relationship to the school reminds me of Harry Potter and Hogwarts, but only in that both accurately depict how we change over time and how we become more mature. I will hate to see this series end and will be hopefully starting the last book soon. 5 cups of cocoa! This is a great quick read series!

COYER Summer Vacation signup

I am definitely signing up for COYER Summer Vacation, since that is the challenge that first brought my attention to COYER. The signup link is here. I love all the fun challenges and the interactions between participants. As far as a reading list goes, I am still not for sure. I would love to finish at least 10 books by the end of COYER and to finish one or two ebooks. Other than that, I hope to make a reading list soon. You all should definitely sign up for this one. Thanks to Michelle, Berls, and Stormi for putting this all together!

Sci-Fi Summer Read-a-thon Wrapup

I was able to finish both books by June 7 with a total of 300 pages! I still need to write the review for These Broken Stars and Sword of Summer. Thank you to Michelle for hosting!

My May TBR: And the Winner is...

So I spent most of the week with a tie and had to ask the COYER group for help. Thanks you guys, because not only did the tie break, but I had my highest number of votes ever at 20! The winner by two votes is...

Hyperion Books

I am excited to visit with Cammie and her friends again and I will be one book closer to finishing the series. Thank you all again!