divyatejas_venkatesh's reviews
55 reviews

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

 This book is different from the Percy Jackson series where the only blueprint is "A problem would arise and a quest would be assigned and the task will be done". Though it was interesting, there was not character development and world development. Though it was not there it was fun to read and it was like flying in a jet. it was going on and on and on and there were no place where it felt like walking through slowly. But this book has amazing character development and world development. It is developed slowly giving the time to take in with the events. Though the events happening in the book is happening within a frame of a month's time this book is going on slowly but in the case of  Percy Jackson series the span of five years is like glancing a jet's speed and remembering and seeing only the important things. Here we can walk through and enjoy the world's beauty, intricacy and also enjoy the story at the same time. Book is more interesting with more twists and turns, There are many unexpected things happening like where you expect carter to excel Sadie excels and vice versa. 
 

•  I like the narration with Carter's perspective which is more mature while Sadie's narration is not mature and girly. 
• I couldn't figure out if Desjardins is in Kanes' side or in Set's side because his behavior is contradictory(because not revealed fully as he has not encountered Kanes' after the death of Iskandar). There are many situations like this for example with Amos and Zia you could not decipher whose side they are on until it is revealed by the author. 
• The biggest twist is that unlike what usually happens in the Percy Jackson series the climax looked so obvious but it wasn't there is a huge surprise waiting for you.
• When the gods told that they will be getting a gift I didn't expect their house to be repaired, but once it is said I was sure that Bast will be back and it happened so there are places where you can guess what happens.

 

Birds, Beasts, and Bandits: 14 Days with Veerappan by Senani, S.R. Ramakrishna, Krupakar

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

5.0

I read this book before 6 years when I was 18. but now when I read it the book is amazing and inspiring to know that it does not matter who the person is but they have lots of knowledge that we are not aware of. Book is inspiring about how Krupakar and Senani hold their ground even if they are facing a dacoit who is feared by the south India (If the narrative of them is true!). I loved the intricacies of the details they have told about the forest animals and birds. It also shows the bad side of the government who does anything to keep their hands clean by blaming those who are against them. This also shows the power of media and how their narrative is changed according to their will.
It's a pity that the two major television news channels in Tamil nadu is controlled by two major parties which is the ruling party and the opposition party whoever comes to the power they have the narrative over the news as they wish.
This is the most interesting Non-fiction I have read until now.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I have seen movies with long climax and series with one full episode of climax scene, which is around a hour. But this is the first time I am seeing a complete book with climax which 400 pages long. Though the climax is very long there is not a single place where I felt like it is dragging. Things are happening one after another that it was really amazing and fast paced. The book ended with a  happy ending. Almost all of the mysteries are explained by the end of the book and it is not open ended. If you have loved the previous four books, you would for sure love it. Of the five books this is my favorite.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

The book is more interesting from the beginning compared to the previous three books. Though there is no much descriptions or character development. So it's good to binge but I don't know if a person who is looking for the Greek mythology would love it. There is no stops or time where it gives a glimpse of their life the books are just about the beginning of the quest and how they complete it , so it is kind of repetitive in the first four books.

The Mystery of the Vanished Prince by Enid Blyton

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 The book was interesting enough to not discontinue it. Though I wouldn't complain since it is a middle grade book. The story line is so obvious and you can figure out most of the twists and turns. Thus I wouldn't recommend for anyone above 13 to read the book. 

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book is having more twists and turns than the first two books, you can see the change in the writing maturity of the author it is getting good. There are many twists you would expect if you are reading in a fully attentive manner but you might miss it right under your nose. The cliffhanger in the first three books is amazing. Which will make you read the next books

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Books starts of interesting about being diagnosed with cancer and movie forward like the Indian movies the flashback is showed and the values he has learned as a neurological surgeon. The way he understands death is nice and the way he accepts it is good which makes him mature. I would have loved to meet him in person. This is the first autobiography book that made me hooked up until the end. Also I started it in the morning and completed by night. The book was small and the letters and the gap between the lines are large so if you wanna know about accepting the death and being a doctor this would be the best book to pick. It is nearly like Luffy's(a character in one piece) take on death, it doesn't matter what you do if you die being the person you want to be you should be fine by it. As the same i think if Paul has taken a break from being a surgeon he would have had a better chance at longer life(though it is not mentioned like that in the book, just saying that not giving more tension the organs and body would have preserved your energy more to fight cancer.)but he chose to be the surgeon he wants to be and lived the life till he could and accepted the death to face.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The book is so interesting like the first book. There are many things repeated so that those who are reading this book without reading the first book or those who are not binge reading the books can get what is going on in the series. As the same like the previous book the descriptive parts are very less, which makes the story rich(Though there is enough details to have a good visualization of what is going around in the world). Other than that the story is interesting and keeps going on and on. The book is smaller than the first book and the font size is also large which makes it a very small book. Though couldn't complain as it is written for the middle graders and not the adults.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The book is like a downhill bike ride from the beginning no signs of slowing down. It kept me hooked on, after a reading slump for four months and after trying hard to read the previous book, it was amazing to read such a interesting book. As said before it is like a downhill ride you could enjoy the moment and adrenaline but you could not have much detailed look into it and there is only focus on the path before you and not much focus on other things. Though the path is interesting if you wanna enjoy the beauty of the surrounding you cannot get that much in this book as there is no much descriptions and development in the character. This is very classical type of fantasy in which our main character does not know who he is until it is revealed and after it is revealed he is thrown into a quest and he has to complete the quest to save the whole world. Thus if you are expecting a different type of high fiction you are in a wrong place. It is a teen fiction so no complaints! I am planning to read the complete series.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The books starts off well and the way the author has decided to narrate is different. The story development is good but in halfway it gets slow  but it becomes fast once we are after halfway of the book. The characters are very interesting and the the way the situation makes the people behave and how the story unfold is good. But there are many bloopers given in the story which makes it bit disappointed. I try not to watch movie trailers so that there are not any bloopers given before, so I hated it. If you wanna know about the life in the lower class of the Nazi Germany, this would be the best non fiction to pick.