The Medusa Plot

The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman

The 39 Clues. Cahills vs. Vespers. Book 1.

As if finding all of the 39 Clues’ ten books written by seven different authors wasn’t hard enough. We, librarians, really need a cheat sheet. It is hard even keeping track of the titles. I sometimes wonder if we couldn’t just shelve them under 39 Clues. Of course, would they be at the very end or the very beginning because it’s numerical OR would we shelve them alphabetically by Thirty-nine?

Not to mention the odd eleventh book, Vespers Rising, that is a prequel of sorts written by four different authors itself. (one of my favorites because of the background and history.)

But I’ll stop complaining because the kids continue to ask for them. Whatever brings the kids in and not only inspires them to read, but keeps them coming back for more – well, I’m thrilled with that.

And I actually, really and truly enjoyed The Medusa Plot. Get out! Seriously. I even know why I appreciated it so much. Amy and Dan get to go to Italy! With trips to Florence, Lake Como and Rome – all places that I have been! I especially relished their visits to the Uffizi and the Colosseum. It really helps to have a vested interest in a setting.

Cahills vs. Vespers takes place two years after Vespers Rising. What have our young clue hunters been up to? Amy has been preparing herself so that she will never be caught off guard and helpless again. She and Sinead Starling, an Ekat, have created a Cahill Training Camp for themselves at Amy and Dan’s replicated Grace Cahill Mansion. Amy has become a lean, mean, fighting machine – with a serious boyfriend who, of course, knows nothing of Amy’s secret Cahill life.

Dan has entered a solitary depression. It’s hard to live a normal life after the adventure-filled, danger-packed, epic-quick life of a clue hunter. With his photographic-memory, he IS the last copy of Gideon’s super serum. Only Dan has the list of 39 ingredients with the directions to combine them. To fight his boredom, as well as to give him a sense of security, Dan has been acquiring the ingredients so that he will be prepared when the Vespers strike. He is not quick enough.

The Vespers finally make their move by kidnapping seven Cahill cousins and holding them hostage in an undisclosed place. It is up to Amy and Dan and any remaining cousins to jump through hoops to save the lives of the hostages. And Vesper One requires the Cahills become criminals. They must steal a valuable work of art from the Uffizi and deliver it to the Vespers or else a hostage will die.

But there is more to the demand than meets the eye.

Can Amy and Dan commit a felony, complete the mission, discover the location of the hostages, and uncover the true intent of the Vespers before a hostage dies? I’m sure it will take several books to find out!

Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories

Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories by John Flanagan

Yea!! Yea, yea, yea! Another Ranger’s Apprentice! Just when I thought all was lost. Just when I lamented that there would never be another story about Halt and Will, John Flanagan comes through for me! Yippee!!!

Now, the good or the bad first…

Okay, it’s actually not so bad, but the book is really only a compilation of additional stories. Nine stories sandwiched between a Foreword and an Afterword. Personally, I would have called them a Prologue and an Epilogue because they are a part of the fantasy. There are little Author’s Notes at the beginning of some of the stories which are a part of reality. Which is it? Fantasy or reality? I guess I don’t need the little explanations for “why” a story was written. I just want to enjoy the story.

I actually like the idea that latter-day archeologists are uncovering the hidden manuscripts from Halt and Will’s time (the Words.) It just doesn’t work as well, because the author hasn’t fully committed. His archeologists can do the talking for him OR he can choose to insert his own thoughts. Just not both, please. I like to stay suspended in the fantasy.

The premise is questionable. Rangers are merely legend to modern day people. There are only ten accounts of them and they are all about Will and Halt. But their existence has never been proven until now. So… the Lost Stories prove the previous ten books? Were they books or oral tradition? It doesn’t say. There is no elaboration. If I had gone to the trouble of doing it this way, I would have had a great deal of fun with it and ELABORATED! Sorry for yelling.

BUT. The stories were good. There are nine stories and each is around five chapters long. There is also a single chapter bonus at the end! My favorite of the stories is called Death of a Hero. In it, we finally learn about the true origin of Will. It was quite powerful. It brought tears to my eyes – the good and happy kind of tears where you almost cannot catch your breath because of the joy.

The stories cover everything from more about where Halt came from to additional missions not formerly mentioned. Ranger Gilan and the Jenny, former ward of the state, also get their own stories. I don’t think I would be spoiling anything by mentioning that one story is about the Royal Wedding foreshadowed in the tenth book. Thanks to Will, it all ends well!

There were only a couple of stories included that I could have done without. One, the Roamers, involves a group of people that are obviously Tinkers or Gypsies and they are given no mercy. They have been painted very stereotypically as thieves. I was, quite honestly, surprised. The other one was Wolf. The wolf was the main character at the beginning of the story and I was cheering for him, but alas, it doesn’t end well for the animal. Nor for Tug, Will’s pony, either.

I think that Emperor was a much better ending to the series. Of course, now I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Outcast, the first in the Brotherhood Chronicles by Flanagan!

The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

In 2006, two movies about magicians were released. One was called The Illusionist and starred Edward Norton, Jessica Biel and Rufus Sewell. The other was called The Prestige and starred Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johannson (with a perfect choice of David Bowie as Nicola Tesla.) They were both mystery, period pieces and I really wondered how the market place would receive these two films… seemed overkill. Of course, I waited for the release to DVD and then watched them over the course of two evenings. They were both unique and different despite the similar themes. Although, I would recommend both, I won’t leave you wondering… I preferred The Prestige. I’ve watched it more than once. I prefer those actors, and while it is more disturbing, I find the outcome worth the discomfort.

