"The Tower of Nero" by Rick Riordan

The Tower of Nero (Oct. 6, 2020) by Rick Riordan.

*This is the final novel in a pentalogy.*

Perhaps the most insulting thing of the past six months for Apollo? Being transformed into a mortal teenager with acne and also the moniker Lester Papadopoulos. Apollo and Meg have traversed the United States freeing ancient Oracles, vanquishing odious monsters and prevailing over two of the Triumvirate’s evil emperors (Commodus and Caligula). They’ve endured grave tragedies, certain of which will take longer to process. And now they’re making their way to Manhattan, ready (well, maybe not truly ready) to confront Nero Claudius Caesar, who triangulates out the Triumvirate. He’s also Meg’s abominable, abusive stepfather. For Meg’s part, she does reunite (not gently or happily or pain-free) with Luguselwa. Lu is a Gaul (“the name that Romans gave to the Celts and their territories”), and her name means beloved of the god Lugus (per Apollo, “Those Celtic deities were a strange, fierce bunch.”). Lu is fierce, and she’s plenty bad, but she’s actually got a conscience, which is lightyears more than I can say for Nero. Beyond overcoming Nero, there is an even more ancient and powerful threat: Apollo’s archnemesis, Python, who’s moved into the sacred Oracle of Delphi like it owns the place. Rude. If Apollo can defeat his enemies, he will become the god Apollo again, and if he doesn’t, well, he’ll be dead. Apollo won’t be alone, though (or not always). There’s Meg, allies from Camp Half-Blood, and let’s not forget the Arrow of Dodona. Oh, and troglodytes. Trogs are “a race of subterranean humanoids who eat lizards and fight bulls.” They also, apparently, really like wearing hats, and they think any human language is the “barbaric language of the crust-dwellers.” They have a habit of referring to mortals as lizards, too, so remember your manners, honor them and, if they don’t eat you, be sure to thank them for not doing so.

            Confession: I had pre-ordered this novel last year, received it on release day and read it right away. Why am I this late in publishing this post? Well, I let the books pile up, this one was always at the bottom of the up-and-down pile, and now we’re here. So, at least it’s finally shining in its own post!

            The final in The Trials of Apollo screams, battles and derides its way through to the end. As it’s from Riordan, it’s no surprise that this middle-grade novel showcases an action-driven plot, constant adventure that often drips with danger and high potential for great bodily harm (and/or death) and familiar characters we’ve so enjoyed traveling through these stories with (and have lamented those that haven’t made it)(still book-grieving over that one death). Monster gore is overshadowed by consistent snark and wit, so I don’t think readers will be too disturbed thataway. For younger readers unaware of the real-life Nero Claudius Caesar, do not worry that any parallels are explained (they are not). Nero’s megalomania in this series is just for this series. Riordan wraps up this series by dishing out just deserts. Sadly, Apollo lets us know that he’s fresh out of unicorns to give as gifts, and I do hope that, just because he’s gained some humility, he doesn’t quit gracing us with his terrible – I mean, terribly rewarding – haikus.

            Book One: The Hidden Oracle (did not review)

            Book Two: The Dark Prophecy (did not review)

            Book Three: The Burning Maze

            Book Four: The Tyrant’s Tomb

"The Last Fallen Star" by Graci Kim

The Last Fallen Star (May 4, 2021) by Graci Kim.

*This is the first novel in a trilogy by a debut author.*

An important time is coming to the Oh family. Riley will soon watch a rite of passage as her older sister, Hattie, is initiated into the Gom clan. For them, Korean mythology isn’t folklore; it’s real life. The Gom are the Healers, one of six Gifted Clans in the Mortalrealm (a.k.a. Earth). Riley wants so badly to be a healer when she turns 13, earning her Gi bracelet so she can cast spells without adult supervision, but she’s a saram (someone not gifted with magic). She is adopted and has no recollection of her birth parents. Then her brave, enthusiastic sister comes up with the idea of casting a spell at her initiation ceremony that will allow her to share half her magic with Riley. It’s temporary, but it’s something. Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t unfold as perfectly as it should, and Riley learns something shocking about herself, something that would have gotten her banished and seen as cursed even as a baby. Hattie hatches another idea and convinces Riley of its practicality. Riley’s best friend, Emmett Harrison (also saram and a masterful baker), comes, too, as does Boris, the “dragon-on-wheels” (the latter courtesy of Noah Noh, who’s totally crushing on Hattie). Hattie’s new idea ends badly, as this next attempt violates the laws of the Godrealm, and now Hattie’s life is fading. To save her, Riley must accomplish the impossible by finding the last fallen star. But what exactly is it? And where is it hiding?

