Scan barcode
almost_me_again's review against another edition
5.0
---------❤---------
this book was so good!
01) the new mythologies
I love mythology and i haven't read all of the RR presents books (so I was a bit confused tbh) but it was so cool being introduced to new mythologies.
02) the writing
it was written like RR but different. like the RR presents books (which is what they are) but still, they had that middle school, comedic, but not really juvenile style that I love from his projects.
03) the stories
the stories were all super good. the last on had a plot twist-ill talk about that later omg-but all the stories had great characters, even for 100 page stores, action, humor and good plot.
the titles
04) were the stores based on specific myths???
________POTENTIAL SPOILERS_________
Calamity Juice
• I loved that they were theatre kids, it just fit so perfectly. And the trenchcoat. that was great.
• it was cool how Gladis (I think) came back for her father. i definitely wouldn't have
• Yasmany was also great
Beware the Grove of True Love
• I love aruh shah so this was one of my favorites.
• it was pretty funny and tbh I thought it would bo a lot differently but it DIDN'T. it was kind of basic but I liked it
The Cave of Doom
• Bartholemow Butts III
• I loved the amount of suspense even in these 100 pages.
The Initiation
• this was good.
• it was awesome how her group didn't react badly to her being a fox and her brother being a ghost. They just accepted it and moved on.
• Duri- definitely my favorite character. they could turn into a dragon???? that's awesome I want to turn into a dragon.
The Gum Baby Files
• Granny Z
• I didn't love this tbh. i had no idea what the story was and I was moderately confused. (my fault)
The Demon Drum
• this was super cool
• I loved that the DRUM turned into a moster. that whole scene was written super well.
• I loved that Toni actually helped in the end but stayed Toni through the whole thing. like she didn't have a personality change yk
Bruto and the Freaky Flower
• I loved this
• I love weird fantasy plants and I loved the baby chupacabres. they were so cute, they just act like normal puppies and I love that
• Señora Mata was great actually. we love her
• one of my favorites
The Lonliest Demon
• this was a good story
• I loved that all of this was going on in the middle of new york
• the comic-con bit MIGHT be my favorite
• idk if it actually was a gyro place, but it made me want a gyro
My Night at the Gifted Carnival
• one of my favorites
• I loved these characters- never read anything else with them but I loved them right away.
• I knew when I read the title I would love it
• it was nothing like HP but also exactly like HP and I am in LOVE with HP so that was cool
• Dalgyal Gwisin was probably my favorite monster in the WHOLE book
My Life as a Child Outlaw
• it was so very Rick and I loved that
• the story was actually so good. I loved the ending
• "my advice for those seeking to change their appearance: get yourself a variety of skin diseases. they do wonders."
• "his eyes, red-rimmed and bloodshot around pale green irises, reminded me of bog rosemary in bloom and his gaze was just as poisonous."
• "he limped along, talking cheerfully about his favorite killings that week, how beautiful the sunset was, and you you really appreciated such things after yo'd just slaughtered six people."
• " It was hard to dislike someone who clearly loved life and killing so much."
• the camp of Liuth Luchara was....disturbing but so good. "floating in the lake were dozens of bodies."
• "told you....The morna clan, not my fate to die from them."
this book was so good!
01) the new mythologies
I love mythology and i haven't read all of the RR presents books (so I was a bit confused tbh) but it was so cool being introduced to new mythologies.
02) the writing
it was written like RR but different. like the RR presents books (which is what they are) but still, they had that middle school, comedic, but not really juvenile style that I love from his projects.
03) the stories
the stories were all super good. the last on had a plot twist-ill talk about that later omg-but all the stories had great characters, even for 100 page stores, action, humor and good plot.
the titles
04) were the stores based on specific myths???
________POTENTIAL SPOILERS_________
Calamity Juice
• I loved that they were theatre kids, it just fit so perfectly. And the trenchcoat. that was great.
• it was cool how Gladis (I think) came back for her father. i definitely wouldn't have
• Yasmany was also great
Beware the Grove of True Love
• I love aruh shah so this was one of my favorites.
• it was pretty funny and tbh I thought it would bo a lot differently but it DIDN'T. it was kind of basic but I liked it
The Cave of Doom
• Bartholemow Butts III
• I loved the amount of suspense even in these 100 pages.
The Initiation
• this was good.
• it was awesome how her group didn't react badly to her being a fox and her brother being a ghost. They just accepted it and moved on.