Yes, this really brings me to The Night Circus. The movies were about a person’s quest for the masterpiece, the need for illusionary perfection, a desire to delight and amaze. And WIN.

And I have to admit, even though I never do this, this is the second time I’ve done it this year. Oops. I dropped the juvenile list and scooped up an adult novel. But I think we’ll be seeing some Young Adults requesting this in much the same way the mothers went after Twilight and The Hunger Games. It is that astounding and lyrical and lovely without all of the high school drama and sensationalism. This novel is a gorgeous piece of art and I would love to see the dreamlike sequences on the big screen.

Two great illusionists who have been competing over the years, decades … centuries meet one final time to settle the record once and for all. Prospero the Enchanter finds out that he has fathered a daughter. Upon meeting her, he discovers that she has a natural talent. With this ace in his pocket, he approaches the other magician, Mr. A.H., to set up a competition. Mr. A.H. is given the time to find and teach his own student. The two magicians choose a venue for the competition to play out. And then they wait for someone to make the first move. The game is completed when one of the students becomes the clear winner.

In the past the venue has always been private and personal. But Prospero wants to make it more interesting by placing it in public. He suggests a third performer, Chandresh Christophe Lefevre, an illusionist in his own right, to be the sponsor and create the venue. Patrons are acquired and then players are hired and the Circus of Dreams is born. This circus will be like nothing else ever witnessed before it. Everything is entirely in black, white and shades of gray. It opens at dusk and closes at dawn. It appears magically one day and leaves just as fleetingly. No one knows the when, where or how. And this is the stage for our two competitors.

Marco is Mr. A.H.’s contender. He makes the first move by applying to work for Lefevre and becomes his personal assistant. Marco’s advantage is having a hand in everything about the circus; however, his disadvantage is not being on site. Everything he creates is done from London. His competitor is Prospero’s daughter, Celia Bowen. She is hired as the circus’s illusionist. Her talent is a natural ability to manipulate her surrounding reality. Her advantage is being right there is in the middle of the dream. Her disadvantage is not knowing her opponent.

Because Marco was assisting when she was hired, he knows from the start that she is his competition, but he is also almost immediately drawn to her. Every fantastical tent he creates is like a letter to Celia revealing himself. She responds in kind with her own creations. She may not know who he is but his skill and artistry captivate her. It is no wonder that they fall in love when they finally meet and drop all pretenses. When they are around each other, it is electric. They decide to finish or quit the game so that they can be together.

Unfortunately, they are informed that the game can only end when one of them can no longer maintain their end of the competition which results in one’s death. Neither can imagine a world without the other. How can they maintain the circus, which has acquired a cult following with a life of its own, finish the game, and come out alive on the other side? Only two accomplished illusionists can pull it off.

To give you some idea of the circus, there is a tattooed contortionist, a naïve fortune-teller, acrobats, big cat-tamers, little kitten trainers, living statues, living carousels, cloud mazes, labyrinths, ice gardens, wishing trees and delectable treats to be enjoyed. And so much more. I have only given you a glimpse, a teaser, of the main story. There are sub stories to entrance and captivate as well. For only 387 pages, I’m astounded at the amount the author was able to pack inside this striking package.

The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I simply should never be so impatient. Son of Neptune snuck up on me. I had been watching diligently for its arrival, but I must have been distracted. The next thing I knew, there was a request list nearly 100 patrons long and my name was nowhere to be found in the queue. Luckily for me, a co-worker was first on the list and finished it in record time. She offered to loan it to me, but I only had 2 weeks and I was still mucking through Going Bovine. While I managed to finish it by the deadline, I also had to return it before I could write about it. Without the book sitting on my laptop pressuring me, well, no pressure… no output! Next time – be patient!

Let me preface this by saying that I really enjoyed The Lost Hero, its prequel. The idea that Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are the same deities, but show different aspects was intriguing. Roman gods are aggressive and military-minded. Greek gods are passive and philosophical. Most especially, I was delighted with all of the new characters. The three new Roman demigods, Jason, Leo and Piper successfully carried the book. I wanted to learn more about them. Alas, not in the sequel.

After all, the title is Son of Neptune and another name for Neptune is Poseidon. And who is the son of Poseidon? Why, yes, Percy Jackson, again. I like Percy Jackson just fine, but he’s already got five of his own books. I want more Jason! And Piper. And Leo. But no, it’s not to be, yet.

It’s interesting that in the majority of this book, Percy’s memory is still vacant because I found quite a few holes in my memory as well. I am no longer one of those people who rereads all of the Harry Potter’s every time a new book or movie comes out. There just isn’t the time with all of the incredible new books out there. But to truly catch every piece of the puzzle and every “in” joke, it might be worth your while to revisit the original Percy Jackson series. Old characters are back and making their mark.

Along with the old characters, we do get quite a few new characters when Percy finds the Roman kid’s camp, Camp Jupiter. Hazel Levesque is a girl with a past. No, really. She lived a long time ago in New Orleans. She died, but then her brother Nico di Angelo brought her back. Something very bad happened during her first life and she really deserves to be dead, but she gets the opportunity to redeem herself.

Frank Zhang rounds out this book’s triumvirate of hero demigods. Frank has his own battles to fight. One of his ancestors caused the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 so he is an outcast or maybe just an underdog at Camp. He’s really big and perhaps a bit clumsy and he looks way too young for his manly bulk. According to his mother, a Canadian soldier who died in Afghanistan, he has a special ability because he can claim another god as his ancestor on his mother’s side. Frank just hopes he can figure out what that special ability is before it’s too late.

No, this is not my favorite of the series. Some portions read too much like a script for a movie. It took too long to get caught up in the action. But when those last battles finally exploded, I was “in”. And Jason is on his way!