            Did I read this story because I love mythological fantasy adventures? Yes. Did I want to read this story because it showcases Korean mythology, and I identify as both Korean and American? Also yes. Does the story have a very helpful Glossary in the back for anyone unfamiliar with the Korean terms and how to pronounce them? You betcha (and I do love me a well-informed Glossary). Graci Kim’s writing prowess is on full display with this story, which features relatable characters, time-is-of-the-essence adventure, magic and, yes, emotion. Watching Riley grow in the story toward her own self-acceptance and the struggle and emotion that goes along with it is empowering to read, but the story is also tempered with wit, Korean culture staples (like H-Mart and tteokbokki) and Korean mythological creatures (e.g. inmyeonjo, dokkaebi and cheollima). Oh, and one can never forget references to K-pop. According to the author, “All but one of the BTS members are Gumiho. You heard it here first.”

            I can only speak for myself, but I appreciate when the main characters (and even the supporting ones we get to know well) have flaws and struggles. After all, we do as children and adults. To struggle with your identity only adds to how mentally and emotionally wrought that can make any person, no matter the age. The plot is engaging, the mythology is modern, the adventure is rollicking and the potential for calamity calamitous. It is a thrill ride of snappy humor with heartfelt moments not to be forgotten (go “leaky-bladder eyeballs”). For those of you living in gifted homes, please do remember to compliment your house-sins (because no one wants the toilet-sin to make your bathroom breaks uncomfortable).

The Positive Page-turner's Challenge: Take 12

Hello, my fellow readers! What have you been reading this year? Are you meeting your reading goals? I’m back with the 12^th Edition of my Positive Page-turner’s Challenge. I introduced my first Challenge in November of 2016. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost five years!

            As with all of my previous Challenges, I will donate one package of bar soap for every book that I read, chapter books on up. I have been donating Ivory brand soap, and I only ever get the 10-bar packs. Other brands are welcome, too, but as the soap is most often being donated to women at GoServ Global’s Birthing Center in Haiti and their newborn babies, gentler brands or those soaps marked as being for sensitive skin are ideal. They will not; however, turn away full bar soaps of any brand.

            For the extra feature of my Challenge, instead of donating a one-time amount of money per book, I am going to do something a little different. Including the picture book in the above photo, there are 18 books. With that number in mind, I will be completing a combination totaling 18. This will include individual events (e.g. donating money to an organization, purchasing a material item to support an organization) and donations of time (e.g. packing food). Let’s say that I donate $50 to a local charity and volunteer at the local Humane Society for two hours. This would be 1 event + 2 hours of time = 3 total. So, in that case, I would have 3 of 18 books represented.

            I will be tracking these events and donations of time in the Comments below. It’s not to brag or be prideful, but to hold myself accountable. I don’t know if it’ll take me the rest of the year to complete this or into next year, but it WILL get accomplished! If you support organizations with time and/or financial support, please share which organizations those are and why you support them. Keep spreading love and kindness!

Rutabaga's Reads 2021: Part 6

The books in this compilation represent my first middle-grade post for the year. I’ve been reading a lot of middle-grade (MG) fiction this year, so I expect three MG compilations for 2021!

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Apr. 7, 2020) by Roshani Chokshi.

*This is the third novel in a pentalogy (originally a tetralogy).*

The reincarnated Pandava sisters (Aru, Mini and Brynne) have one mission: rescue two targets, one of whom is close to blurting out a prophecy which could spell victory for the Pandavas or the Sleeper. It turns out the “targets” are the remaining Pandava sisters: twins Nikita (sometimes Nikki) (has the gift of chlorokinesis) and Sheela (a clairvoyant). Their soul fathers are the Ashvin twins, meaning they’re the reincarnations of Nakula and Sahadeva, “the brothers famous for their beauty, archery and equestrian skills, and wisdom.” They rescue the twins, but the mission fails, because the Sleeper’s minions hear the prophecy, so the now-five Pandava sisters, Pandava adjacent Aiden (affectionately called “Wifey”) and new friend Prince Rudra (Rudy) of Naga-Loka (naga, yes, he’s a serpent prince) embark on a different mission. They must locate Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree that came out of the Ocean of Milk when it was churned by the asuras (sometimes good, sometimes bad semidivine beings). War between the devas (Sanskrit term for the race of gods) and the demons appears imminent, but Aru is convinced that she can turn everything around if she reaches Kalpavriksha first and makes her wish. Like the saying goes: Be careful what you wish for. What Aru may learn may cause her to hate the Sleeper, but what is obvious is that the world is complicated. Right and wrong are not “as easily divided as the black and white sections of an Oreo.” Plus, you know, the world is not a cookie.

