Summer Reading Lists
Summer reading for Rye students
Battle of the labyrinth by Rick Riordan
Starred Review. Percy Jackson's fourth summer at Camp Half-Blood is much like his previous three high-octane clashes with dark forces, laced with hip humor and drama. Opening with a line for the ages The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school this penultimate series installment finds Percy, Annabeth and the satyr Grover furiously working to prevent former camp counselor Luke from resurrecting the Titan lord Kronos, whose goal is to overthrow the gods. When the heroes learn that Luke can breach Camp Half-Blood's security through an exit from Daedalus's Labyrinth, they enter the maze in search of the inventor and a way to stop the invasion. Along the way they encounter a lifetime supply of nightmare-inducing, richly imagined monsters. Grover's own quest to find the lost god Pan, meanwhile, provides a subtle environmental message. Percy, nearly 15, has girl trouble, having become something of a chick magnet. One of Riordan's strengths is the wry interplay between the real and the surreal. When the heroes find Hephaestus, for instance, he's repairing a Toyota, wearing overalls with his name embroidered over the chest pocket. The wit, rousing swordplay and breakneck pace will once again keep kids hooked. Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Sea of monsters by Rick Riordan
Starred Review. In a feat worthy of his heroic subjects, Riordan crafts a sequel stronger than his compelling debut in this second adventure in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. After a group of Laistrygonians (giant cannibals) infiltrate the dodgeball game at Percy's alternative Manhattan school, and his friend Annabeth (a daughter of Athena, introduced in the first book) comes to the rescue, the two take the homeless scholarship student Tyson with them to Camp Half-Blood, where trouble is brewing. Percy soon realizes that Tyson is a Cyclops (meaning they're half-brothers and possibly enemies both sons of Poseidon) and learns that someone poisoned the sacred Thalia's tree, which protects the "magic borders" of the demigod camp. Riordan catches readers up seamlessly on this world in which gods still reign; he builds on existing subplots and rivalries, and introduces harrowing new challenges as Percy and Annabeth set off across the Sea of Monsters on a quest to find the Golden Fleece, which will heal Thalia's tree. Percy's relationship with Tyson and their battle against the Cyclops guarding the Fleece (Polyphemus) brings up probing questions about shame, family and loyalty. With humor, intelligence and expert pacing, the author uses this tale of believable teens and their high-stakes struggle to bring the mythical lore up to date (e.g., Hermes, appropriately, invented the Internet). A cliffhanger imparts new meaning to the prophesy (mentioned in the first book) and leaves no question that Percy's high-stakes battle for Western Civilization will continue to surprise even himself. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Lightning thief by Rick Riordan
A clever concept drives Riordan's highly charged children's book debut (the first in a series): the Greek Gods still rule, though now from a Mt. Olympus on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, and their offspring, demigods, live among human beings. Narrator Percy Jackson thinks he's just another troubled 12-year-old, until he vaporizes his math teacher, learns his best friend, Grover, is a satyr and narrowly escapes a minotaur to arrive at Camp Half-Blood. After a humorous stint at camp, Percy learns he's the son of Poseidon and embarks on a quest to the Underworld with Grover and Annabeth (a daughter of Athena) to resolve a battle between Zeus and Poseidon over Zeus's stolen "master" lightning bolt. Without sacrificing plot or pacing, Riordan integrates a great deal of mythology into the tale and believably places mythical characters into modern times, often with hilarious results (such as Hades ranting about the problem of "sprawl," or population explosion). However, on emotional notes the novel proves less strong (for example, Percy's grief for his mother rings hollow; readers will likely spot the "friend" who betrays the hero, as foretold by the Oracle of Delphi, before Percy does) and their ultimate confrontation proves a bit anticlimactic. Still, this swift and humorous adventure will leave many readers eager for the next installment. Ages 10-up. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Al Capone does my shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Set on Alcatraz Island in 1935, Choldenko's (Notes from a Liar and Her Dog) exceptionally atmospheric novel has equally unusual characters and plot lines. Twelve-year-old narrator Moose Flanagan has just moved to the island, where his father has been hired as an electrician and guard. At first Moose is spooked at being in such close proximity to the nation's most notorious criminals, and he doesn't know what to make of the all-powerful warden's bossy daughter, Piper, who flouts her father's rule about talking about the convicts ("You say [Al Capone's] name and hordes of reporters come crawling out of the woodwork ready to write stories full of foolish lies," the warden explains). At school, on the mainland, Piper hatches a scheme to make money from classmates ("Once in a lifetime opportunity! Get your clothes laundered by Al Capone and other world-famous public enemies!... Only costs 5 cents") and forces Moose to help her. Moose has reasons for staying on Piper's good side: his older sister, Natalie, has what would now be called autism, and Moose worries that her behavior will land the family in trouble with the warden. (Natalie's condition is so poorly understood that an expert tells her desperate mother, "An interesting case... you should consider donating her brain to science when she dies.") Choldenko captures the tense, nuanced family dynamics touched off by Natalie's disability as skillfully as she handles the mystique of Alcatraz and the exchanges between Moose and his friends. Fast-paced and memorable. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mango-shaped space by Wendy Mass
In an intriguing first novel, Mass introduces a 13-year-old heroine with an unusual perspective. Mia Winchell is a synesthete; her visual and hearing senses are connected so that numbers, letters, words, sounds and even some people's auras appear to her as colors. The letter "a," for instance, is the shade of a "faded sunflower," screeching chalk "makes red jagged lines in the air," and Mia's beloved cat, Mango, is surrounded by an orange cloud. Mia's unique view proves to be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, she enjoys having heightened senses ("If I couldn't use my colors, the world would seem so bland-like vanilla ice cream without the gummy bears on top," she says). On the other hand, sometimes it's hard for her being reminded that she is different, like when her brother, Zack, calls her "the Missing Link." Although the story line, at times, seems cluttered with underdeveloped subplots about Mia's friendships, potential romances and conflicts at school, the novel's premise is interesting enough to keep pages turning. The author successfully brings abstract ideas down to earth. Her well-defined characterizations, natural-sounding dialogue, and concrete imagery allow readers to feel Mia's emotions and see through her eyes a kaleidoscopic world, which is at once confusing and beautiful. Ages 10-13. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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