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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
J. C. Cervantes celebrates her Mexican heritage by bringing powerful deities, spirits, and other creatures of Mayan mythology to life in The Storm Runner, her first installment in the namesake trilogy.
The action-packed middle grade book features 13-year-old Zane Obispo as the protagonist, whose life is flipped upside down when he makes a new friend, Brooks, and discovers his pivotal role in an ancient prophecy. We follow Zane on his thrilling and treacherous journey to save the world and himself from mayhem before time runs out. As he uncovers more secrets, Zane realizes his true potential and finally learns to let go of his deepest insecurities.
Cervantes’ vivid, artful depictions of the story’s gruesome monsters are nothing short of magical; her humorous and fast-paced writing is sure to captivate the imaginative minds of young readers. There is decent representation of Latinx characters, but I have mixed feelings about the problematic portrayal of Zane’s disability. His moments of internalized ableism may be upsetting for some readers. As for the plot, The Storm Runner is pretty much a Mayan retelling of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson. Although the execution of her story is top-notch, Cervantes is missing originality.
In this empowering and gripping tale, Cervantes redefines what it truly means to be strong and leaves us with the heartwarming message to embrace our quirks. I would recommend The Storm Runner - for the amazing storytelling - to fans of Rick Riordan and anyone who wants a palate cleanser from Hellenocentric fantasy.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I liked Zane's voice a lot, and the details of his family and the magic were well drawn and deeply entertaining.
The book is honestly the best thing i’ve read in awhile! It makes me really want to just hang out with the characters. I went into this because i didn’t know anything about the mayan mythology and found it interesting, it seriously did not dissapoint!
A bit disappointing. The writing was a bit on the simple side and sometimes unclear. The story was interesting but due to the characters being kind of flat, I often had to push myself to continue reading.
All in all, it was not a bad book, but I was expecting a little more.
All in all, it was not a bad book, but I was expecting a little more.
I wasn't really impressed by this book. Published by Rick Riordan's imprint, it follows the Riordan style of mythological gods and creatures, an undiscovered secret god as a missing parent, and an adventure of proving oneself. In The Storm Runner, we meet...oh, wow, I literally remember every other character's name in the book except the main one. Well, this is embarrassing, or possibly telling of how memorable the book is.
Anyway, the story is told in first person, so his name's not really important. His "defining" characteristic is a defective leg that's shorter than his other leg...sound familiar to Percy Jackson's dyslexia? Well, he sets in motion an ancient prophecy, following the Mayan mythology, releasing the imprisoned god of death, who is intent on destroying the world. I feel like this plot line is familiar... Oh, and let's not forget the knowledgeable, beautiful friend who is a girl who he may or may not have a crush on, and who accompanies him on his quest. She, I remember her name, it's Brooks, along with his uncle Hondo (see, everyone but the main kid...) who isn't a supernatural but has wicked wrestling moves, form a trio to get rid of the god of death and possibly find out who the kid's Mayan god father is. Man, this story and its characters reminds of me another one... I can't quite put my finger on it...
Okay, I'm done with the sarcasm. Maybe. So if you really liked the Percy Jackson series, you could give this book a try. Otherwise, there are other cultural mythology books available from other authors published under Rick Riordan's imprint. And yes, in case you're wondering, there's really not much plot variation. If you don't like Percy Jackson, probably don't read this book, unless you're a nerd for Mayan mythology.
Anyway, the story is told in first person, so his name's not really important. His "defining" characteristic is a defective leg that's shorter than his other leg...sound familiar to Percy Jackson's dyslexia? Well, he sets in motion an ancient prophecy, following the Mayan mythology, releasing the imprisoned god of death, who is intent on destroying the world. I feel like this plot line is familiar... Oh, and let's not forget the knowledgeable, beautiful friend who is a girl who he may or may not have a crush on, and who accompanies him on his quest. She, I remember her name, it's Brooks, along with his uncle Hondo (see, everyone but the main kid...) who isn't a supernatural but has wicked wrestling moves, form a trio to get rid of the god of death and possibly find out who the kid's Mayan god father is. Man, this story and its characters reminds of me another one... I can't quite put my finger on it...
Okay, I'm done with the sarcasm. Maybe. So if you really liked the Percy Jackson series, you could give this book a try. Otherwise, there are other cultural mythology books available from other authors published under Rick Riordan's imprint. And yes, in case you're wondering, there's really not much plot variation. If you don't like Percy Jackson, probably don't read this book, unless you're a nerd for Mayan mythology.
I did end up enjoying this, and it started out rather slow. This is part of the Rick Riordan Presents. Rick doesn't know some of the other world mythologies as well, so he set up other people to write them in his sort of universe.
