The Lost Hero: Greek Gods Galore

This past week I finished read The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. Riordan is the author of The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which I highly recommend (but don't see the movie- it was awful), so I had high expectations for this book. Fortunately, my expectations were not let down.

For those of you have read the Percy Jackson series, this book takes place only a few months after the final book. However, you do not have to read the Percy Jackson series before reading this book. The Lost Hero introduces all new characters, who discover they are demigods: the offspring of a mortal and a Greek God. The three main characters, Jason, Piper, and Leo are whisked off to Camp Half-Blood, a training area and school for young demigods. The camp is disgruntled, because a prophecy has been predicted by the camp's oracle. Nobody is exactly sure how to decipher the prophecy, but one thing's for sure: Jason, Piper, and Leo have to complete a quest to help fulfill the prophecy. From that point on, the three friends have to travel around the world, on a flying, metal dragon, named Festus (Latin for "happy"). I can't tell you exactly why they have to travel the globe, because that would be a major spoiler. I can tell you, however, that Percy Jackson is missing in this book, as in lost. Nobody knows where the hero is, and his disappearance ties in with the quest.

This was a great book. Rick Riordan did a great job at keeping the same mood and tone form his previous, phenomenal books. As always, his research must have been very extensive. There is a lot of accurate information about the places the characters travel to (Grand Canyon, NY, Quebec, Detroit, Oakland, Chicago, San Francisco, etc.), the Greek gods (he introduced many new gods, many of whom I'd never heard of until reading this book), and Roman gods (yes, there are also Roman gods, however I can't say anymore, or I'll be giving away a major spoiler). I admire his work, and will be reading his Egyptian mythology book, The Red Pyramid, next.


Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

National Book Festival 2010

Last Saturday, September 25th, I visited the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. The National Book Festival is an annual event, that has occurred every September since 2001. It takes place on the National Mall, a big stretch of grassy land between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol (no, it's not a shopping mall). There was numerous tents spread out across the mall, each serving a different purpose. There were huge tents that were titled with a genre of fiction (or nonfiction), like Poetry and Prose, Mystery and Thrillers, and Teens and Children. At these tents you could listen to some of your favorite authors talk about themselves and their writings. I was able to listen to Suzanne Collins, the critically acclaimed and internationally best-selling author of The Hunger Games trilogy. Her tent was PACKED with eager fans (we probably created a fire hazard). I enjoyed hearing Suzanne Collins speak, and was even more excited to have her sign (stamp) my books.

At the Capitol end of the mall, there was twenty little tents where authors sat and signed their novels for excited fans. I went to the Festival last year, so my family and I were prepared for the long, no not long, ginormously (yes, spell check, it is a word. your little red line will not defeat me) long lines. There was an estimate 130,000 plus people at the Festival this year, and it seemed like every single one of them was in line to get their copy of Mockingjay signed by Suzanne Collins. Luckily, I got in line three hours early and was second in line! Unfortunately, due to a carpel tunnel injury, Collins was unable to sign her books. But, she did have an ultra, extra-special stamp designed especially for her book tour. You could hardly tell that it wasn't the real thing (see photo below)!

The National Book Festival also had tents with games for little kids, and a big book sales tent that sold books by the authors that attended the Festival. There was row, upon row of copies of Mockingjay. You can see for yourself in the photos below.

me, with my signed (stamped) Mockingjay

Mockingjays!

Suzanne Collins