Newest Rick Riordan book an easy read
I don’t know what middle-grade/young adult book groups you’ve been hanging out with, but my friends and I were extremely excited when Rick Riordan, acclaimed author of the “Percy Jackson” book series, announced a new book.
“Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer” gives Riordan’s take on Norse mythology this time, with the “Percy Jackson” series and spin-off series, “Heroes of Olympus,” dealing with Greek and Roman myths, and his other work, “The Kane Chronicles,” following ancient Egyptian mythology.
I enjoyed the book and loved the characters. The titular character is a cousin of one of the “Percy Jackson” series’ protagonists, which is an interesting creative choice and possibly a play off of the series’ huge success, at no detriment to the plot. Magnus, the protagonist, seems a bit like the other big male characters Riordan has written most of the time, with an extremely smart tongue, traumatic past and a itsy-bitsy hero complex. Honestly, he’s not my favorite character in the book. He makes you laugh, but he strikes as a bit of a traditional “hero” character.
The other characters, however, take the cake. I am all for diversity in literature, so I was happy to find a Muslim-American teen as the leading lady. Many other sidekicks accompany Magnus on his quest to slow the coming of the apocalypse along the way, and each are memorable in their own way.
The story is sort of predictable at times, and the “secret” villain revealed at the end of the book was easily guessed from the halfway point, at least. However, I understand that the book deals with ancient source material here. I believe Riordan takes the myths, researched exceptionally well, and wraps them around a good story to make it memorable.
Did I enjoy it? Without a doubt. Will I read the next book? Oh, yeah. Should you read this book? If you want an easy read with great characters and like mythology-driven stories, then this book is just your cup of tea.
By Sophia Curry
7th grade, JFK Catholic