Here's the thing with it. I wish Rick would have just gone ahead and co-written these books and used the formula he already established. The humor was missing from this story. I mean it does have some humor, but it's few and far between. There doesn't feel like a whole lot of joy in the pages, but there is plenty of teen-angst and some self-pity. It is nice that our main character has a handicap, and because it is so much a focus of the main Character that it begins to feel like this self-pity and there is some transformation of that toward the end, but not enough. I'm sure that is totally like real life is and how people feel, so it's really good to have that out there. The reader is not drawn in enough to Zane to really see things from his perspective. I felt like an outsider looking in at this world and so much of it just wasn't fun.
I think it would have been very helpful if Rick could have infused his humor and characters and madcap situations into this story. The fun was missing and it felt like work in some ways.
Still, I was introduced to completely know mythology stories I know little about and I still want to know more. I'm interested in reading some more and finding out more about these archetypes. The god of Death is our big bad and he is made up of maggots which I find interesting. He also smells really bad. There are good ideas here and much promise, but it was only at the end I got a little invested in the story. It felt a little like work to read at the beginning. There was action and twists and turns to keep my interest, but the pacing was a little slow compared to other Rick mythology stories.
I will explore more of the Rick Riordan presents stories and mythologies and I wish he would have more to do with them as a co-author. Just help guide them and kick up the humor. Still, I never would have read anything about Mayan mythology without this book and I'm glad I got the chance to do so. I hope the next book is even better. There are lots of cultures with mythologies out there and I hope he adds a ton of them. I want to know more. I want to own them just to have the references to the stories.
Here's the thing with it. I wish Rick would have just gone ahead and co-written these books and used the formula he already established. The humor was missing from this story. I mean it does have some humor, but it's few and far between. There doesn't feel like a whole lot of joy in the pages, but there is plenty of teen-angst and some self-pity. It is nice that our main character has a handicap, and because it is so much a focus of the main Character that it begins to feel like this self-pity and there is some transformation of that toward the end, but not enough. I'm sure that is totally like real life is and how people feel, so it's really good to have that out there. The reader is not drawn in enough to Zane to really see things from his perspective. I felt like an outsider looking in at this world and so much of it just wasn't fun.
I think it would have been very helpful if Rick could have infused his humor and characters and madcap situations into this story. The fun was missing and it felt like work in some ways.
Still, I was introduced to completely know mythology stories I know little about and I still want to know more. I'm interested in reading some more and finding out more about these archetypes. The god of Death is our big bad and he is made up of maggots which I find interesting. He also smells really bad. There are good ideas here and much promise, but it was only at the end I got a little invested in the story. It felt a little like work to read at the beginning. There was action and twists and turns to keep my interest, but the pacing was a little slow compared to other Rick mythology stories.
I will explore more of the Rick Riordan presents stories and mythologies and I wish he would have more to do with them as a co-author. Just help guide them and kick up the humor. Still, I never would have read anything about Mayan mythology without this book and I'm glad I got the chance to do so. I hope the next book is even better. There are lots of cultures with mythologies out there and I hope he adds a ton of them. I want to know more. I want to own them just to have the references to the stories.
Hm. I was super excited to get a bunch of Riordan Presents books from the library but ended up being disappointed by the two I read. The Storm Runner is based on Mayan mythology and tells the story of a young boy who releases the god of death and goes on a quest to fix it. He is accompanied by his uncle and a shapeshifting girl called Brooks. Hijinks ensue.
PROS:
+ All the Mayan mythology influences were really interesting. I learned a ton about something that seemed completely separate from Roman or Greek mythologies, and it felt really different from the Riordan books. (Side note: why are all the interesting quests with gods based on death and the underworld?)
+ I loved a lot of the side characters. Even though Hondo, Zane's mother, Pacific, and Ixtab get marginal roles in the story, they were still incredibly interesting to read about.
+ The ending was well-done. Not the 'actual' ending, with the big fight and climax, but the one on gray pages at the end of the book.
CONS:
- Serious pacing problems. A lot of the book dragged on and on, without taking the time to keep readers interested in side quests or character bonding. In comparison, the finale felt as though it went way too quickly.
- Brooks. I think the shapeshifting dynamic is really overplayed and never used well, but she just wasn't an engaging character. She was extremely one dimensional and flat-out annoying. It's unfortunate that she was the only female main character.
- Blatant ableism. The entire narrative surrounding Zane's 'bum leg' is absolutely terrible. I'll link some reviews that articulate this problem better than I can. This one articulates it well.
