Student Saturday: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Myths, Adventure
Student Reviewer: Aliyah E.

 Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth is an adventurous book about five courageous kids Percy, Anabeth, Grover, Rachel, Tyson known as half-bloods, cyclopes and mortals all fighting for their life to save their camp.

      This book  is about how the creator Daedalus is in his workshop and the Titans are trying to find him so they can invade camp half-blood. The job of Percy, Anabeth, Tyson, and Grover is to go and find Daedalus before the Titans do. Grover is searching for a lost god named Pan and believes he is in the Labyrinth so he and Tyson search from Pan while Annabeth and Percy try to save camp, but they quickly realize they need the help of a mortal Rachel because she can see through the mist and safely get them to Daedalus. But they did not get there in time.....

       I can connect to this book because like Annabeth I struggle trusting people and is always on the lookout for danger. I would recommend this book to people who struggle with trusting or focusing so that they see they are not alone and there is people to go to. Overall, this is a really good book, and I enjoy

Thirty Seconds at a Time by Tracy Bilen

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult Mystery

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Kate didn't understand why her father was packing her clothes. She told him that there were two weeks until Christmas break. As she was trying to unpack the suitcase, he was hurrying to pack; she heard gunshots. She ran down the stairs only to find her father in a pool of blood. She tries to stop the bleeding but can't. He hands her a piece of paper and tells her to burn it and tell no one. Kate's mom finds her at the hospital where she learns of her husband's death. Once allowed to return to the house to get some of their things, Kate discovers her guitar case full of money. This is the beginning of a great mystery. Kate and her mother move away. Her mother takes a teaching job at a private school where Kate will learn to ski. However, she can't let her father's murder go.

Kate meets Ryan, who always seems to be in trouble. He inadvertently gets pulled in to all of this mess. Can Kate extricate herself before someone else gets hurt? What is she to do with the money? Who keeps leaving her cryptic messages? What is with the address her father gave her before he died?

All of these questions lead to one of the most fulfilling mysteries I have read in a long time. Throw in a snarky roommate, a good looking young man and a lot of twists and turns in this wonderful book. One my students will definitely love as much as I did.

The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Animals

Source: I purchased a copy.

This is the final book in the series. In this book we find Ivan and his mate Kinyani expecting a baby. They are excited. We are taken through Ivan's thoughts about what it takes to be a good parent. On one hand he things it will be easy. On the other hand he is afraid.  Any parent who reads this book could identify with  Ivan on the feelings of excitement and fear when dealing with their first child.  For Ivan, who ends up the father of twins it is even more emotional. He had a twin who made it from Africa to America, only to die of pneumonia. As his two children hit their terrible twos he is faced with several fears.  The biggest fear is that he won't be able to protect his children.  Along comes Bob, his dog friend to teach him what a wonderful father he really is. 

This was such a wonderful book.  It was just as emotional as the other three books in this series.  I can't wait to put it on my school shelves and recommend it to students.