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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I really liked this book it is always nice to read about a mythology that is not Greek or Roman. I really liked the characters especially Zane and Brooks I found them both to be easy to like characters their motivations were easy to understand. Zane is an easy to like character he is a boy judged for something that is not his fault who then finds out he is so much more than he ever dreamed. I really liked that he would go above and beyond for his dog Rosie I liked how that ended up. I really liked the plot it started with a boy and his dog with that boy losing his dog and finding things about himself he would never of put together on his own. So overall I really liked this book I will for sure read the sequel.
It was okay. I know this is a Rick Riordan presents series but it’s not by him so I really didn’t expect so much Percy Jackson to actually be in this but it felt kind of copy paste but with Mayan gods. Single mom living in a shitty environment to hide her demigod son? Check. Badass girl who doesn’t like him but they actually do like each other? Check. Disability is actually superpower. Check. All of this could have been avoided if the parents didn’t suck and keep secrets? Check. I really didn’t see much difference and nothing really stood out to me as amazing and gripping. It wasn’t bad and there were parts and characters I like I just expected something with a little more uniqueness to it than what I got.
It's been Ixtab alll along
"And I killed Rosie too!" *maniacal witch laugh*
...
Seriously, this is only slightly redeemed by how much the new Queen of the Underworld was pulling strings all over the place. Why couldn't this book been about her? Or Jazz! That diabetic, one-eyed, engineering-nut, half-giant was the coolest!
Sidenote, did the audiobook reader have a cold or allergies this entire production? Because he already sounds less congested with the sequel novel!
"And I killed Rosie too!" *maniacal witch laugh*
...
Seriously, this is only slightly redeemed by how much the new Queen of the Underworld was pulling strings all over the place. Why couldn't this book been about her? Or Jazz! That diabetic, one-eyed, engineering-nut, half-giant was the coolest!
Sidenote, did the audiobook reader have a cold or allergies this entire production? Because he already sounds less congested with the sequel novel!
adventurous
fast-paced
Slow start, annoying characters, a lot of dialogue without conveying anything important - just not in the mindset for this kind of story.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
AudioBook Selection
Published September 2018
Zane Obispo is just living his life as a thirteen-year-old boy dealing with bullies who pick on him because one of his legs is shorter than the other, making him walk with a limp and use a cane. He thought his biggest problem was going to be adjusting to going back to school and handling bullies while working for his psychic neighbor, Ms. Cab, but he was wrong (VERY wrong). His world changes when a plane crashes into his volcano (he claims it since it’s right in his backyard) and he sees a demon from his Mayan Mythology book come to life. After that, he is hurtled into an adventure with the mysterious girl, Brooks, his uncle Hondo, and various other characters he meets along the way as he deals with demons, shapeshifters, giants and gods all with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
This book has some great diversity within it, especially with the main character of Zane who is both Hispanic and has a disability. His struggles with fitting in and dealing with bullies is one that many kids will be able to relate to and will enjoy watching as Zane grows in confidence and self-acceptance. The fast-paced high-stakes adventure reminiscent of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series will definitely pull in even reluctant readers. The themes of friendship, family, and taking responsibility are all threaded throughout as Zane battles it out to save the world. While the stakes are high, Cervantes also dishes out a good dose of humor and wit in her characters to keep the story from being too dark or serious. The audio version is very well done and the narrator, Ozzie Rodriguez, does a great job of bringing Zane’s wit, humor, and good nature to life. Listening has the great advantage of hearing the names of the Mayan gods instead of trying to decipher how they might be said, which could be quite daunting for a reader of any age. Rodriguez changes his voice for the characters and their speech patterns to go with their characters perfectly, like making the Mayan god of death creepy and menacing. This is a book that once you start listening too, you don’t want to stop.
Website: The Children’s Book Council (CBC) website is a great resource to find out about new books and to discover reading lists and educational programming ideas. It is a nonprofit organization made up of publishers of varying sizes all located in North America. They have a wide range of information on their site including new releases and curated reading lists that focus in on topics such as STEM or initiatives like Diversity. They also work with the ALA to create many of these resources. The website can be found at: https://www.cbcbooks.org/readers/
Published September 2018
Zane Obispo is just living his life as a thirteen-year-old boy dealing with bullies who pick on him because one of his legs is shorter than the other, making him walk with a limp and use a cane. He thought his biggest problem was going to be adjusting to going back to school and handling bullies while working for his psychic neighbor, Ms. Cab, but he was wrong (VERY wrong). His world changes when a plane crashes into his volcano (he claims it since it’s right in his backyard) and he sees a demon from his Mayan Mythology book come to life. After that, he is hurtled into an adventure with the mysterious girl, Brooks, his uncle Hondo, and various other characters he meets along the way as he deals with demons, shapeshifters, giants and gods all with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
This book has some great diversity within it, especially with the main character of Zane who is both Hispanic and has a disability. His struggles with fitting in and dealing with bullies is one that many kids will be able to relate to and will enjoy watching as Zane grows in confidence and self-acceptance. The fast-paced high-stakes adventure reminiscent of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series will definitely pull in even reluctant readers. The themes of friendship, family, and taking responsibility are all threaded throughout as Zane battles it out to save the world. While the stakes are high, Cervantes also dishes out a good dose of humor and wit in her characters to keep the story from being too dark or serious. The audio version is very well done and the narrator, Ozzie Rodriguez, does a great job of bringing Zane’s wit, humor, and good nature to life. Listening has the great advantage of hearing the names of the Mayan gods instead of trying to decipher how they might be said, which could be quite daunting for a reader of any age. Rodriguez changes his voice for the characters and their speech patterns to go with their characters perfectly, like making the Mayan god of death creepy and menacing. This is a book that once you start listening too, you don’t want to stop.