• Duri- definitely my favorite character. they could turn into a dragon???? that's awesome I want to turn into a dragon.
The Gum Baby Files
• Granny Z
• I didn't love this tbh. i had no idea what the story was and I was moderately confused. (my fault)
The Demon Drum
• this was super cool
• I loved that the DRUM turned into a moster. that whole scene was written super well.
• I loved that Toni actually helped in the end but stayed Toni through the whole thing. like she didn't have a personality change yk
Bruto and the Freaky Flower
• I loved this
• I love weird fantasy plants and I loved the baby chupacabres. they were so cute, they just act like normal puppies and I love that
• Señora Mata was great actually. we love her
• one of my favorites
The Lonliest Demon
• this was a good story
• I loved that all of this was going on in the middle of new york
• the comic-con bit MIGHT be my favorite
• idk if it actually was a gyro place, but it made me want a gyro
My Night at the Gifted Carnival
• one of my favorites
• I loved these characters- never read anything else with them but I loved them right away.
• I knew when I read the title I would love it
• it was nothing like HP but also exactly like HP and I am in LOVE with HP so that was cool
• Dalgyal Gwisin was probably my favorite monster in the WHOLE book
My Life as a Child Outlaw
• it was so very Rick and I loved that
• the story was actually so good. I loved the ending
• "my advice for those seeking to change their appearance: get yourself a variety of skin diseases. they do wonders."
• "his eyes, red-rimmed and bloodshot around pale green irises, reminded me of bog rosemary in bloom and his gaze was just as poisonous."
• "he limped along, talking cheerfully about his favorite killings that week, how beautiful the sunset was, and you you really appreciated such things after yo'd just slaughtered six people."
• " It was hard to dislike someone who clearly loved life and killing so much."
• the camp of Liuth Luchara was....disturbing but so good. "floating in the lake were dozens of bodies."
• "told you....The morna clan, not my fate to die from them."
bookishbird's review against another edition
5.0
Review (#giftedbook): The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities
Author: Multiple; Edited by Rick Riordan
Rating:
Author: Multiple; Edited by Rick Riordan
Rating:
nehainwonderland's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
lexireed's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
brittanyae's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. Review also cross-posted to NetGalley.
Okay, now that was a fun ride! I am definitely picking up a finished copy of this once it's out. Fair warning, however: there do seem to be spoilers about if you haven't read the series that these short stories are based in (here being the various mythology-based series of the Rick Riordan Imprint of Disney Hyperion). I personally have only read the Aru Shah series out of all of the ones included in this book, but I absolutely adore that series, so when I heard we'd get a tiny bit more of those characters in this one, I had to try my hand at getting a copy from NetGalley. And while I may not have been familiar with the characters of the other stories, this book made me want to pick more of them up. I've been saying that this year I'd try to get to more series in that imprint, and this might have been the final push I need.
Every single story held within this book was so much fun; they all immediately drew me in and made me want to keep reading. And while, yes, there do seem to be spoilers for some of the other books in this imprint held within these stories, none of the stories themselves were confusing to new readers for that reason. It felt like each story had little recap moments that not only introduced the world and characters and their past adventures to new readers, but also informed the reader as to what sort of mythology the story was centered around (without it feeling like beating you over the head with a ton of information before the short story could get off the ground, if that makes sense).
Plus, there are fun little easter eggs if you read through the entire book! Certain characters are mentioned across various stories (one particular unicorn might just show up in quite a few of them, if you keep your eyes peeled!), which just really reinforced the... family sort of feeling that this imprint has. I love how easily all these stories could intertwine and play off each other, which is a fun idea of the new Disney+ reboot of Percy Jackson ends up doing well. Like the Marvel or DC cinematic universes, there's room to expand is what I'm saying. I'd love to see some of these other series get the same treatment down the line!
This collection also was the first introduction to Riordan's possible future Celtic mythology series, and it was really interesting! (Side note: thank you for the Irish name pronunciation guide at the end of this story! I always love a good pronunciation guide. I want to be able to hear names correctly in my head as I read along.) I can't wait to see if more eventually comes out about this particular character. It's definitely going to be a book to watch out for.
All in all, this is a really great sampler of the series that the Rick Riordan Imprint currently is working with (or has possibly upcoming, in the case of Riordan's own aforementioned Celtic story). If you've ever thought about starting in on any of the books contained within the imprint, or are just a lover of mythological-based books, then this is worth picking up.
