Riordan did such a smart thing with this book, he took the two best-known characters and put them in Hades. Forcing Percy and Annabeth to strike out on their own, in a place where they couldn't get help from their fellow demigods, keeps them isolated and finally allows someone else to really shine. In a series where fans already "knew" who the hero was, shuffling characters around finally lets Riordan show off the heroic qualities in all his characters. And, he does an amazing job bringing Tartarus to life. His descriptions of the Underworld are better than of actual places he sends the other demigods to visit.
I know know why Riordan waited so long into the series to position his characters in this way. I knew he had to build out the story slowly since it's a long series with a lot of moving parts, but still, this is the first time I really felt like I was getting to know anybody. The narrative finally goes beyond simple back story for each demigod and in addition to all that we start learning about who they all really are and what they're experiencing on this quest, how it's changing them. In the midst of all this character development there is an actual mission the demigods much achieve - to reset the Doors of Death and prevent the monsters loyal to Gaea from quickly regenerating once defeated. The trick is in closing the Doors properly and they have to be accessed at the same time from both the entrance in Tartarus and the one in our world (located in the House of Hades in Greece.) Percy and Annabeth end up falling into Hades so they take on that part of the quest while the rest of the crew - Hazel, Piper, Frank, Leo, Jason, and Nico travel topside to the House of Hades. Everyone knows they're coming so there's no shortage of monsters trying to defeat the demigods at both ends of the quest.
As the journey continues the demigods are really given a chance to grow their talents. Frank evolves into a true son of Ares and a mighty warrior. It even changes his physical appearance. Hazel learns to manipulate The Mist, a new talent that really comes in handy in the major battles of this quest. Leo develops in a different, more personal way, but still changes for the better in a way that benefits the whole team. This particular quest really teaches the characters so much about themselves that I found this book to really be the most meaningful in the series.
Focusing less on Greek and Roman myths and more on the actual character of the characters makes House of Hades by far the best book I've read by Riordan since wrapping up Percy's own series. I'm excited to see where all these characters end up and am sad I've finally caught up to the publisher and now have to wait something like six months for the final book.
My review here is light on plot because I had a baby while reading this. Most of what I read before the baby was born got a little fuzzy after, but I definitely liked the book a lot and am still pretty happy with the series overall.
This book was an extremely quick read but totally disappointing. There are simply no happy endings, only short-lived moments of joy. If you're going to fictionalize not just the life of a famous author, but her whole family, you could at least give the reader more than fleeting happiness to walk away with. Not even Louisa seems content with her writing career in the end -- how sad is that?
The book focuses on a single year really in Louisa's adult life when her family relocates from Concord, Mass. to Walpole, New Hampshire. Her family is living off the charity of others since her father refuses to work a "day job," so she's struggling between the demands of helping her family sustain themselves and the desire to strike out on her own and really pursue her writing. She's already been published at this point and has saved enough money to venture out on her own, but decided to help her family settle into their new home first.
In the midst of her time in Walpole, she falls in love, waffling back and forth between the traditional concept of marriage as an acceptable future and her continuing desire for her independence. How it translates in the book though is in repeated confrontations between the lovers where Louisa caves in - admits her love and willingness to be with her man - waits a minute to think it over, and changes her mind, abandoning him. It's redundant with a bad payoff since at the end of the book she's not even fulfilled by the ultimate choice she makes for herself.
I love Little Women and had no expectations this book would mirror any stories from that book, but I was hoping for a little less depressing drama and a little more positive character growth. So many books are popping up that fictionalize the life of someone well-known and I admit that I do enjoy the genre, but skip this book. It's just not worth even the brief investment.
I'm not really sure why this memoir stuck out to me. Maybe it's because I've always thought of Penny Marshall as a character and was curious about her real life. I also always liked how laid back she appeared and how out of the media she was/is. Her life seemed like something to really be curious about and her memoir didn't disappoint.
The book opens with the greatest anecdote I've ever heard. Penny is home alone, an adult, and she she's getting robbed. She has a facial masque on so she's covered in green goo and she somehow manages to call security, get the robbers out of her house, and clean her face off without losing her cool. She even gets to know one of the robbers who admits he wouldn't have broken in if he'd known it was her house. It was very attention grabbing and basically sums up the theme of the book, really of Penny's life - she just doesn't lose her cool. She moves through life accepting opportunities as they come, asking for help learning the ropes in Hollywood, and developing an amazing acting/directorial career.
Everything in her life seems to happen organically and she knows everybody! With this casual tone she talks about the parade of celebrities that come in and and our her life, live in her house, and travel the world with her. What's unique is how she humanizes them along the way, really showing that nobody has it all together all the time. She marches to her own beat driven by the relationships she had with all kinds of people. She also manages to circumvent the Hollywood curse of all things being temporary (like fame itself) and keeps lifelong friends.
This was a great book, an easy life story to follow, and especially enjoyable because of the short chapters. I could pick this book up and put it down at will without losing momentum in the narrative. It was a great book to read while sitting around waiting...which I've been doing a lot of lately (freaking slow-moving doctor's appointments!!!!)
So much happened in this book, but I guess when you're juggling seven story lines it's to be expected. Even though our seven prophecy-chosen demigods are all questing together in this book, there are a lot of moments of fragmentation - small group off-shoots - that end up keeping the overall story moving forward. It honestly got a little confusing who had done what and where at times, but like I said, this was a very busy story.
Finally, the seven demigods meant to save the world have come together: Percy and Annabeth who you know really well by now if you're a Riordan fan, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Leo. Their group quest is to travel to Rome and destroy twin giants - Gaea's minions - before they destroy Rome, but a separate quest has been given to Annabeth to find an old statue of Athena that went missing in Rome centuries ago which Athena has been trying to get back ever since, sacrificing her demigod children along the way. Apparently the statue is necessary to ultimately stop Gaea so Annabeth has to succeed on her quest as much as the group as a whole needs to stop the giants.
After traveling across the the U.S. with a few heart-pounding pit stops (because nothing is easy for these guys,) they head out to Rome. As they travel, more pieces of the puzzle of exactly what needs to be done and who can potentially help them fall into place. In the end, they have to find and retrieve the statue, kill the giants, and save their friend Nico (also Hazel's brother) who has been kidnapped and is near death. They face many monsters and immortals we haven't seen yet (surprised there are so many left) from both Greek and Roman origin and enlist the help of a very unlikely God. Any success they find is made bittersweet by the cliffhanger ending that divides the group in a way that makes it uncertain whether they'll ever come back together.
So much happens and it's all very fast-paced with a lot of jumping around that, as I said, gets a little confusing. I also felt like the action took center stage here just as we were getting to know everyone and I was sad that often personality development was set aside so we could watch the characters simply do things. While we do learn a little more about some of our demigods, their motivation for what they do becomes a little muted at times. I also just kept getting Piper and Hazel confused. I couldn't help it and I felt like that was a flaw from the story.
Two more books in the series though with the last one publishing later this year, so I've almost caught up to the author :) I think it's definitely a series worth finishing. I might even go through Percy Jackson withdraw when it's all over. It's fun to have something exciting and easy-to-read in my book queue though.
