House of Night: The Graphic Novel #1

book: House of Night (Graphic Novel)
author: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian, Joëlle Jones
series: House of Night Graphic Novels #1
pages: 132
genres: vampires, young adult, mythology
publication date: November 9th, 2011
publisher: Dark Horse comics

Until recently, Zoey Redbird was an average high-school student worrying about grades, boys, and breakouts. But priorities have a way of changing when you are Marked as a vampyre, enroll in the vampyre academy House of Night, and have to figure out a whole new social hierarchy, affinities for elemental magic, and physiological changes that make you crave blood.

I started reading this graphic novel with high expectations. Not because it was House of Night, but because it was a graphic novel and I LOVE graphic novels. Maybe I would have liked it better without those high expectations, because this graphic novel wasn't what I expected it to be.

This graphic novel's cover looks pretty attractive, but the inside drawings aren't as beautiful as I expected them to be according to the cover. It might, of course, just be me who has too high expectations, or just my own preferences, but for me it just didn't have the WOW-factor. 

The story told in this novel has nothing much to do with the actual series. It took place between the first and the second novel of the actual series. You get to know how Zoey came up with her ideas about how to rule the Dark Daughters. The story is divided into 5 parts, Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit. All of them have a lesson bound to them, about some type of ancient mythology. For instance, there was one about Circe, a Witch from ancient Greek Mythology, and one about Herakles, aka Hercules, a hero from ancient Greece. *not all were Greek, but just to give 2 examples* That was my favourite part about the story, the myths. What I didn't like about it is that the myths were vampyre-ified. Nobody should mess with my myths!

A good kick-off for a graphic novel series, and I will check out the next one, but not the best graphic novel I have ever read.

I give this graphic novel 2.5 stars.

xo Mar

A review copy was provided by the press and Netgalley, in exchange for a honest review. I was not given anything in reward for a positive review, I have just given my honest opinion on this book.

The lightning thief by Rick Riordan

book: The lightning thief
written by: Rick Riordan
series: Percy Jackson #1
genre: Middle Grade, mythology
pages: 377
publication date: June 1st, 2005
publisher: Miramax Books

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.


Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

first thoughts:

I wish I had counted the massive number of people who have recommended this book to me, because it is immensely huge! And they all were right. I haven't seen the movie, mainly because people said it disappointed them after reading the book. Have you read it and have you seen the movie? Should I watch it? Put it in the comments, please :)


full review:
Oh my, why haven't I read this book earlier?! I absolutely love this book with all my heart, and never want to return it to the library. I need my own copy of this book!
Even though this book is oficially a middle grade book, and I usually don't like MG books, this book will be one of my forever-favourites! The humorous way Riordan writes made me smile all the time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from the first word till the end.
Riordan's way of mixing mythology and contemporary life is amazing. I love Greek mythology, and it was so amazing to first see normal-day situations and then recognise some myth in it, the characters, that were actually gods, and of course, the whole plot.
Percy's character is amazing, and he uses hilarious oneliners. He somehow reminded me of a stereotype best friends' little brother. He is full of anger, but can also be sweet. He makes friends as easy and quick as enemies. Then he figures out that he is a demi-god *which most readers of this book already know before opening it, the ones that look at the cover...* and that he is the most powerful demi-god of all. His normal life just continues. He doesn't get evil and he didn't brag about his powers, but still he kicks ass, like a boss :D
When Percy has to go on an amazing but super dangerous quest to save the world from WWIII, he encounters lots of monsters, gods and other mythical creatures, even some of my favourites *including Medusa* and it gets more epic by the page.
Riordans writing style seemed pretty easy to me, but I don't really care, since this book is classified as a Middle Grade book. It would actually bother me more if the book was super difficult to read... :S


A must read for everyone that can reads, no matter which age, gender, or preferences, you will love this!


rating:
5 stars <3


xo Mar

Pandora's Key by Nancy Richardson Fischer + Q&A

book: Pandora's Key
written by: Nancy Richardson Fischer
series: The Key Trilogy #1
genre: ya, mythology
pages: 306
publication date: November 18th, 2011
publisher: Nancy Richardson Fischer *Indie*

the book:
When everything you believed about yourself is a lie, how do you unlock the truth…
Evangeline Theopolis has nightmares about the violent deaths of women she has never met. Her single mother, Olivia, suffers delusions she can’t hide. And Malledy, a brilliant young man, may have a disease that will leave him paralyzed and insane. Their lives are about to collide.
On Evangeline’s 16th birthday her mother gives her a necklace with an antique key charm—a family heirloom, though no one knows what the key unlocks.
Everything changes. Her mom is hospitalized. Her godmother attempts murder. An ancient Order tries to kill Evangeline, and a lethal sect to kidnap her.
Nothing makes sense—especially Evangeline’s own face, which has morphed from geeky to eerily stunning; the ancient key that feels strangely alive against her skin; and the magical abilities she begins to possess.
Evangeline must use her wits and supernatural powers to fight her deadly adversaries and discover her true identity. But can she accept who she really is and save the world?

