Reviews – Page 117 – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews The Son of Neptune (Book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow reviewed several books by Rick Riordan before. (See her reviews of The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse. You might also like to check out her reviews for Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes.) Last week she wrote about the first book of his Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero. This week she is on to the second book: The Son of Neptune. Sprinkles, who has just finished the book, is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, what do you want to tell our readers about The Son of Neptune, another 500-pager from Rick Riordan?

Marshmallow: I think if someone liked other books by Rick Riordan, this is not going to be a disappointment. It is a very good book!

S: What is the story about? What happens in the book?

M: It’s about Percy Jackson, who doesn’t remember anything. He gets himself to Camp Jupiter, which is a place for Roman demigods, half-bloods who are children of Roman gods.

S: So you probably need to know who Percy is and so on. You should have read the previous books in both of the series, it seems like. Right?

M: Yes.

S: In the first series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, we meet Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon, who goes to Camp Half-Blood, where there are other demigods, that is, children of Greek gods. In this second series, Heroes of Olympus, we learn that there is also a camp for demigods who are children of Roman gods.

M: Yes, in The Lost Hero, we learned about Camp Jupiter, but there, the main characters were also in Camp Half-Blood. In this book we finally get to go to Camp Jupiter.

S: Yes, I think the author set the stage for that very well in the first book of the series.

Marshmallow is reading The Son of Neptune (Book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Son of Neptune* (Book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan.

S: So let me see… Who is your favorite character in this book?

M: Probably Reyna.

S: Why?

M: Because she is a strong leader. And she is a good fighter. She is not a main character in this book actually, but she will become more important in the later books in the series.

S: Hmm, spoilers spoilers! I haven’t yet read the other books. But I liked Reyna too. She is not squeamish and she is not mean. She is a strong leader, like you say. She holds on to her principles and stands up to bullies.

M: Yes. I agree. But I must repeat that you cannot really get much out of this book if you have not read the first book of the series, but you also probably should have read all five books of the first series. People from the first series do show up or at least are mentioned. So to get the most out of this book, you should probably read things in order.

S: I agree. And the people from those earlier books show up unexpectedly sometimes. I think Riordan does a great job making these connections.

M: The plot is really complicated even when you have read all the other books.

S: So you are not going to tell us what that plot is, it seems like.

M: Well, in the first book we learned that Gaea is evil. And she is angry at the Olympian gods and wants to get rid of them. In this book that thread continues, with a few new plot twists that come with the new characters introduced to the story.

S: Yes, I think that is a good summary without giving away much! But this distinction between Greek and Roman gods, where Percy is the son of Poseidon, but in this book, people think he is the son of Neptune, the Roman version; that part was a bit fuzzy at first, wasn’t it?

M: Yeah, it was kind of confusing how they are the same but not the same, but in this book it is explained a bit more, so I think I understood it better.

S: Yes, I appreciated talking it over with you, and we figured things out together a bit, right?

M: Yes, i suggest that parents might want to read these books, too, so they can discuss them with their little ones.

S: I definitely am enjoying reading them!

M: They are good books! And I am really glad that I read Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes before reading this new series. Some of those characters show up and it is good to know their backstories.

S: I know you are trying to get me to read that book for a while Marshmallow. We’ll see. For now I will continue with this Heroes of Olympus series. So let us wrap up this review. What is your final verdict on The Son of Neptune?

M: I rate it 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Son of Neptune (Book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Son of Neptune* (Book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%.

Caramel reviews Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne

Caramel has reviewed several Magic Tree House books already: Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House #5), Afternoon on the Amazon (Magic Tree House #6), Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #2), Sunset of the Sabertooth (Magic Tree House #7), and Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House #8). Today he wanted to talk about book #9: Dolphins at Daybreak. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: It has been a while since you last reviewed a Magic Tree House book Caramel. Can you remind our readers the premise of these books?

Caramel: There are two kids called Jack and Annie. They find a magical tree house in the first book, and it takes them anywhere in a book if they say “I wish we could go there.”

S: And in each book, they go somewhere different, right?

C: Yes, and they can come back.

S: That is good. Where do they go in this book?

C: I think they go somewhere with a mini-sub.

S: What’s a mini-sub?

C: It’s a little submarine, a ship that goes under the sea. They go under the sea with it and they find out that it has a leak.

S: Hmm, that might be dangerous!

C: Oh no, they survive, don’t worry. But they get chased by a giant octopus and there is a dolphin and they see hammerhead sharks. Nothing too dangerous!

Caramel is reading Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne. — Caramel is reading *Dolphins at Daybreak* (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne.

S: Alright, so they have an adventure in the ocean, and you get to learn about ocean life, right?

C: Yes.

S: You have read a lot of books about sea life, in particular you read a ton of books about narwhals, right?

C: Yep. I reviewed all of the Narwhal and Jelly books I read, too.

S: The Magic Tree House books are mainly fiction but accompanying them there are fact trackers. You even reviewed one of those, remember?

C: Yes, I reviewed Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #2).

S: There is a fact tracker book on dolphins and sharks, too. Did you read that one?

C: No. I do not think we have that book yet.

S: But maybe there were some new facts in this book too? Did you learn anything new by reading this book?

C: I never knew about mini-subs. They are cool!

S: Yes, they are! Apparently they are also called “midget submarines“!

C: I didn’t know that!

S: Okay, Caramel, this might be a good time to wrap up our review. As usual I will ask you for three words to describe this book. What do you say?

C: Fun, imaginative, fantasy.

S: Why do you say fantasy?

C: A magic tree house sounds fantastical, doesn’t it?

