Book Talk: Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

Hello my lovely readers!
In this post I’ll share my views on one of the most famous children’s books of all time: Peter Pan. Let’s see if this classic made it on my favorites list!

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
Peter Pan, the boy who will never grow up, crosses paths with the Darling children. Impressed by Peter’s tales about Neverland, Wendy, John and Michael step right out the window and fly with him. Many adventures, lost boys, fairies and pirates await them in Neverland…

 

The Rating:
Many people will hate me for this review but I really did not like this book. I absolutely adored the Disney film which was just magical, so I was excited to finally read J. M. Barrie’s novel. But honestly, hadn’t it been for reviews sake, I wouldn’t even have finished.
First of all, the characters are so annoying. All of them. Peter is not funny at all but bossy and super narcissistic. Wendy is just about the most shallow characters ever (well, just about all of the characters in this story are) but she also feels rather stupid in this version. One of the main problems is that not a single one of the jokes is actually funny. None of the characters are the slightest bit likable. If a guy like Peter showed up at my window, I wouldn’t run away with him, I’d shut the window.

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Book Talk: Holy Cow – A Modern-Day Dairy Tale by David Duchovny

Hey guys!
Today I want to review a book given to me by a very dear friend. It’s Holy Cow by David Duchovny. So let’s see how good this actor is at writing!

Holy Cow by David Duchovny (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
The cow Elsie is on a mission. After she found out how people really treat meat, she decided to go the only place where cows are safe: India. But she’s not alone. Elsie is accompanied by two friends: the pig Shalom who wants to live in Israel and the turkey Tom who’s on his was to Turkey…

 

The Rating:
First of all, I read this book in German and I have the distinct feeling that it’s much better in English (as it is so often the case). Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this novel. David Duchovny (who as it turns out was about to get his Doctor in Literature in Yale before he started acting) wrote a witty and funny first book that I honestly hadn’t seen coming. The story is weird but yet adorable. The fact that it’s told by Elsie herself is refreshing. Holy Cow delivers an important message: animals have feelings to, you should think about what you eat. However, how the message was presented was a bit of a letdown. As I’ve said before, the book might be funnier in English (translations often ruin some of the fun) but many of the jokes were very flat and much too silly for my taste. The story would still have been funny if the tone had been a bit more serious! Especially the constant pop-culture references that felt more than forced began to be annoying after some time. In general, I thought that Duchovny had some nice ideas but the whole thing was a bit shallow. The book itself isn’t too long and several times I had wished for something a bit deeper.

Book Talk: The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan (Kane Chronicles 3)

Hey guys!
It’s time for my thoughts on the final installment in Rick Riordan’s series on Egyptian mythology. Let’s talk about The Serpent’s Shadow, the third book of the Kane Chronicles!

The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
After all the traumatic events of the last book, the fight is still far from over. Not only is everybody gearing up for the final battle against Apophis, the chaos snake. Even the House of Life itself stands divided and the Gods can decide which side to support. Some of the most powerful humans and Gods would rather fight the Kanes than believe in the real threat. Sadie and Carter have their hands full. Will the teenagers be able to navigate through all this?

 

The Rating:
This series was hell of a ride! I loved the first two parts and The Serpent’s Shadow was far from a letdown.
Rick Riordan created a fast-paced end with lots of twist and turns for the last novel of the Kane Chronicles. Right up until the final chapters you won’t be able to tell who will survive or whether the world will be destroyed.
As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoyed how Riordan constructed the story and told it from two different points of view. It makes for an interesting flow that feels quite unique.

Book Talk: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (Kane Chronicles 2)

Hey guys!
It’s time for my review on The Throne of Fire, second installment of Rick Riordan’s Kane Chronicles trilogy. Let’s see whether it can keep up with the amazing first part!

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (Cover from Goodreads)

The Plot:
Sadie and Carter have been through a lot, but their ordeal is far from over. Apophis, the chaos snake, is rising. The only way to prevent the end of the world is to find the Ra, the sun god and restore his powers. But first they need to get the three sections of the book of Ra. Did I mention that both the book and the God have been missing for ages?

 

The Rating:
I’m a sucker for everything Rick Riordan and this series is no exception. It took me a while to get started but once I had picked the books up, it was impossible to stop. After hell of a ride with the first part, I was very excited to dive into The Throne of Fire.
One of the things I enjoyed so much about it is the way the story is told. The book is meant to be a transcript of some audio recordings Sadie and Carter did. So first of all, we get two different voices and perspectives which makes for nice changes (and funny moments) throughout the novel. It also feels more real, being told from those “having witnessed it first hand”. This really distinguishes the whole Kane Chronicles series from the rest of Riordan’s books. Otherwise it might have been lost among the rest of his works but instead it pops out.

Book Talk: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Kane Chronicles 1)

Hey guys!
Rick Riordan is one of my favorite YA writers. I’ve read almost all of his books – the only series still on my list was The Kane Chronicles. However, this summer I had some time at hand, so let’s kick it off with the first installment, The Red Pyramid!

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
Sadie and Carter Kane are to very different siblings. Not only do they look quite differently, while Carter travelled the world with his archeologist father, Sadie spent her time in England with her grandparents.
But when Carter and their father come to visit Sadie, all of their lives are bound to change forever…

 

The Rating:
By now, you’ll all know that I’m a Rick Riordan fan. He wrote some amazing and breath-taking novels that you won’t be able to put down.
So, I was excited to finally catch up with the Kane Chronicles as those books had been published from 2010 to 2012.
After lots of stuff on Greek and Roman mythology, I was ready to learn some stuff about ancient Egypt!
The first thing to mentioned about the Kane Chronicles in general is the way the story is told. It’s supposed to be a transcript of a recording made by Carter and Sadie. You get the feeling that they tell their own story in their own words, which makes for a nice change.

Book Talk: The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan (Trials of Apollo #3)

Hey guys!
Rick Riordan’s latest installment of The Trials of Apollo was published a couple of weeks ago. I was very excited to get my hands on The Burning Maze! Let’s see what it’s about…

The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
Apollo aka Lester continues his quest to free all the oracles. He’s tramping the maze with our favorite satyr Grover and the ever so irritating demigod Meg to find the third emperor who’s making camp out in the west. Who might that be? And will our heroes be able to defeat him?

 

The Rating:
Where do I begin. I have to many feelings about this book. We all know by now that Rick Riordan is a master of his trade. With The Burning Maze he delivered another smart, funny, moving novel that you won’t be able to put down.