Favorite Author Fridays

Books I’ve been reading this last week or so:

Sunshine – Robin McKinley

From her website:

Rae, nicknamed Sunshine by her stepfather, is the baker at her family’s coffeehouse. She’s happy getting up at 4 am to make cinnamon rolls for the breakfast rush, and dealing with people and food all day. But one evening she needed somewhere she could be alone for a little while, and there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years.
She never thought of vampires.
Until they found her.

I really need to read this book later when I’m not pregnant. It was written in a style very close to stream of consciousness, which isn’t my favorite style. However my real problem was that everything wasn’t wrapping up etc. like I wanted. Normally that’s not a huge problem, you know being actually surprised by a book but right now it was almost depressing to me. I would definitely recommend it and will read it again when I’m not so unstable…

The Smile – Donna Jo Napoli

From Amazon.com:

The identity of the woman the world calls Mona Lisa has ignited speculation since Leonardo da Vinci created her portrait and left it untitled, unsigned, and undated. In this richly embroidered romance set in Renaissance Florence, Napoli imagines the young life of the woman behind the famous smile. Thirteen-year-old Elisabetta, the daughter of a wealthy silk merchant, is starting to think of marriage when Leonardo da Vinci, a family friend, introduces her to young heir Giuliano de’ Medici. Political turmoil that escalates into war threatens the young romance, though, and Elisabetta is caught between her passionate attachment to Giuliano and her dutiful obligations to her family.

Same as my comments for Sunshine. This book was beautifully written, the characters were amazing and yet I was sad when it ended. Not just sad but unfulfilled. Obviously my pregnancy hormones want Disney-style endings.

The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse – Rick Riordan

From his website:

What if the gods of Olympus were alive in the 21^st Century? What if they still fell in love with mortals and had children who might become great heroes — like Theseus, Jason and Hercules?

What if you were one of those children?

Such is the discovery that launches twelve-year-old Percy Jackson on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction – Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.

OK this is possibly the level of intellectual stimulation I can stand right now because I loved these! I picked up the first one the beginning of this week and bought the next two a day later (there are 5 in all).

I have always loved greek and roman mythology (see side *note/story at bottom) and these books are really effective at teaching the myths and drawing you into the characters at the same time.

I loved the website and while I was on it I found the following. Has anyone read this book/series? Is it good? It sounds way cool.

The Maze of Bones - Rick Riordan

Amy and Dan Cahill know their family is big, but they don’t realize how big until their grandmother Grace’s funeral. Relatives arrive from all over the world by special invitation. In Grace’s last will and testament, she issues this challenge:

For your inheritance, you may have the first of thirty-nine clues. The first team to successfully put together the clues, which are scattered across the world, will discover the secret of Cahill power and become the richest, most important people in history.

Or you may take one million dollars in cash right now and walk away.

Amy and Dan take the challenge! Soon, they are catapulted into a dangerous round-the-world race for the thirty-nine clues. They will explore every continent, and delve into the strangest, darkest chapters of world history to find the secret origins of their family. Other teams will try to eliminate them by any means necessary, because in this treasure hunt only one team can win, and there are no rules.

The 39 Clues will feature ten action-packed books. The first, The Maze of Bones, is written by Rick Riordan, who also designed the story arc for the entire series. The 39 Clues experience also includes trading cards and a huge on-line game which will allow you to become a member of the Cahill family and compete for amazing prizes! Each of the 39 Clues books will be written by a different author. The second, One False Note, is available as of December 2, 2008, and was written by Gordon Korman. Check the 39 Clues website for further information about the series.

*OK so in 6^th grade we did a big unit on Greek/Roman Myths. I loved it. At the end of the unit we had a Greek and Roman Fashion Show. All the girls wanted to be Aphrodite except me- I wanted to be Athena. So, of course, I was picked to be Aphrodite. It’s one of the only costumes my mom has ever made that I didn’t scream about not being movie set quality. It was an sleeveless sheath style dress in really silky blue material and trimmed with a cool design in gold thread. Way to go Mom!