BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews The Burning Maze (Book 3 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan

This week Marshmallow continues with Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series and reviews the third book: The Burning Maze.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about Greek and Roman mythology, then this might be the book for you. But I will add my usual warning again: if you have not read the earlier books in the Trials of Apollo series, I think you should go back and read those before you dive into this one.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Zeus has turned Apollo into an average teenager and now he has a twelve-year-old master, a satyr guide, and an assignment to restore all Oracles. This time he has to help find the Oracle of Erythaea. He reaches California and meets some old friends and makes some new ones. Apollo and his friends learn more about the identity of the third emperor in Triumvirate Holdings, a company who is behind many of the assets that previous enemies used. Apollo and his friends learn that the third emperor is set on trying to become the new Apollo and wants to have an old enemy boil the current Apollo with Helios so then the emperor can eat them and become the new sun god. This will mean that Apollo and Helios will cease to exist. It seems that Zeus will allow this, and Apollo will die. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Apollo (and also for California, because the book has an interesting explanation of what is going on with California wildfires…)

Marshmallow is reading *The Burning Maze* (Book 3 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that The Burning Maze is a great book because the author, Rick Riordan, adds jokes and, basically, comic relief to his books. Of course if you read some of his other books, from his Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus series, and more, then you would know that. Also another interesting thing in this book is that as the book and the series progresses, so does the character of Apollo/Lester Papadopoulos. He basically grows, though also quite physically, more down-to-Earth.

This book does talk somewhat about history, but you don’t really need to know anything about it, though knowing some Roman history would mean that you might be able to find out who the bad guys are faster. At the end of this book the heroes receive a prophecy of a sort, and it links to a character I really like.

Though this is a great book for everyone, I think that people (and bunnies) of age 9 and up might like it especially.

I really enjoyed reading The Burning Maze. I think that it’s funny, especially Apollo/Lester’s conversations with the Arrow of Dodona are very well-written. The plot is very well thought out and the clues are great. The characters are well developed, too; each character has flaws and skills that make them more realistic and more relatable.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Burning Maze (Book 3 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Burning Maze* (Book 3 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan 100%.

Caramel reviews Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille by Russell Freedman

Today Caramel wanted to talk about Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, written by Russell Freedman and illustrated by Kate Kiesler. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, written by Russell Freedman and illustrated by Kate Kiesler.

Sprinkles: Caramel, tell me a bit about this book.

Caramel: This book is about the life of Louis Braille. Braille is the person who invented the Braille alphabet. The Braille alphabet is used by people who cannot see to read and write.

S: Did you know about him before reading the book?

C: No. I had heard of the Braille alphabet, and I thought it was probably invented by someone named Braille, but I did not know anything else about Braille.

S: So you learned about his life from this book. Tell us about him a bit.

C: Louis Braille was not born blind. He could see at some point but when he was four, one of his eyes got poked out and his other eye got infected and he lost both.

S: Yes, I read that part too. It is a sad accident that leads to the loss of one eye and the infection on the other eye. It is really sad.

C: Yes very sad. And also because the infection could probably be cured today.

S: Yes. It is possible. But he was living in the first half of the nineteenth century, and they did not have antibiotics or anything else to fight infections with.

C: Yes. They did use leeches for some medical purposes, which is weird.

S: Yes, I think so too. But apparently they still use leeches for some medical purposes!

C: I did not know that! That is so strange. I learn something new every day!

Caramel is reading Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, written by Russell Freedman and illustrated by Kate Kiesler He is on the page where the Braille alphabet is being described. . — Caramel is reading *Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille*, written by Russell Freedman and illustrated by Kate Kiesler He is on the page where the Braille alphabet is being described. .

S: Tell me more about the book.

C: If you like biographies, you would probably like this book. It is about a young person doing some really big and important things. Like inventing an entirely new alphabet! And he was also blind!

S: Yes, but maybe being blind, he knew what would help him better than seeing people who assumed that everybody should use the same alphabet. In the book we learn that Louis as a student learns about a writing system devised by an army captain and then modifies it in novel ways that would make it practical and easy to learn and use.

C: Yes. The government and the school do not want to use his system at first.

S: Yes, first his school has a headmaster who likes his ideas but once he is replaced, the new director bans its use.

C: The students already had been using it, but the new headmaster bans it. So they still use it, but in secret.

S: Yes, it is a very interesting story, isn’t it?

C: Yes, it definitely is. But it is also very sad.

S: Why do you say that?

C: Because he works so hard to develop this alphabet, he works when everybody is sleeping. But then people do not want to use it.

S: But in the end things work out, don’t they?

C: Yes. But he also dies.

S: Yes, people do die, but you are right that his death is sad too.

C: He dies from tuberculosis, and we can cure it today, right?

S: Yes, that is true and it is indeed sad. But at least he knew his alphabet was being used and was much appreciated by then. So what three words would you use to describe this book?

C: Fascinating, biography, black-and-white illustrations.