S: You’re right. It is quite fantastical! And it is also a great idea to explore a new topic in every book, right? Are you going to read and review for the blog any more Magic Tree House books?

C: Yep. But for now, stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne and recommends it to all little bunnies who enjoyed reading about Jack and Annie's earlier adventures. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Dolphins at Daybreak* (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne and recommends it to all little bunnies who enjoyed reading about Jack and Annie’s earlier adventures.

Marshmallow reviews The Lost Hero (Book 1 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow has reviewed several books from Rick Riordan before. in particular she reviewed three books from his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: check out her reviews of The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse. But she is now eager to share with you her thoughts about the first book of The Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked some of Rick Riordan’s other books or if you just like reading about Greek mythology, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary: Jason opens his eyes and finds himself in the Wilderness School, a school for delinquents and misfits. His best friend is a boy named Leo Valdez, put in the school because he ran away six times after his mother died. We soon learn that Leo has a talent with tools. His girlfriend, Piper McLean, stole a BMW. Piper says she didn’t, but Jason doesn’t know, because he doesn’t remember anything. All he knows is that they are on an educational field trip to the Grand Canyon with a teacher named Coach Hedge.

Everyone seems to think that Jason is part of the class except Coach Hedge. He seems to know that Jason was not in his class before. But Leo and Piper seem to think that they know him. When they arrive at their destination, one of their classmates turns into a ventus, a storm spirit, which tries to kill them. Piper falls and starts to plummet towards the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Jason jumps and finds out that he can fly by using winds to hold him up. They battle the ventus, but more of them come. Then Coach Hedge comes and saves them, but is kidnapped by the venti that manage to escape.

In the middle of all this, a chariot shows up in the sky and a girl named Annabeth is there to collect them. From Annabeth we (readers who are familiar with the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series) learn that Percy Jackson is missing. But Jason, Leo, and Piper have no idea who Percy is.

The three friends are taken to a camp called Camp Half-Blood. There they spend some time until they are given a quest. Hera has been captured and they need to rescue her. But remember, Hera is a powerful goddess. And someone that can trick her into stepping into a trap must be very powerful.

Marshmallow is reading *The Lost Hero* (Book 1 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that The Lost Hero is a great book to start a great series. Rick Riordan tells the story in a way that makes you have to read the next chapter. This book is great and its plot sets the stage for the next book in the series.

I think that if you want to read this book, though, you would have to read the series that Rick Riordan wrote before, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

The characters are also well written themselves. Each character has a mystery about their past. By the end of The Lost Hero you feel like you know what the characters would do in a certain situation.

I think that if you are looking for a book that is not part of a series, then this is probably not the book you are looking for. If you read the first book, you will just have to read the rest of the series.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Lost Hero (Book 1 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Lost Hero* (Book 1 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%.

Caramel reviews The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape

This week Caramel wanted to talk about a cute little book that was first published in 1987 and has been in the book bunnies library for a while now: The Boy With Square Eyes: A Tale of Televisionitis, by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. Though the book itself is rather old, the issue of too much screen time has perhaps never been more relevant, as a large number of young people are moored to screens for hours on end during these days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marshmallow kindly agreed to taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. — Caramel reviews *The Boy with Square Eyes* by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape.

Marshmallow: So Caramel, what do you want to say about this book?

Caramel: It’s a fun book! The drawings are good.

M: What is this book about?

C: It’s about a boy who watched television all day and his eyes turned into squares. It’s a good book; you should read it.

M: Thanks, I have already read it! So, what do you think about the pictures?

C: They’re good, but in a few they’re blocky.

M: I think that that’s because he has square eyes now. Do you think that this book has a moral or a lesson that the authors were trying to teach to the reader?

C: Yeah, probably, it’s: “do not watch TV all the time!”

M: What do you think about the story?

C: It’s good! Really, really good!

M: What’s the main character’s name?

C: Charlie.

M: So, why is Charlie watching so much TV?

C: Who knows?

Caramel is reading The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. He is on the page when Charlie tells his mom, "Everything looks square. The food does, too. Square plate, square hot dogs, square french fries, square peas, and square tomatoes." — Caramel is reading *The Boy with Square Eyes* by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. He is on the page when Charlie tells his mom, “Everything looks square. The food does, too. Square plate, square hot dogs, square french fries, square peas, and square tomatoes.”

M: So here’s another question. Do you think that Televisionitis is a real thing?

C: No, it’s not.

M: I would think so. Anyways, tell me more about this book.

C: The Boy With Square Eyes is about a boy who watches too much TV.

M: So, do his eyes get fixed?

C: You’ll have to find out by yourself if you read the book.

M: Who is your favorite character?

C: In this book?

M: Yeah.

C: Well there are only three people who talk in the book: Charlie, his mom, and the doctor.

M: Okay then. Never mind. So then which picture is your favorite picture in the book?

C: They were all good. It’s going to be hard to choose.

M: Okay. Then what do you like about this book?

C: Everything.

M: Can you be a little more specific?

C: Yes.

M: So what do you like about this book?

C: The pictures, the story, and, etcetera.

M: Can you please be a little more specific than that?

C: The pictures, the story, and the plot.

M: What do you like about the story and the plot?

C: The plot is interesting, and the story is fun to read if you haven’t read it before.

M: Okay, what genre do you think this is?

C: I don’t know… Fiction!

M: Oh, yeah, that’s a good one. I was also thinking it could be a parable. So, how would you rate this book? With your three words?

C: Fun, colorful, and hilarious.

Caramel thinks The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape is "fun, colorful, and hilarious". — Caramel thinks *The Boy with Square Eyes* by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape is “fun, colorful, and hilarious”.