- Zane makes a lot of ridiculous decisions, especially in the beginning of the book, to propel the plot. This ties into my greater issue with his often immaturely childish narration, which had me staring at the page in disbelief and saying "come on! Kids are smarter than that!"
On the whole, I really didn't enjoy this book. I plan to read Race To The Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse next, and I hope it will be an improvement.
PROS:
+ All the Mayan mythology influences were really interesting. I learned a ton about something that seemed completely separate from Roman or Greek mythologies, and it felt really different from the Riordan books. (Side note: why are all the interesting quests with gods based on death and the underworld?)
+ I loved a lot of the side characters. Even though Hondo, Zane's mother, Pacific, and Ixtab get marginal roles in the story, they were still incredibly interesting to read about.
+ The ending was well-done. Not the 'actual' ending, with the big fight and climax, but the one on gray pages at the end of the book.
CONS:
- Serious pacing problems. A lot of the book dragged on and on, without taking the time to keep readers interested in side quests or character bonding. In comparison, the finale felt as though it went way too quickly.
- Brooks. I think the shapeshifting dynamic is really overplayed and never used well, but she just wasn't an engaging character. She was extremely one dimensional and flat-out annoying. It's unfortunate that she was the only female main character.
- Blatant ableism. The entire narrative surrounding Zane's 'bum leg' is absolutely terrible.
Spoiler
It is so played up as his big flaw that magical clothes erase his limp entirely, which I felt extremely uncomfortable with. I also think the idea of his disability being linked to being god born was interesting in theory but did not play out well at all.- Zane makes a lot of ridiculous decisions, especially in the beginning of the book, to propel the plot. This ties into my greater issue with his often immaturely childish narration, which had me staring at the page in disbelief and saying "come on! Kids are smarter than that!"
On the whole, I really didn't enjoy this book. I plan to read Race To The Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse next, and I hope it will be an improvement.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
From the very beginning this book had a "Percy Jacksonesque" feel to it. Essentially, it takes the idea of mythical gods hooking up with mortals and having supernatural offspring from Greece to the Mayan Civilization. This wasn't too much of a surprise for me since the book is published by the "Rick Riordan Presents" part of Disney Book Group. The book is entertaining; the characters are just quirky enough to be likeable, but not over done; and the writing flows smoothly. Overall, this is a great middle grade novel.
So, why am I only giving it 3 stars? After a considerable amount of thought I've determined that it's because it took me so long to finish. I am a Children's Librarian and I read voraciously - often finishing a book in just a day or two. However, this one took me almost a month. Why? I don't know. Somehow I just never felt like picking it up. I finally forced myself to finish it so I could finish this review for Netgalley. I think I'm just over the whole mythical gods & humans thing. After reading multiple series based on Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology, I'm just not that interested in another series along those lines. The idea of supernatural hookups that leave humans with issues (like ADHD, Dyslexia, gimpy legs, etc.) just no longer captures my imagination.
That being said, the book itself if fun and well-written. If you have a middle grade reader who loves Percy & friends or loves mythology - especially Mayan - then definitely pick this one up and you won't be disappointed! If, like me, you're over the whole genre, give it a pass and maybe pick it up in a few years when the entire series is finished and you've taken a break from mythical gods. Either way, Happy Reading!
From the very beginning this book had a "Percy Jacksonesque" feel to it. Essentially, it takes the idea of mythical gods hooking up with mortals and having supernatural offspring from Greece to the Mayan Civilization. This wasn't too much of a surprise for me since the book is published by the "Rick Riordan Presents" part of Disney Book Group. The book is entertaining; the characters are just quirky enough to be likeable, but not over done; and the writing flows smoothly. Overall, this is a great middle grade novel.
So, why am I only giving it 3 stars? After a considerable amount of thought I've determined that it's because it took me so long to finish. I am a Children's Librarian and I read voraciously - often finishing a book in just a day or two. However, this one took me almost a month. Why? I don't know. Somehow I just never felt like picking it up. I finally forced myself to finish it so I could finish this review for Netgalley. I think I'm just over the whole mythical gods & humans thing. After reading multiple series based on Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology, I'm just not that interested in another series along those lines. The idea of supernatural hookups that leave humans with issues (like ADHD, Dyslexia, gimpy legs, etc.) just no longer captures my imagination.
That being said, the book itself if fun and well-written. If you have a middle grade reader who loves Percy & friends or loves mythology - especially Mayan - then definitely pick this one up and you won't be disappointed! If, like me, you're over the whole genre, give it a pass and maybe pick it up in a few years when the entire series is finished and you've taken a break from mythical gods. Either way, Happy Reading!