Okay, now that was a fun ride! I am definitely picking up a finished copy of this once it's out. Fair warning, however: there do seem to be spoilers about if you haven't read the series that these short stories are based in (here being the various mythology-based series of the Rick Riordan Imprint of Disney Hyperion). I personally have only read the Aru Shah series out of all of the ones included in this book, but I absolutely adore that series, so when I heard we'd get a tiny bit more of those characters in this one, I had to try my hand at getting a copy from NetGalley. And while I may not have been familiar with the characters of the other stories, this book made me want to pick more of them up. I've been saying that this year I'd try to get to more series in that imprint, and this might have been the final push I need.
Every single story held within this book was so much fun; they all immediately drew me in and made me want to keep reading. And while, yes, there do seem to be spoilers for some of the other books in this imprint held within these stories, none of the stories themselves were confusing to new readers for that reason. It felt like each story had little recap moments that not only introduced the world and characters and their past adventures to new readers, but also informed the reader as to what sort of mythology the story was centered around (without it feeling like beating you over the head with a ton of information before the short story could get off the ground, if that makes sense).
Plus, there are fun little easter eggs if you read through the entire book! Certain characters are mentioned across various stories (one particular unicorn might just show up in quite a few of them, if you keep your eyes peeled!), which just really reinforced the... family sort of feeling that this imprint has. I love how easily all these stories could intertwine and play off each other, which is a fun idea of the new Disney+ reboot of Percy Jackson ends up doing well. Like the Marvel or DC cinematic universes, there's room to expand is what I'm saying. I'd love to see some of these other series get the same treatment down the line!
This collection also was the first introduction to Riordan's possible future Celtic mythology series, and it was really interesting! (Side note: thank you for the Irish name pronunciation guide at the end of this story! I always love a good pronunciation guide. I want to be able to hear names correctly in my head as I read along.) I can't wait to see if more eventually comes out about this particular character. It's definitely going to be a book to watch out for.
All in all, this is a really great sampler of the series that the Rick Riordan Imprint currently is working with (or has possibly upcoming, in the case of Riordan's own aforementioned Celtic story). If you've ever thought about starting in on any of the books contained within the imprint, or are just a lover of mythological-based books, then this is worth picking up.
leahjanespeare's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
4.0
I haven’t read all the stories yet, just gonna read them as I read the related trilogies. From the ones I’ve read, you need a bit of context to get the full effect of the story. Especially liked Riordan’s (stand-alone?) one at the end though so far!
ddnreads's review against another edition
4.0
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE READ THE BOOKS FROM RR PRESENTS. These short stories contained spoilers, and might be overwhelming if you're not familiar with the universe and creatures there.
You could pick one random title. They don't engage one another (some mentions were found, tho
You could pick one random title. They don't engage one another (some mentions were found, tho
izzygo2021's review against another edition
I haven’t read any of the other stories published under Rick Riordan presents, so I don’t feel connected to the characters yet.
zaineylaney's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
While I normally don’t like Anthologies, this book has a little bit of something for everyone. From the puns of “Calamity Jane” to the camp setting of “The Gum Baby Files” each story is full of fun and whimsy. Come for the YA stories and stay for some fantasy! My favorite story was “My Night at the Gifted Carnival” by Graci Kim which connected me to the characters in a way I really didn’t expect. Plus who doesn’t love the carnival? My only drawback is sometimes it was hard to really dig into the characters. Some of the stories I had just got a handle on them and the story was over.
While I normally don’t like Anthologies, this book has a little bit of something for everyone. From the puns of “Calamity Jane” to the camp setting of “The Gum Baby Files” each story is full of fun and whimsy. Come for the YA stories and stay for some fantasy! My favorite story was “My Night at the Gifted Carnival” by Graci Kim which connected me to the characters in a way I really didn’t expect. Plus who doesn’t love the carnival? My only drawback is sometimes it was hard to really dig into the characters. Some of the stories I had just got a handle on them and the story was over.
eodbrt's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
5.0
One liner: Fans of Percy Jackson will love this collection of short stories from the Rick Riordan Presents worlds.
The book ends with Rick Riordan giving us a new hero in the world of Celtic Myhology. It ends at the exact point a new series could kick off. Wishful thinking?
My son and I love reading the Rick Riordan and Rick Riordan presents books together. This was a great chance to visit old friends and see them in a new adventure. It is also a great way to test out if you want to jump into the Rick Riordan Presents world if you haven't already.
I am thankful for the electronic copy of the book that I received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I purchased the audible version on my own.