Welcome to the first ever blog series of this new book blog. In this series I will be writing about my favorite 10 books of this year! These are books that I have read for the first time this year, not necessarily books that have been published this year (though some were, in fact, published this year).
Yes, I know there’s nearly a month left, but let’s face it. With only 26 books to go for the year, and no new releases for new books over the holidays, I am unlikely to find a book that will change this list.
Check back tomorrow and every day after for the rest of the list!
10. The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Having grown up well-versed in Greek mythology thanks to my incredible father, and having been traumatized at an early age by the blasphemy that is the Disney version of Hercules, I was dubious coming into this series, especially seeing as the main character sounded like he could easily be crossing over into Gary Stu territory—aka a shameless author self-insert character who is just there to fulfill the author’s personal fantasies. I was afraid that it’d butcher the awesome beauty of the endless array of Greek mythology in order to make it fit within modern American perceptions of what makes good YA.
I am relieved to report that none of my fears about this series were true. It’s a smart, well-written boys’ adventure series, and all the winks and nods to Greek mythology fans kept me interested. It was fun to read about stories I thought I had long forgotten, recalling childhood memories I didn’t know I had. My only gripe for this series was the author’s assumption that the Greek gods go where Western Civilization goes, and therefore Olympus is now in New York. Typical American self-centeredness, but I can forgive that for the exciting, tightly knit, and ultimately satisfying series. They are incredibly easy, fast reads, so I definitely recommend this for younger ages, though I wouldn’t be ashamed caught reading this in public either (unlike another certain popular YA series I can name, hem hem).
I really enjoyed this series, and this book is a great opener to it.