S: Hmm, that is a few more words than three, but I’ll let it be. What do you want to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel has appreciated reading Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, written by Russell Freedman and illustrated by Kate Kiesler, and recommends it to other little bunnies who might like to learn about a young person who overcame big obstacles and achieved great things. — Caramel has appreciated reading *Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille*, written by Russell Freedman and illustrated by Kate Kiesler, and recommends it to other little bunnies who might like to learn about a young person who overcame big obstacles and achieved great things.

Marshmallow reviews The Dark Prophecy (Book 2 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow wrapped up 2020 with a review of The Hidden Oracle, the first book in Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series. She begins 2021 with a review of The Dark Prophecy, the second book in the series.

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

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Apollo has been transformed into a teenager with flab, acne, and no “eight-pack abs”. His demigod master has left him and now he has been flying with two other heroes (whom we have met before in the Heroes of Olympus series). Finally they land in Indiana, only to find that a lot of the people there are not human, they are blemmyae, monsters that are pretending to be humans, waiting for Apollo. Apollo and his two friends are captured by these blemmyae, but luckily for our heroes, the blemmyae are obsessed with being “polite” so when they are going to try to kill Apollo, they are still obsessed with making sure that they say thank you. So when they are trying to kill him, they are sure to make sure that they listen to his “last words”, which turns out to be a hilarious summary of the first book.

Eventually Apollo and his friends are rescued and brought to a magical building. There is much to learn about this building. In this book, the reader will uncover some of those as well as some other secrets that Apollo keeps buried deep inside.

Marshmallow is reading The Dark Prophecy (Book 2 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan — Marshmallow is reading *The Dark Prophec*y (Book 2 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that all of Rick Riordan’s book in general, at least the ones I have read, are all really well thought-out and really well-written. This one, especially, is very well thought out as the author takes mythology and adds it to his own earlier stories to make a very well designed and intricate plot. If you know a thing or two about Roman history, then that might help you because at the beginning you don’t exactly know everything about who the bad guys are. There are clues of course: the clues are stuff like someone whose name means “Little Booties” and someone who likes to think of himself as “The New Hercules” and more.

But if you are going to read this series, like always, I will recommend that you start by reading the first two series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. The characters’ background stories from earlier series add a lot to the current series.

This is a great book for all readers, but it may confuse younger readers, as the story gets a bit convoluted (in a good way!), so maybe it is better for ages 7 and up.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Dark Prophecy (Book 2 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Dark Prophecy* (Book 2 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan 100%.

Caramel reviews Poppy by Avi

On the second anniversary of the launch of the book bunnies blog (check out our Hello World post for memories!), Caramel is ready to share with our readers his thoughts on Poppy, the first book in the Tales from Dimwood Forest series by Avi. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Poppy, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca. — Caramel reviews *Poppy*, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is your first review for 2021. And you picked Poppy for it. Why?

Caramel: Because it is the first book I read this year. I think.

S: Can you tell us a bit what this book is about?

C: It is about Poppy, as you can tell from the title. Poppy is a deer mouse. She lives with her big family (with about two hundred other deer mice) in the Gray House. The Gray House is a big old house, abandoned by its owner who was a farmer.

S: So is the story mainly about Poppy and her family?

C: No, but it is mostly about her and her adventures.

S: You had reviewed another book in this series before: Ragweed. Though it was written after this one, in terms of the story timeline, it is supposed to have happened before. But that was all about Ragweed and his adventures; Poppy was not in that book at all.

C: That is true. Ragweed met Poppy in the second book, Ragweed and Poppy, which we did not review because I read it on the Kindle.

S: Yes, I read that book too. Ragweed tried to save Poppy from a trap in that book. Do we see Ragweed in Poppy as well?

C: Only in the first chapter because he gets … oops, sorry, I should not spoil the plot.

S: Hmm, now I am curious. I might have to read this book.

C: That’s the point. You should read it. It’s a good book. All except the part where Ragweed gets … oops, sorry.

S: Okay, let us move away from the Ragweed topic. Tell me more about Poppy then.

C: The mouse or the book?

S: The mouse.

C: She goes on an adventure and gets into a lot of trouble.

S: That sounds like an exciting read. In fact I remember you not wanting to turn out the lights last night so you could read more.

C: Yeah. I picked up the book and had to finish it. But you made me go to sleep so I woke up in the morning and first thing, I got reading and finished it.

Caramel is reading Poppy, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca.

S: So what are three words that you can use to describe the book?

C: Fun, adventurous, cliffhangers.

S: That is funny! In your review of Ragweed, you had also picked similar words: “Adventure, danger, cliffhangers”.

C: I think we can use those same words here too.

S: So what is next? Will you read the next book in the series?

C: Yes. And I will probably review it for the blog. But I can’t believe Ragweed got … oops…

S: Okay, maybe we should end this review before you spill the beans. What do you want to say to our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Poppy, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca, and is looking forward to reading more about the creatures of Dimwood Forest. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Poppy*, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca, and is looking forward to reading more about the creatures of Dimwood Forest.