52 Book Challenge - Book Three: Deception Point

One morning, out of the blue, Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton is asked to meet with the President of the United States. Before she knows it, she is on a jet to Antarctica to bear witness to an amazing discovery NASA has made: a meteorite under the ice with fossils of extraterrestrial life forms in it. This could not come at a better time. With an election looming over the country, Rachel’s father, Senator Sexton, is running for the presidential seat against President Herney. The main focus of the Senator’s campaign against the President has been NASA and the billions of dollars spent on research – approved by the President – with no results. This discovery would validate not only the President’s faith and support of NASA, but would cause the American people to put their faith in NASA. Unfortunately, not is all as it seems, and  Rachel soon finds she is stuck in a web of deceit that is threatening her very life. It is up to her, Michael Tolland (an oceanographer), and Corky Marlinson (an astrophysicist) to uncover the truth before it’s too late.

This was the second Dan Brown book I have read. The first one was The Da Vinci Code  - which I loved. I was very excited to read another book by Brown – and my friend Mandy graciously lent me this one. I will admit that it was very slow getting into. The first half of the book is spent setting things up with the election, NASA’s history, and providing information about the meteorite. The exciting stuff didn’t start until easily 300 pages into the book. Luckily, I stuck it through to the end and was pleasantly surprised by the twist in the plot (I literally said “What the heck!?!” when I read it!). In the end, it was worth the read, and I would recommend this book to others, just make sure you push through those first 300 pages – it will be worth it!

Rating: 4 Stars

52 Book Challenge - Book Two: The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid is the first book of The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. This series follows siblings Carter and Sadie Kane, who find out that they are direct descendants from two Pharaohs of ancient Egypt after their father disappears from the British Museum after he tries to summon the Egyptian god, Osiris. Unfortunately this act not only releases Osiris (and traps him in their father’s body), but also releases several other gods, as well as Set, the god of storms, who then entombs their father in a tomb. This thrusts Carter and Sadie into an adventure like no other as they discover the power they have inside of them. Not only do they have to defend themselves against the minions of the evil god Set, but they also have to avoid The House of Life, which is a group of magicians that believe that the Egyptian gods should not interact with magicians. With the help of the cat goddess Bast, their uncle Amos, an unlikely friend from the House of Life, and seeking assistance from Set’s brothers and sisters, Carter and Sadie travel around the world, searching for a way to stop Set as he builds his Red Pyramid, intending to rule the world.

If you have read and enjoyed the Percy Jackson series by Riordan, then you will enjoy the Kane Chronicles. It’s full of ancient history, battles, romance (well, as much romance as 12 and 14 year olds can get!), and humor. The book bounces back and forth between the views of Carter and Sadie, so you get to hear from both of them throughout the book. I am very excited to see where this series go. The second book,The Red Throne, was released in December of 2011, and the third (and final) book will be released in May 2012, so I won’t have to wait very long! J

Rating: 5 Stars

Wordless Wednesday: Frozen

Wordless Wednesday: Soaring over California

52 Book Challenge: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is written from the point of view of Thomas, a boy who wakes up in an elevator with no idea of who he is and where he is. The elevator takes him to the “Glade”,  the central area of a large Maze where he meets a group of boys who have lived in the Glade, trying to find a way out of it by sending runners into the maze during the day to map it’s twists and turns. A new boy is delivered once every month, but the day after Thomas arrives, the elevator brings another person: a girl. Her arrival sets things in motion that cause Thomas, and the rest of the boys, to question why they were sent to the Maze and whether or not they can ever escape from it. 

Rating: Four Stars 

While this was a very good read (I couldn't put it down), I wasn't thrilled about the how the characters spoke. They created some of their own words, which they used like swear words (for example, "shuck" was one of them). I think the reason the author had the characters do this, was because they could remember some words/images from their past, and I think the words they created were based on those words (Shuck would be sh** and f*** combined together). While I understand WHY the characters may have done that, I did find it a little irritating.

Next Week's book:

The 52 Book Challenge

A friend and I were discussing our desire to read more in 2012. We both love to read, but haven't read as much as we like in the past. She wanted to set a goal to read x-amount of books in one year. After talking about it, we finally decided to do one book a week, so 52 books for the whole year, and blog about each book that we read.

The one rule is that it has to be a NEW book - one that you have never read before.

It can be an genre, any size, any shape, any color. :)

My first book is 'The Maze Runner' by James Dashner

2012 New Year's Resolutions...

In 2012, I want to...

...sing more.

...read more.

...write more.

...bake more.

...get new ink!

-M-