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heyitsgabs's review against another edition
3.0
i did only read the percy jackson story that was in this, and it wasnt even part of this edition, it was an extra in the back of another book.
beckymmoe's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read! I love catching a quick glimpse of a favorite character at work in between the major events of the full-length books :)
athomewithbooks's review
5.0
While I did not read this book, my twelve-year-old son did, and he loved it. He likes to pick out his own books and usually if I recommend something to him he won't read it. This was a rare exception. I gave it to him and said, "I saw this online somewhere. It's supposed to be stories that guys will like. Read it, don't read it - I don't care. I just thought you might like it." (Trying reverse psychology this time.)
And the boy devoured the book over the course of three evenings. I asked him which stories he liked best, and he went down the list saying, "I liked that one, and that one, and that one." etc. Pointing to almost all of the titles. He made sure to tell me that there was a Percy Jackson story included too, since that was a series that I read to the boys last year.
Then he said, "But mom, there was one story that was so good!" And he pointed to the one at the bottom of the list - and it was by Ray Bradbury. He went on and on about how cool the story was, explaining the details to me. And I was giddy. My son read his first Ray Bradbury story and loved it! I love this book for that fact alone.
And then we went down the list of stories together and I got to tell him about other fun books that I've read by some of the authors (Rebecca Stead,Shannon Hale, Neal Shusterman,Shaun Tan, and of course Ray Bradbury). Now he's eager to go out find their books at the library.
And the boy devoured the book over the course of three evenings. I asked him which stories he liked best, and he went down the list saying, "I liked that one, and that one, and that one." etc. Pointing to almost all of the titles. He made sure to tell me that there was a Percy Jackson story included too, since that was a series that I read to the boys last year.
Then he said, "But mom, there was one story that was so good!" And he pointed to the one at the bottom of the list - and it was by Ray Bradbury. He went on and on about how cool the story was, explaining the details to me. And I was giddy. My son read his first Ray Bradbury story and loved it! I love this book for that fact alone.
And then we went down the list of stories together and I got to tell him about other fun books that I've read by some of the authors (Rebecca Stead,Shannon Hale, Neal Shusterman,Shaun Tan, and of course Ray Bradbury). Now he's eager to go out find their books at the library.
jenburn's review against another edition
4.0
A great collection of Sci-Fi/Fantasy short stories aimed at younger readers - found it in the Junior Fiction section of the library. Some very well known authors and previously unknown ones as well. Stories rated from mediocre to excellent. My favourites being "The Dirt on Our Shoes" by Neal Shusterman and "Frost and Fire" by Ray Bradbury. An excellent introduction to Science fiction/ Fantasy. My 12 year old son enjoyed it too.
talysalankil's review against another edition
2.0
Well…that was way not worth the trouble I had to go through to read it.
It's not terrible, mind you. I guess. It's just…more of the same. You could take any filler chapter in a PJO book and replace it with this one, or vice versa. And I guess I kind of outgrew the original PJO series, so…meh. Without a plot to frame the whole thing, the pointlessness is even more apparent.
I also have to ask: why are the gods such idiots? You need to use music to capture the monster of the day, so you give the task to a hero with no musical talent whatsoever? I think Rick Riordan should remember that there's a bunch of other demigods in his world, and that they probably get quests all the time too. If there's no specific reason to involve Percy, don't involve Percy.
I don't know, maybe I'm being too bitter.
It's not terrible, mind you. I guess. It's just…more of the same. You could take any filler chapter in a PJO book and replace it with this one, or vice versa. And I guess I kind of outgrew the original PJO series, so…meh. Without a plot to frame the whole thing, the pointlessness is even more apparent.
I also have to ask: why are the gods such idiots? You need to use music to capture the monster of the day, so you give the task to a hero with no musical talent whatsoever? I think Rick Riordan should remember that there's a bunch of other demigods in his world, and that they probably get quests all the time too. If there's no specific reason to involve Percy, don't involve Percy.
I don't know, maybe I'm being too bitter.
kesterbird's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up because I wanted to read the short story by Shaun Tan, which really was pretty fabulous. There -were- a couple other worthwhile stories in here (Bouncing the Grinning Goat was fun) but some really truly awful stuff, too. Also, I just can't help but think that 9/10 scifi stories are already aimed towards boys (maybe higher, I'm probably being generous) and that we really do not need a collection of short stories to convince boys that they belong in scifi.
ederwin's review against another edition
4.0
This collection is intended to appeal to grade-school boys. (Boys sometimes get the impression that reading is only for girls. This book thus tries to appeal directly to them. Even so, two of the stories are written by women, and at least one has a female protagonist.)
While this was intended for younger readers, I enjoyed almost every story. Sure, they are mostly more simplistic than the adult fiction I typically read, they were still worth my time, and I greatly appreciated the large font. The story set in the Percy Jackson universe didn't work for me, but that's probably because I haven't read anything else in that series.
While this was intended for younger readers, I enjoyed almost every story. Sure, they are mostly more simplistic than the adult fiction I typically read, they were still worth my time, and I greatly appreciated the large font. The story set in the Percy Jackson universe didn't work for me, but that's probably because I haven't read anything else in that series.