Series Week - Let's Talk Sequels!

Both of us have been reading a lot of sequels this year. So as part of our series week, we thought we would combine a few of them into one post.

A Millions Suns by Beth Revis ( Razorbill, January 2012) is the sequel to Across the Universe.  I reviewed that book last year here.  A Million Suns was just as good as the first book. I would say this one was much more YA appropriate, unlike the first book. There is another mystery in this one.  Orion has left Amy clues throughout the ship that will reveal some important secrets about  Godspeed.  I won't give any of them away because it would really ruin it for you.

While trying to help Amy out, Elder is now Eldest and is trying to navigate his way to becoming a leader. Meanwhile, all of the inhabitants of Godspeed are off the drugs that kept them emotionless for so long.  I thought this was really interesting because they are all of a sudden trying to learn how to be a civilized society with only ancient books telling them what to do.  As you can imagine, chaos is rampant!  A Millions Suns ends on another cliffhanger of sorts.  I was pleased that  lot of unanswered questions from the first book are answered here. I look forward to the last in the trilogy, Shades of Earth, that comes out in 2013!

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts (Penguin, May 2012) is the second in the Boonsboro Inn Trilogy.  I reviewed the first one, The Next Always, earlier this year. While I liked this installment, I'm not sure I liked it was much as the first one.  It moved a bit too slowly for me.  It seemed like it took forever for Owen and Avery to get together.  I know that Owen is a planner, but the way they over analyzed their relationship got a bit boring after a while.

It was nice to see all of the other characters in this one.  The scene with Owen and his mother in the kitchen was just too funny!  I could not stop laughing!  The humor between the brothers was a lot of fun as well.  We learn a bit more about the resident ghost and that story line is turning out really interesting.  The last in the series, The Perfect Hope, comes out in November 2012.

The Serpent's Shadow (Hyperion, May 2012) is the last in the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.  This one was kind of a let down for me. I was hoping it would top the second book, The Red Pyramid,(which I loved) but sadly it fell a bit short.  I thought some of the parts were a bit drawn out. I found myself hoping the audiobook would hurry up and finish already. The idea about shadows was interesting but not enough to keep me fully engaged.

As expected, the brother and sister team save the day with help from their friends.  They also learn some lessons along the way.   While I am a sucker for romance, I felt like the "romances" between Carter and Zia as well as Sadie and Walt/Anubis (that kind of creeped me out a bit) were unnecessary to the story line as a whole.  The books would have been fine with out them and would have made for a better ending. 

I finally got around to reading Insurgent (HarperTeen, 2012) the sequel to Divergent by Veronica Roth.  It was really good, but I didn't feel as emotionally attached to the characters as I did in the first book.  Perhaps it was because too much time passed between reading the two books?  Sometimes I think I should wait until all the books come out before I start reading these trilogies, but then I'm behind the times and I hate that too.  Such a quandary!

In Insurgent Tris and Four are battling the ups and downs of their relationship and I think this was part of my problem.  I just wanted Tris and Four to be happy.  I didn't understand why she couldn't just do what he wanted so they could be happy and normal together.  But they're also waging a battle against the Erudite and trying to get and keep the factionless on their side so all that is putting strain on their relationship. 

Overall, it was a good second book in a trilogy.  Usually, seconds are fairly worthless, but this one wasn't too bad.  I'm ready to read the third, but I'm going to have to wait until sometime next year I guess.  It doesn't even have a title yet...although I've seen some jokes going around saying it was going to be titled Detergent  :)

Magnificent Middle Grade Week: The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles #2)

Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Hyperion Books (May 2011)

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

The Throne of Fire is the second in the Kane Chronicles. I also enjoyed the first one, The Red Pyramid, but I liked this one better. I felt like I was getting less of a history lesson and more adventure. That was my biggest complaint about The Red Pyramid. This time around, Sadie and her Brother Carter Kane must find the god Ra and prevent Anubis from entering the mortal world.

I felt like the kids grew into their own in this one. Their relationship with each other became stronger. I loved Sadie. She is like a breath of fresh air. She says it like it is and her thoughts often caused laugh out loud moments for me. Carter isn't as full of personality, but he is slowly growing on me. Along with many of the same characters from the first book, we are introduced to a few new faces. I thought they brought a freshness to the story. Walt was just too sweet for words and Bes was a great god. I would love to see a drawing of him in his Hawaiian shirt and speedo.

The Throne of Fire is more serious than The Red Pyramid. The siblings face more loss in this one. While sad, the loss is necessary to give them strength for the battle ahead. It is also filled with many battles as in the first one. The end of the book does give some resolution, but there is also a cliffhanger of sorts. I hope the next book comes out soon to see if Sadie and Carter can save the world and put the selfish gods in their places.
I feel this series is very similar to the Percy Jackson series, which I loved. There are battles, selfish gods, and children who must battle evil to save the world. Despite that, I am enjoying it. I wouldn't call this a stand alone novel. There is a lot of back story in the first one that I think is necessary for this one, so I recommend reading them in order.

I think any Middle Grade reader who is a fan of Percy Jackson will enjoy this series as well!

--Kari