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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
OH. MY. GOD. This book was so good, I’m not going to stop talking about it until everyone has read it. The Percy Jackson series is so dear to my heart because it helped introduce me to reading and it’s been my all time favorite series ever since so I’ll never be able to say that I love Magnus Chase better. Nevertheless what I can - and absolutely have to - admit is that Rick Riordan is undoubtedly doing a better job now in the matter of representation. It’s so heartwarming to see that some YA authors can take the subject of diversity seriously (unless like, you know, that JK Rowling woman, queen of queer-baiting).
“Look, some people prefer they,’ Alex said. ‘They’re non-binary or mid-spectrum or whatever. If they want you to use they, then that’s what you should do. But for me, personally, I don’t want to use the same pronouns all the time, because that’s not me. I change a lot. That’s sort of the point. When I’m she, I’m she. When I’m he, I’m he. I’m not they. Get it?’”
The thing about Rick Riordan is that he knows how to write a character. In each series I’ve read from him I loved almost every single one of them and cared so much for them it actually hurts. Magnus Chase is no exception.
It takes me a lot to actually appreciate a white boy (no offense but usually it takes them like 2 minutes to say something wrong) but I really like Magnus. I appreciated that Rick didn’t try to turn him into a new Percy or (thank the gods) a new Jason (I HATE Jason Grace). Magnus is such a cutie-pie. He’s lived in the streets for like two years so you’re immediately going to sympathize with him but at the same time hope it won’t turn him into a living cliché. Hopefully, he’s so much more. He is not that strong-male-hero kind of character and admits it himself. “At this point, most people would have thrown themselves down on the ground and given up hope. And by most people, I mean me.” As much as I love Percy, I think that Magnus is more relatable. His « flaws » and his human side are more visible - speaking of which he’s also wearing glasses. But what I love most about him is that, when not understanding an issue one of his friends is facing, he won’t try to overstep them. He will listen, and even though he does not always end up understanding, he will still respect people for what they are. So here’s a message to all the white boys out there : be a little more like Magnus Chase.
Now that the main character is out of the way, I have to speak about some others. Starting with Samirah, my fave, my child, my sun and stars. I love her so much, it is so refreshing to see a Muslim girl wearing a hijab while also saving the world from Ragnarök. She’s so sweet yet so stubborn. She has strong opinions and she will stand by them. I kinda like her relationship with Amir. It’s an healthy kind of romance but it also doesn’t get in the way of the actual plot, it’s not forced into the reader’s eyes, it feels just right. (Plus how else would we get a blushing Samirah ?)
And do I really need to talk about Alex Fierro ? Alex is transgender and genderfluid and either goes by she or he depending on her curent feelings. (I’m using she here because she goes by she for the biggest part of the book and she made it clear that it was one or the other and that she wouldn’t go by they). Not only Alex is an amazing character - with a rough start that got me worried, but still an amazing character - but she also helped initiate a lot of conversations about trans identity. Now I know Rick is a cis writer and I am a cis reader so I’m not in the place to judge the accuracy of the portrayal, but I do think it was helpful. Rick is touching such a large audience, speaking freely and with a great respect of such an important matter may actually help some of his readers, particularly among the young ones.
Friendship is also an important element of this book. In Heroes of Olympus, I sometimes felt like romance was taking too much place. It was tiring to see Rick trying to find a match for every single character. Thus, I appreciate even more the lack of romance in Magnus Chase. (I might see a ship coming but it didn’t get in the way of the plot, so it’s okay for now). This series is mostly about friendship. I kinda like that new Samirah/Alex/Magnus trio, but I wanna talk about Blitz and Hearth. They’d do literally anything for each other and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people actually shipped them but I personally think of Blitz as an aromantic character. Anyway they’re the perfect side kicks, like in fantasy books we often tend to quickly forget the side kicks but Blitz and Hearth are so pure and??? I just love them. (Also Hearth is deaf and mute so more representation here).
As a whole I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this book. As always it was hilarious and it made me embarassingly snort out loud but it was also so emotional and it targeted important issues, so yeah you go Rick. I also need to say that I’m still not over that last chapter (AND THAT LAST SENTENCE), I mean you can’t just leave me like that, I need more and I need it NOW.