Website: The Children’s Book Council (CBC) website is a great resource to find out about new books and to discover reading lists and educational programming ideas. It is a nonprofit organization made up of publishers of varying sizes all located in North America. They have a wide range of information on their site including new releases and curated reading lists that focus in on topics such as STEM or initiatives like Diversity. They also work with the ALA to create many of these resources. The website can be found at: https://www.cbcbooks.org/readers/
adventurous
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
Thirteen-year-old Zane Obispo was born with one leg significantly shorter than the other. He uses a cane to get around, but he doesn't let that stop him and his dog, Rosie, from exploring the hollowed out interior of a long-dead volcano near his house in New Mexico.
Rosie, a gargantuan half-boxer half-dalmation, is the one thing he truly loves. He has a part-time job working for their blind next-door neighbor, Ms. Caballero, a psychic who gives readings. And he's spent the last year at home, being homeschooled, after bullies pummeled him at the local public school.
His mom decides it's time for him to try middle school again, Catholic school this time, and of course, it's a total disaster. He gets picked on and fights back almost immediately, but while waiting to be reprimanded by the Father, he meets super-hot Brooks, "the most beautiful girl on the planet," dressed totally out of code -- all in black!
Then a plane, with a mysterious monster as the pilot crashes in the volcano. Brooks appears and warns him it's a demon runner from Xib'alb'a come to look for him. She explains how Zane's needed by the Mayan god Au-Puch (pronounced, aww-puke!) to set him free to fulfill a prophecy, that involves the end of the world as we know it, and then she impossibly vanishes, right before his eyes.
Although he knows its dangerous, Zane's drawn to the volcano, and Rosie and Brooks go with him to investigate. Rosie protects him from the demon runner and is killed by it. Zane promises her he'll find a way to bring her back.
It's an impossible promise, but it sets Zane, after he's forced to free Ah-Puch, on a roller coaster of a quest that takes him to Los Angeles. Along the way he discovers a helpful giant and his heritage, as a son of a Mayan god, making him a (drum roll please...) demi-god. (Remember that term from Rick Riordan's books?)
This is a great series starter and sets up the introduction of the pantheon of Mayan gods, with the demi-god rules already established by Riordan's Olympians series.
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Rosie, a gargantuan half-boxer half-dalmation, is the one thing he truly loves. He has a part-time job working for their blind next-door neighbor, Ms. Caballero, a psychic who gives readings. And he's spent the last year at home, being homeschooled, after bullies pummeled him at the local public school.
His mom decides it's time for him to try middle school again, Catholic school this time, and of course, it's a total disaster. He gets picked on and fights back almost immediately, but while waiting to be reprimanded by the Father, he meets super-hot Brooks, "the most beautiful girl on the planet," dressed totally out of code -- all in black!
Then a plane, with a mysterious monster as the pilot crashes in the volcano. Brooks appears and warns him it's a demon runner from Xib'alb'a come to look for him. She explains how Zane's needed by the Mayan god Au-Puch (pronounced, aww-puke!) to set him free to fulfill a prophecy, that involves the end of the world as we know it, and then she impossibly vanishes, right before his eyes.
Although he knows its dangerous, Zane's drawn to the volcano, and Rosie and Brooks go with him to investigate. Rosie protects him from the demon runner and is killed by it. Zane promises her he'll find a way to bring her back.
It's an impossible promise, but it sets Zane, after he's forced to free Ah-Puch, on a roller coaster of a quest that takes him to Los Angeles. Along the way he discovers a helpful giant and his heritage, as a son of a Mayan god, making him a (drum roll please...) demi-god. (Remember that term from Rick Riordan's books?)
This is a great series starter and sets up the introduction of the pantheon of Mayan gods, with the demi-god rules already established by Riordan's Olympians series.
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
I'll start with my complaints. It wasn't until the ending that I realized how much like Percy Jackson this book was. Even when Zane's dad was revealed I was like "Oh god do we have a water god kid again?" Another kid destined to destroy the world.
But this book is also very different from Percy Jackson. The Mayan mythology is quite different from Greek/Roman. The Greek and Roman gods like to threaten they'll turn you to dust but the Mayans will actually do it and drink chocolate while they do it.
I thought the diversity of the book really played well to the mythology. Having a disabled main character who actually struggles with his disability was good to see. There were moments where I was like "Come on Zane, you've go this. You have still be awesome with a limb leg." It felt like I had to constantly encourage him through the pages. But you have to remember that he is a young boy. He's gonna feel like crap about his body not being perfect. He isn't a well rounded adult yet who has accepted his disability. Overall this was a fun read and I'm excited to see where we go from here since I know very little about Mayan mythology.
But this book is also very different from Percy Jackson. The Mayan mythology is quite different from Greek/Roman. The Greek and Roman gods like to threaten they'll turn you to dust but the Mayans will actually do it and drink chocolate while they do it.
I thought the diversity of the book really played well to the mythology. Having a disabled main character who actually struggles with his disability was good to see. There were moments where I was like "Come on Zane, you've go this. You have still be awesome with a limb leg." It felt like I had to constantly encourage him through the pages. But you have to remember that he is a young boy. He's gonna feel like crap about his body not being perfect. He isn't a well rounded adult yet who has accepted his disability. Overall this was a fun read and I'm excited to see where we go from here since I know very little about Mayan mythology.