The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. (Hyperion 2011)

This book is the second of three in the "Heroes of Olympus" series.

 Percy Jackson awakes to find himself with no memory of his past life. Percy fights his way past monsters who never seem to die. When he meets a crazy old woman named June, he doesn’t know what to expect. And when he finds himself in a place he’s never seen before, crazy old June turns into Juno, a goddess. Everything changes from there. Roman this, Roman that. None of it seems familiar, as Percy only really remembers Greek. Percy is not-so-welcomed into the Roman legion, and becomes friends with Hazel and Frank, who eventually go on a quest with him, under order of Mars, the Roman form of Ares, the god of war. The three are on a mission to stop Alcyoneus, the eldest giant, before the Feast of Fortuna. Percy, Hazel, and Frank must battle through monsters, more monsters, flashbacks (in Hazel’s case), memory loss (in Percy’s case), wishing his father were someone else (in Frank’s case), love (a little), family, old friends (sort of) and many other things on this adventure by Rick Riordan. Filled with details, description, and everything else a person might want in a good book.

The Old Willis Place

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion, 2007)

This book is about 2 kids who live alone near an abandoned mansion who meet the new caretaker of the grounds and one of the kids, Diana, tried to make friends with the daughter, but must stretch the truth of earlier life. When the girls go through the old Willis home, Diana is scared that Mrs. Willis will be in the parlor and Lissa tries to prove her wrong, but the ghost is able to leave the place where she died. Mrs. Willis begins to chase all of the kids, including Georgie, Diana’s little brother. And in order to save themselves, they must save Mrs. Willis as well.

 This story is among the best books Mary Downing Hahn has ever written. Her excellence with description shine, and her ghost story is rather spooky. I would recommend it to almost anyone who likes a good ghost story.

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn (Sandpiper, 2010)

This story is about an orphaned girl named Florence who is taken in by relatives she never knew about.  Florence arrives at her new home to find out she looks almost exactly like her dead cousin.  Aunt dislikes her immediately, and Uncle is very distant.  Her other cousin, James, is apparently too sick to leave her room.  Florence begins to hear noises, and soon her dead cousin Sophia appears to her – as a ghost.  Sophia begins to influence Florence to do mean things to people, including taking away James’ ghost-warding charm so Sophia can see James.  Sophia wants to recreate her death, and have someone else die to return her to life.  And she wants Florence to help her.  On Sophia’s death-day, she tries to repeat her death but have James die instead.

            I liked this book a lot.  Great details, very imaginative.  The only thing I don’t really like is how scared Florence was of Sophia.  I understand a bit, like James, but Florence was a little overdone.  Everything else was great.  I definitely recommend this book.

Wait Till Helen Comes

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn (HarperCollins, 1987)

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn is a ghost story about two kids and their mom who move in with their new stepdad and his daughter, Heather. Michael and Molly detest Heater, and she detests them. Heather loves trying to get Molly and Michael in trouble, and twists the truth without telling a white lie. Heather is determined to get revenge on them for their mom marrying her dad when they move into the old church that will become their home. Heather finds an old tombstone separate from the others, and soon seemingly finds the ghost of Helen. Heather then taunts Molly and Michael that Helen will come and make their lives unhappy. Soon strange things happen, and the blame goes to Molly and Michael. Molly, who sees Helen but no one believes her, must save Heather and form a bond to pull the family together. This book was excellent. The details and description were amazing, and the spookiness of it all really pulled it all together. I would definitely recommend it.

Cemetery Village

Cemetery Village by Mike Sincere (Smashwords, 2010) Also available as an e-book.

This book is about a girl named Jessica who gets a job in Salem, Massachusetts after her boyfriend’s death, which seems unrelated to the rest of the story, because there is not much further importance with him. Jessica’s parents are ok with sending Jessica off to an area known to be filled with witches to a person they don’t know. When Jessica leaves her home for Salem she suddenly is met by a seemingly crazy woman who dies before the plane leaves. This makes no sense either, as the woman is allowed on a plane in such a fragile health condition? Some parts of the story seem very rushed, as if the author wanted to skip ahead to a “better” part of the story. When Jessica drives around town with Norman, her “boss”, I don’t get why he takes her to the cemetery, but the fake witches and Norman’s suspicious personality are well-written and thought out. Sincere did a nice description of Norman’s wife and home, and when Anna and Katrina arrive, Anna’s sadness and scariness is very good. The suspiciousness of Anna as the girls go out, and when the girls go to the cemetery and have a séance is totally creepy. Skipping ahead to when the girls are trying to find Katrina, who got lost, I don’t get how Anna knows the witches but they were nicely described. When Jessica leaves Norman’s, because she doesn’t like his ways, why won’t Anna let her stay at her place? Why did Norman dress up like a witch and then blame Jessica and Anna for being one (a witch) when they aren’t? Some parts are really confusing but the creepiness and how freaky some characters are is awesome. The confusing parts are overruled by just how scary the book is, which is a good thing, too.