first of all; Thanks a lot to the author, Nancy. She just contacted me via goodreads and gifted me her book, which is so awefully nice of her! THANK YOU NANCY! You should check this book out on amazon. go to the page of this book with THIS LINK *paperback edition* Below you will also find an interview with her. My first author interview ever :o Enjoy!

my review:

I love anything that has to do with mythology, so I had very high expectations of it. Luckily, it lived up to my expectations. 

First of all, my first impression. 1) Greek mythology, 2) amazing cover 3) nice author - this book has to me freaking fantastic!

The blurb of this book intigued me, and I instantly started reading it. I couldn't put it down, and I had finished it in a couple of hours. I read it in 2 sits, which hardly happens to me, so that's a very good thing ^^ 

The main character, Evangeline, is just your average high school girl. Not the prettiest, not the most confident, or the smartest of them all. Nothing special. Or is she? She is given a key on her 16th birthday. And that key will change her life, forever. How can her mothers precious key change her appearance? how can it give her enemies? The necklace brings up some difficult questions and massive trouble. The unknown has to become known to Evangeline. 

Evangeline is a great character. Just a normal girl, as I said before. Not a silly girl, like some YA-book girls are, but a real character, with thoughts and reasonable feelings, which weren't annoying at all. I hate it when main characters in books annoy me, so this was perfect!

This book kept me 100% interested from the first word till the end of the prologue. A real pageturner, as I might as well call it. The editing had been done well, a nice writing style, all of it was one piece of awesomeness

A lovely story for every book lover - and even for the ones that don't like mythology at all - which includes amazing characters, lots of drama and a huge amount of action.

rating:

5 stars - definitely recommended!

INTERVIEW

1. Why did you start writing, and when did you decide that your book was going to be a young adult mythology novel? I started writing when I was a kid - short stories, poems, jokes (bad ones). When I graduated from college I got a "real" job working for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I wrote stories about lion trainers, trapeze artists, clowns and elephants. Super fun, but I realized that I didn't want to write about other people - I wanted to write my own stories.

I always loved mythology and one day the idea just sort of came to me... What if the myth of Pandora was real? What if not all of the Furies inside the Box were released? What if someone protected the box through the centuries? Who would that be? And on and on... It became clear to me that person should be a teenaged girl so making Pandora's Key a young adult novel was the logical thing to do.

2. What was your favourite thing about Pandora's Key? My single, favorite thing about Pandora's Key is that the hero is a sixteen-year-old girl. Evangeline is flawed, empathetic, kick-ass, and has only begun to explore her supernatural powers.

3. While writing, do you like to listen to music or not? if yes, what kind of music? I do! The type depends on whether I'm writing or editing. If I'm writing I like songs I know - like Adele, Joss Stone, Dave Matthews, even Eminem. When I'm editing, I can listen to anything.

4. What is it that inspired you so much about the story of Pandora?
Well, the "true" story of Pandora made me mad. I mean, one woman is blamed for ALL the bad things that happened to Mankind - plagues, disasters... you name it! It's not fair because the original Pandora is set up by the Gods, given unrelenting curiosity and a golden box - of course she opens it! My story of Pandora is different because one woman actually SAVES Mankind from the worst of the Furies because she's SMART. I find THAT inspirational;-)

5. Which of the Greek Mythological gods and godesses intrigues you most? and why?
There are so many! I love Cronus because the guy was so powerful yet so threatened by his children that he ATE them! I love Zeus because he was the King of the Gods yet he was so threatened by lesser Gods that he created elaborate punishments for them. And I think Athena is super cool - she's brilliant, gorgeous, wise, and both powerful in war and in peace.

6. What is your favourite myth?
Right now, because they play a part in The Key to Tartarus, Book Two of The Key Trilogy, I like the Dirae. They're three Goddesses that are both beautiful and horrific looking and together they avenge crimes against women.

7. Roman mythology or Greek mythology?
Whichever one works best for the purposes of my story:-)

8. Hera or Zeus? Definitely Zeus. The guy has mad skills but he's so twisted that, as a writer, you can have a great time manipulating him:-)

want to know more about the author? go to her site, http://nancyrichardsonfischer.com/