“Look, some people prefer they,’ Alex said. ‘They’re non-binary or mid-spectrum or whatever. If they want you to use they, then that’s what you should do. But for me, personally, I don’t want to use the same pronouns all the time, because that’s not me. I change a lot. That’s sort of the point. When I’m she, I’m she. When I’m he, I’m he. I’m not they. Get it?’”
The thing about Rick Riordan is that he knows how to write a character. In each series I’ve read from him I loved almost every single one of them and cared so much for them it actually hurts. Magnus Chase is no exception.
It takes me a lot to actually appreciate a white boy (no offense but usually it takes them like 2 minutes to say something wrong) but I really like Magnus. I appreciated that Rick didn’t try to turn him into a new Percy or (thank the gods) a new Jason (I HATE Jason Grace). Magnus is such a cutie-pie. He’s lived in the streets for like two years so you’re immediately going to sympathize with him but at the same time hope it won’t turn him into a living cliché. Hopefully, he’s so much more. He is not that strong-male-hero kind of character and admits it himself. “At this point, most people would have thrown themselves down on the ground and given up hope. And by most people, I mean me.” As much as I love Percy, I think that Magnus is more relatable. His « flaws » and his human side are more visible - speaking of which he’s also wearing glasses. But what I love most about him is that, when not understanding an issue one of his friends is facing, he won’t try to overstep them. He will listen, and even though he does not always end up understanding, he will still respect people for what they are. So here’s a message to all the white boys out there : be a little more like Magnus Chase.
Now that the main character is out of the way, I have to speak about some others. Starting with Samirah, my fave, my child, my sun and stars. I love her so much, it is so refreshing to see a Muslim girl wearing a hijab while also saving the world from Ragnarök. She’s so sweet yet so stubborn. She has strong opinions and she will stand by them. I kinda like her relationship with Amir. It’s an healthy kind of romance but it also doesn’t get in the way of the actual plot, it’s not forced into the reader’s eyes, it feels just right. (Plus how else would we get a blushing Samirah ?)
And do I really need to talk about Alex Fierro ? Alex is transgender and genderfluid and either goes by she or he depending on her curent feelings. (I’m using she here because she goes by she for the biggest part of the book and she made it clear that it was one or the other and that she wouldn’t go by they). Not only Alex is an amazing character - with a rough start that got me worried, but still an amazing character - but she also helped initiate a lot of conversations about trans identity. Now I know Rick is a cis writer and I am a cis reader so I’m not in the place to judge the accuracy of the portrayal, but I do think it was helpful. Rick is touching such a large audience, speaking freely and with a great respect of such an important matter may actually help some of his readers, particularly among the young ones.
Friendship is also an important element of this book. In Heroes of Olympus, I sometimes felt like romance was taking too much place. It was tiring to see Rick trying to find a match for every single character. Thus, I appreciate even more the lack of romance in Magnus Chase. (I might see a ship coming but it didn’t get in the way of the plot, so it’s okay for now). This series is mostly about friendship. I kinda like that new Samirah/Alex/Magnus trio, but I wanna talk about Blitz and Hearth. They’d do literally anything for each other and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people actually shipped them but I personally think of Blitz as an aromantic character. Anyway they’re the perfect side kicks, like in fantasy books we often tend to quickly forget the side kicks but Blitz and Hearth are so pure and??? I just love them. (Also Hearth is deaf and mute so more representation here).
As a whole I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this book. As always it was hilarious and it made me embarassingly snort out loud but it was also so emotional and it targeted important issues, so yeah you go Rick. I also need to say that I’m still not over that last chapter (AND THAT LAST SENTENCE), I mean you can’t just leave me like that, I need more and I need it NOW.
4.5/5 stars
I liked this way more than I did the first book. The characters were more fleshed out, I enjoyed them more (there is a gender-fluid, sassy character who is the best thing that happened to this series) and I liked the general plot better.
I liked this way more than I did the first book. The characters were more fleshed out, I enjoyed them more (there is a gender-fluid, sassy character who is the best thing that happened to this series) and I liked the general plot better.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fun, and narrated on audiobook by THE Roman Roy of Succession fame. Not sure when I’ll get around to the last book of the series
4.50 realmente me gustó mucho y EL FINAL omg necesito el siguiente. Amo a Alex con todo mi ser, fácil de mis pjs favoritos del Riordanverse
Aahhh that ending omg ... I love this crossover so much
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Ok, I think that Alex Fierro is my favourite character