Last Book Review of the year :(

   This is the last book review that I will be doing in Mr. Sutherland's class this year. I forgot to bring a book  that Thursday, so when Aakash asked "Who needs a book?" in first period, I jumped at the chance. I got the book "The Titan's Curse," written by Rick Riordan, the third book in the Percy Jackson series. It's a fictional book about the Greek gods and how they're like in the modern era. The main character is a 14-year-old who decides to journey across America, from the east coast to the west, and save his friend Annabeth and the god Artemis. Unfortunately, they only have a week to do so.

     I think this book was written to entertain children. This is shown when the publisher is "Hyperion Paperbacks For Children". Obviously, the publishing company had intentions for making paperbacks children should read. Furthermore, the book is fiction with a bit of modern concepts. Adults tend to be more interested in other kinds of books, but not always.

     I would recommend this book to children, who are the original audience. Rick Riordan did a good job, making an excellent plot and great use of language appropriate for the age group; it's obvious both he and the editor used great effort to make this book as good as possible. Also, I find that kids these days spend more time in front of screens than doing homework, studying, or reading. This isn't beneficial to their education; in fact, it's more likely that it renders their education. Less time should be spent in front of screens, and more spent reading. If children read more books like this, they can learn about various topics as well as become a more proficient reader.

     Finally, I believe that this book is fit for teenagers. This is due to the main characters in the book. Percy and Annabeth are 14. Thalia is 15. Here, I quote from Bany's blog post: "It is a bout a TEENAGE girl, who falls in love with a TEENAGE boy, and she has trouble with other TEENAGERS and is basiclly going through what TEENAGERS go through." (The grammar mistakes were made by Bany.) Since the main characters are teenagers, it shows that the intended audience are teenagers, so I would recommend it to teenagers. There are reasons why people write books for a specific audience: for them to read it. The book was written to teenagers, so it should be read by teenagers. Otherwise, children would be reading adult novels like "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" where it talks about sex every few pages. Each age group has a different level of maturity that the books are written to address.

     So "The Titan's Curse" is a book written to children, mainly teenagers. Therefore, teenagers should read it because of time and effort put into it by the author and editor. Furthermore, children can read for a change instead of constantly facing a screen. 

     Actually, I began reading "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan for Mr. Sutherland's class last Thursday. It's probably my 10th time reading it. I finished on the first day. Now, I'm asked to write a blog post about an essay question. I chose the one asking about a character's personaltity, characteristics, etc.

     I think I want to analyze Thalia. She's the daughter of Zeus. Percy describes her as a girl who wears a "ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry [and] black eyeliner." Obviously, Thalia doesn't seem like the person you'd pick on; it is more likely she will pick on you. Furthermore, she fits my description of a gang member who picks fight on every corner. It also doesn't seem like she will get many friends with that clothes like that either; people would avoid her.

     In additions to punk clothes, "Thalia was great at giving evil looks." Going back to the point about fitting the description of a gang memebr and picking fights, I think these evil looks are the number 1 reason why she would actually get into fights. Evil looks make some people back off. It makes others pissed off and angry at you.

     At the end of the book, it says that "Thalia hugged..."(You don't need to know the rest.). She does not seem like the type of person who would hug people, more like the type that would punch people. Regardless of how much I disagree, Thalia actually has a soft and kind side of her, too.

     Thalia also doesn't like being pushed around. In the middle of the book, she told Zoe: "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!" This shows how stubborn she is and how much she refuses to be used. She'll insult and rebell when she feels that someone has gone too far.

     Thalia is a stubborn, mean, and cruel girl. And yet, she still has another side of her. She refuses to change her ways or ideas, unless proven wrong over and over again. Her unique style and behavior immediately shows that she means trouble and should be avoided.

     "The Titan's Curse" proves to be an interesting book. I really like the plot, although some parts need more work. Every page reflects effort used by the author, Rick Riordan, to write this novel. He obviously tried to win some awards, get money, or entertain more teenagers. Many people have looked forward to his books and inspired to be writers themselves. I've seen very little people read in middle and high school and I want to emphasize what those people are missing out on. Teenagers want to hang out with friends, play games, and go shopping; they don't like homework, tests, or reading because it doesn't interest them. I recommend this book to those teenagers. They need to read more and begin maturing while learning and having fun too. In the end, "The Titan's Curse" proves itself worthy praise.