Great Middle Grade Reads discussion
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The Lightning Thief
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BOTM for January 2017 is THE LIGHTNING THIEF
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I've actually read the whole series already so I'm excited to discuss and be more active in this thread!
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I'm sure the skeleton one will get a read one day - it's a popular nomination; it came third!
I read The Lightning Thief a couple of months or so ago, after watching the movie a few years back, and I must say that I liked the book a lot more than the movie. The movie is fun, but they changed a lot and the book was better. My son has been nagging me to read Rick Riordan, since he loved the books so much. I've only read Lightning Thief (and bits and pieces of the other books from reading aloud to my son), and one of my goals for 2017 is to finish the series(es).
I read the book a few years ago, and enjoyed it so much that I went on to read the entire series. Rick Riordan is very creative to put a modern twist on Greek mythology. I actually find it easier to remember the heroes and villains through his stories. Incidentally, I was also very disappointed with the movie as it is a very poor reflection of the genius of a book.
Although I have always loved Greek mythology, I am not liking this all that much. It seems too much a carbon copy of Harry Potter and really, I would have preferred a setting in the Mediterranean (considering that the deities in question are Greek).
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Jemima wrote: "I read the book a while ago, and enjoyed it, while not being blown away by it. I agree that the film is very disappointing, so much so that I gave up after only a short while. I've just read the fi..."The Norse gods scenario sounds intriguing. Is the setting this time in Northern Europe?
Jemima wrote: "I read the book a while ago, and enjoyed it, while not being blown away by it. I agree that the film is very disappointing, so much so that I gave up after only a short while. I've just read the fi..."I like the original Percy Jackson series the best, especially the first book. In Magnus Chase and the Heroes of Olympus, the main characters are really too old to be considered middle grade. The writing and humor is middle grade, but 16 year old main characters makes it hard for the 9-12 years to associate with. Also, there are issues in them which some parents may not be ready to discuss with the younger end of the middle grade audience.
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It's set in Boston - which becomes the nexus of the Norse worlds. Apparently ;)
Neal wrote: "I like the original Percy Jackson series the best, especially the first book. In Magnus Chase and the Heroes of Olympus, the main characters are really too old to be considered middle grade. The writing and humor is middle grade, but 16 year old main characters makes it hard for the 9-12 years to associate with..."
Good point. That takes us back to the other post on MG heading into YA territory.
Jennifer wrote: "I finished this and felt similarly to Jemima - it was good, but I wouldn't rave about it. I wished there had been some more down time between all the nearly-getting-killed scenes.It was clever an..."
Yes, that does massively chafe, and aside from the book reading too much like a Harry Potter book, it just feels like an unacceptable attitude of superiority (and at least in the HP books, there was never that kind of an attitude promoted).
Jennifer wrote: "Yes, I must agree with you there!"But also, since the Greek Gods are Greek, would it not have been better to have the setting in the Mediterranean area, and not the USA?
Jennifer wrote: "Yes, but then not as many Americans would buy the books, I guess?????"Which is kind of sad and annoying in and of itself, and basically as silly as the Harry Potter series having "British" words removed in the American version and the title of the first one being "the Sorcerer's Stone" instead of "the Philosopher's Stone" (and frankly, it is likely that silly title that already made the book anathema right from the start to some of the American religious fanatics).
Jennifer wrote: "Yep, yep and yep. I don't understand why Americans feel the need to remake everything in US versions. For example, the TV comedies The Office (UK) and Kath and Kim (Australia). The originals were f..."I so agree!
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What I am having a problem with is getting through The Son of Neptune, which I tackled instead of the first, since I already read that. By the way, Percy is now 16, so we're back to the too-old protagonist.
And I'm falling behind.
Oh my gosh, I loved The Lightning Thief!! Everything about it was so creative and spectacular, I loved the humor and character development. I never thought Percy seemed too old or whiny, which is what some of my friends have thought.
Great Middle Grade Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
The Son of Neptune (other topics)The Lightning Thief (other topics)
But Lightning Thief it is, and I look forward to reading the discussions about it. If you've already read it, don't wade in too soon with your comments, give others a chance to catch up, and as always, remember to put plot spoilers behind spoiler tags (which is the word spoiler enclosed in < >, and finish with /spoiler in < >, too)
If you've already read Lightning Thief, you could always go on to the next in the series!