I wasn't planning on reading Lost Hero for the POC challenge but then I realized that two of the protagonists were visible minorities - hispanic and aboriginal - so there you go!
Five things I loved about Lost Hero
- awesome girls - I loved how he writes female characters. The heroines kick ass, the female villains are super powerful, and you DO NOT mess with these goddesses. (I also love Leo's mom, what we saw of her. As a Hispanic shop mechanic, she defies stereotypes)
- awesome boys - Okay, I have to say it, I loved how Jason respected Piper. He could have easily taken advantage of how Piper thought they used to date, but he didn't (to the point where you, and Piper, were like, 'you could take a little advantage. A kiss would be okay). I also loved Leo and his ridic crushes on demigods (not to mention all his ~issues. What a complex character)
- mythology - He always makes me want to get out a mythology book and look stuff up and geek out over mythology all day.
- diversity - not only were our heroes dealing with their demi-god identities, they were also dealing with cultural identities. For Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, being Cherokee is a big part of her identity but her father is often at odds with his two identities as a Cherokee and a Hollywood actor which sends mixed messages to Piper. I really liked how a lot of the heroes were visible minorities.
- setting - you guys, they came to Canada! :D They were also all over the USA, but Canada doesn't often make a cameo in big blockbuster American books so that made me super happy.
So who cares that it was like 200 pages too long. It was an awesome ride!
(reviewed from a library copy)
(reviewed from a library copy)
That's an awesome cover...to go with your awesome review. I'm not a big fantasy fan myself, but you certainly make this sound like a good one!
ReplyDeleteStopping by from Read My Review. Got mine up if you're interested in taking a peek: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/02/read-my-review-adventuretravel.html
Thanks for stopping by, Bev! Lost Hero is that great mix of mythology and contemporary adventure so you might enjoy it more than regular fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome review. I am very partial to reviews that make me want to read the book rather than tell me everything in the book so I needn't bother. A+
ReplyDelete*New follower!
Anne
Headfullofbooks
Aww, am glad that you wrote about this novel. I haven't personally read it yet but I have heard quite a number of great reviews from people who have. I've seen the film, but I'm sure that it would pale in comparison to the book. We're actually giving the Percy Jackson Series Books 1-3 away for a reading challenge that we are hosting over at our blog, so am glad to have read this one.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this book but I have no idea what it's about. haha. Do you need to have read the previous Percy Jackson books? I've only seen the movie ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the idea of demi-gods, awesome female villians and a Cherokee main character (extremely rare). I like how diverse Rick Riordan's characters are, I've only read The Red Pyramid but the main characters were biracial and yet its not a race-filled book, sounds like most of them are just fun, mythical, adventerous rides =)
Lost Hero certainly makes reference to Percy Jackson but I wouldn't say you have to read them to understand it. That being said, I did like the Percy Jackson books possibly even more than Lost Hero so I would recommend reading them anyway :p
ReplyDeleteTotally agree re:diversity. There's really not enough of that in children's literature and when it is there, the book revolves around it, as you say. I hope this starts to change!
Amen! My sister actually owns The Lost Hero which I didn't know, haha. And she owns all the Percy Jackson books so I have no excuse not to read them.
ReplyDeleteThey really are such fun! I picked one up in an airport and it was the perfect escape :)
ReplyDelete