            Of the stories I’ve read in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, the Aru Shah books are hands-down my favorite. (They’re all good, truly, but I currently favor this series.) There’s no such thing as lag time in this story. It is lightning-paced and the magical Otherworld remains so believable that I continuously want to be able to jump into the story and visit all of the places. The author notes that the Hindu mythology focused on is but a slice of the mythology. Even with a slice, the story remains fully packed with action, legend and lots of words I need to look up in the Glossary. The characters are witty and pick on each other with fondness, battles are intense but not scary, and the entirety of the story is compelling, diverse and multifaceted. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find me a lightning bolt that can transform into a hoverboard.

            Fun fact: The Ashvin twins are often depicted with the faces of horses. Nothing against horses, but, fortunately, Nikita and Sheela do not carry such physical traits as that.

            Book One in the Pandava series: Aru Shah and the End of Time

            Book Two: Aru Shah and the Song of Death

Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy (Dec. 1, 2020) by Melissa de la Cruz.

*This is the first book in a series.*

North Pasadena, California, is a place where nothing ever happens, according to 12-year-old Filomena Jefferson-Cho. But on the day that her way-too-overprotective parents finally let her walk to the bookstore by herself to get the 13^th and final book in the Never After series, not only is there no book, but a cute boy in a cloak who reminds her of Never After’s hero, Jack Stalker, follows her toward home and she saves them from an Ogre’s Wrath by using a fairy spell like is used in the series. (Mind. Blown.) Turns out, it really is Jack Stalker, and he’s accompanied by his loyal friend Alistair Bartholomew Barnaby, whom she recognized right away. Filomena isn’t quick to believe Jack, but is eventually swept up by the story come to life. It turns out the first 12 books aren’t only tales, but stories of a real place. Queen Olga, an ogre of Orgdale, wants Aladdin’s lamp for the powerful magic of the genie residing inside. She’s been driving away the fairies, but it’s the 13^th fairy, Carabosse, who’s not been seen since the day she cursed Westphalia’s baby princess (Eliana). The princess was never found, either. Carabosse knew she’d become reviled, but she accepted that to put her plan in motion to save Never After and her baby niece.

                        “Until one carrying my mark arrives–

                        Until the dragons rise–

                        And the wolves return–

                        To wake you all from nightmares deep.” --Carabosse (p. 175)

            I’ve enjoyed multiple books by de la Cruz, and I include this first book in The Chronicles of Never After series. One of the bits I loved immediately is that Filomena is adopted and, like me, has parents that love her. There’s a part where she thinks, “Maybe fairies would be nicer than most kids.” She’s referencing kids rudely wondering if she’s “black or Asian or white or what on earth was she (all of the above).” Filomena has “curly dark hair, dark brown eyes, and skin the color of maple syrup.” Her dad is Korean-Filipino and her mom is British. While I grew up an adoptee born in Korea (South) with Caucasian parents and didn’t have that exact rudeness flung at me, I do personally understand what it’s like to wonder about one’s biological kin. And, as an adult, that mostly translates to, “I wonder if there’s anything in my birth family medical history that I might wish I were aware of?”

            Happily, this story read quickly. It has elements that I expect of a middle-grade novel, such as middle-school angst, the latest cute boy and mean kids (who also exist as mean trolls, so that works well for them). And it has elements that I appreciate like a complex female protagonist, quirky but likable characters (main and supporting), magic and action that keeps the story moving swiftly forward. There are lines dropped that refer to other characters we are familiar with (or think that we are). Sure, the antagonists are a bit one-sided, but this story remains a refreshing twist to the fairy tales we learned about as kids. I’m pleased that no one ended up as “ogre toast,” so that I can look forward to the next installment.

One True King (June 2, 2020) by Soman Chainani.

*This is the sixth/final book in a series / final in a related trilogy.*

*SPOILERS included, though not major spoilers*

Camelot is a mess, and friends/allies young and older are dying. Japeth the Snake is masquerading as his twin brother, King Rhian, reigning over Camelot, trying to kill Tedros, Agatha, Sophie and the rest of their friends and allies. From Tedros, he wants Camelot’s ring, because if he destroys it, he believes he’ll become the One True King, able to destroy the Storian and use his own pen to write the stories he wants. Perhaps even bring back the one person he loved. Groups of friends are on other quests, but it’s not like the first stories. They’ve gone beyond Good and Evil (they’re dealing with an evil supreme, if that can be a thing). They’ve gone beyond Ever Afters. It’s still the Tale of Sophie and Agatha, but so many others are involved. One group needs to locate Merlin (and things turn very interesting with the Merlin they find). Others remain at the School for Good and Evil. Others’ whereabouts are unknown. But how are Evers, Nevers, the teachers that remain alive and the occasional outside ally going to defeat Japeth and all of the other kingdoms that are on Camelot’s side? Not Tedros’ Camelot, but Japeth-as-King-Rhian’s? How will Tedros win his late father’s (the King Arthur) tests when he can’t seem to decipher the clues and Japeth is always two steps ahead?

