Where? To the circus, of course.įortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz-sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. The sardonic tone of the narrator’s voice lends a refreshing air of realism to this riotously paced quest tale of heroism that questions the realities of our world, family, friendship and loyalty. Along the way, Percy and his cohort run into Medusa, Cerberus and Pan, among others.

Dodds transformed into a shriveled hag with bat wings, a Fury, and was trying to kill him? Did he really vanquish her with a pen that turned into a sword? One need not be an expert in Greek mythology to enjoy Percy’s journey to retrieve Zeus’s master bolt from the Underworld, but those who are familiar with the deities and demi-gods will have many an ah-ha moment. What if it isn’t his fault? What if all the outrageous incidents that get him kicked out of school are the result of his being a “half-blood,” the product of a relationship between a human and a Greek god? Could it be true that his math teacher Mrs. Officially diagnosed with ADHD, his lack of self-control gets him in trouble again and again.

Twelve-year-old Percy (full name, Perseus) Jackson has attended six schools in six years.

nature” is a recognizable subgenre of adventure stories, but Hobbs skillfully inserts an eco-conscious twist, asking readers and characters to recognize that in this case, “nature” is man-made.Įdgar Award–winning Riordan leaves the adult world of mystery to begin a fantasy series for younger readers. The final confrontation is a bit far-fetched, but readers who have stuck with the story that far will likely not care. The geography of the area and climate are well-delineated, becoming an integral part of the story. Narrator Nick’s voice is consistent, befitting his upbringing in the small town of Aklavik. On the expedition, one possible disaster after another occurs, and Nick and Ryan have to cope with them all, relying on knowledge of the terrain and the best survival techniques of both cultural heritages. Extremely aggressive and predatory, the 900-pound bear becomes a symbol of the frightening consequences that occur in the wild due to human meddling in the environment. Nick’s discovery of a grizzly/polar bear hybrid at the very outset of the book sets the stage for a nonstop survival adventure. Half-Inuit Alaskan Nick, 15, finds adventure with his older, white half brother Ryan on a National Geographic photographic expedition in Yukon Territory.

Never Say Die by Will Hobbs