            I have been steadfast in my reading of all six of Chainani’s stories, but let me say right off that I truly hope that these stories are DONE. Certainly, the author has created a storybook empire, but it’s now teeming with so many characters outside of the main characters that I’m certain I couldn’t name them all anymore. Not only this story, but the series overall, I have found to be bewitching, dark, witty and thrilling. I’ve been abhorred by a main character that’s been frighteningly evil but has also shown goodness. I’ve detested many of the deaths but have also found it satisfying if a supremely evil character hasn’t survived. I applauded the Knights of Eleven when female knights were all chosen, I rejoiced that the series reached its version of a happily-ever-after, and my eyes may have misted when a character couldn’t stay a little longer because, “The work is done,” but mostly I’m happy that this series appears to be complete. These stories have showcased that true love is messy (though hopefully not this violently messy) and that Good and Evil isn’t simply black and white. There is a vast swath of gray in-between.

            Book One: The School for Good and Evil

            Book Two: A World Without Princes

            Book Three: The Last Ever After (did not review)

            Book Four (The Camelot Years 1): Quests for Glory

            Book Five (The Camelot Years 2): A Crystal of Time

Rutabaga's Reads 2021: Part 5

You know I couldn’t go through this year without talking about American Girl 2021’s Girl of the Year (GOTY), Kira Bailey. While I do believe these books are now marketed as middle-grade, they also read as chapter books. In other words, for intermediate readers, where much of the book contains prose, but also contains occasional pictures to accompany what the reader’s read.

Kira Down Under (Dec. 26, 2020) by Erin Teagan.

Summer vacation has arrived, and Kira is excited to travel with her mom to a wildlife sanctuary in the Australian bush run by her Aunt Mamie and her wife, Auntie Lynette. Mamie is a veterinarian, which is what Kira wants to be when she’s older, as she loves caring for animals. She falls instantly in love with Bean, an orphaned koala joey, but she soon learns that rehabilitation involves releasing animals back into the wild, hard as that is when one grows attached. Kira meets the Curry family: Alexis is almost 11, her mom is the vet nurse at Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary, and her dad is the ranger. Kira regards Alexis as a quick friend, but she envies that Alexis is living the life she wishes she were living. When the two of them wind up in a spat around the same time she puts the wombats in danger with an unknown predator on the loose, while Mamie’s in the hospital with an emergency health issue, Kira feels she can do nothing right.

            Remembering that we were all 10 years old once is helpful when it seems a character is being too dramatic or immature, and because of that, I believe that Teagan represented the character’s age well. There are many people of all ages, the young included, that have passion projects, and caring for animals is obviously Kira’s. I appreciate that she’s portrayed as having a nurturing nature and educates herself, but is presented with the struggle of having to let the wildlife they care for go. It feels authentic. As all American Girl stories do, they celebrate all girls. I hope this story encourages others to be active responders in any “do-something situation” and ignites a flame for traveling (if one doesn’t already enjoy traveling)!

Kira’s Animal Rescue (Dec. 26, 2020) by Erin Teagan.

How far would you go if you thought you’d found an animal widely believed to be extinct? Kira and, begrudgingly, Alexis, team up with PhD student Evie to attempt to track the paradise parrot. Unfortunately, bushfires are threatening the sanctuary. Evacuating the wilderness vet clinic is daunting enough, but it’s downright overwhelming to Kira to include evacuating all of the wild animals, too. The sanctuary has a roundabout number, but 200 acres is a lot to cover, especially when all of the animals must be evacuated. Kira becomes desperate to save a wallaby joey who jumps out of his mother’s pouch and rushes off. During this time, Evie has become practically obsessed with finding proof of the paradise parrot. She goes out to the parrot’s habitat despite the threat of the bushfire. When Kira discovers something disturbing, will she have the courage to speak up?

            Of the two, I liked this story even more. I’ve never been to Australia (or New Zealand, but someday, hopefully) and so cannot truly fathom the intensity of what it would mean to have to evacuate because of bushfires or even the threat of one. When Kira, others at the sanctuary and volunteers in the area arrive to help evacuate the animals, the reader can feel the gravity of the situation and the fluttering fear at the thought of not saving the wildlife. Yes, there is sweetness to the tale – it’s an American Girl book, after all – but there is weight to it. It’s not all bouncing kangaroos and inquisitive wombats, but drought-fueled bushfires and catching a lie, too. This story encourages action against climate change and highlights some young ladies who are global changemakers.