Hunted

Hunted by Kristin and P.C. Cast, 2009 St. Martin's Publishing

     After Stevie Rae is shot to free Kalona from the earth, Zoey and her friends try to heal their fallen friend. Zoey and Stevie Rae reconcile and Zoey introduces the rest of the "Nerd Herd" to some of the red fledglings. Aphrodite allows Stevie Rae to feed from her, causing an imprint but also bringing Stevie Rae back from the edge.
     Erik, Zoey's ex-boyfriend, follows her back to her room and kisses her in an attempt to rekindle their relationship. But the kiss frightens Zoey, as does his possessiveness, and while they do get back together she is unsure how to deal with him. The newly re-formed Kalona makes his way into Zoey's dreams in an attempt to seduce her back to him, he calls her Ay-a and offers her the world.
     In the world of red fledglings Kramisha's poems are revealed as prophecy and Zoey gives her the title "Poet Laureate" in recognition. One of Kramisha's poems give the friends a clue to defeating Kalona: Neferet and Kalona will be defeated when Night, Humanity, Blood, Spirit and Earth come together. The problem is Zoey doesn't know who will be each of the elements.
     The group relocates its anti-Neferet efforts to the abandoned depot and its underground tunnels where the red fledglings reside. Another of Zoey's ex-boyfriends, Heath, comes to reconcile with her and she leaves the depot to talk to him, much to Erik's displeasure. While they talk a Raven-Mocker attacks Zoey and nearly kills her. To heal herself, she drinks from Heath and they form another imprint, but she isn't completely healed. Kramisha almost loses control when she sees Heath and Zoey realizes that there are severe differences between the normal fledglings and the red fledglings.
     When the Warrior of Erebus Darius tells Zoey she needs to be around more adult vampires she is forced to move back to the House of Night. There she is under Neferet's control and discovers the fledglings have followed Neferet to turn their backs on Nyx. Darius gets in a fight with one of Kalona's Raven-Mockers and is scarred when Kalona intervenes, angering Aphrodite.
     Zoey felt guilty that Stark died in her arms and when she convinces him to turn back to Nyx the red fledgling becomes the second red vampyre. He pledges his Warrior's Oath to Zoey and she accepts. She confides in the horse mistress, Lenobia, allowing her to focus on Kramisha's prophecy. She realizes that the elements are embodied in Zoey herself, Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, Sister Mary Angela from the Benedictine Abbey, and Zoey's Grandma Redbird.
     The friends rush the Abbey to create their circle and banish Neferet and Kalona. Zoey realizes that Ay-a is a part of her, but not the part that will determine what she does, she rejects Kalona and Neferet orders Stark to kill her. Stark uses his strange affinity for archery to shoot the arrow at himself, but before it can kill him Zoey knocks him out and knocks the arrow aside with the elements. Zoey and her companions manage to complete the circle and banish Neferet and Kalona, but they know it is not the end of the battle.
     Nyx shows her pleasure in Zoey's actions when she expands Zoey's Mark to cover her scars. The friends regroup to plan their next steps.
      In Hunted Zoey deals with the temptations of giving in to peer pressure and the sexual pressure of several men in her life. She must accept that there is a part of her that desires what Kalona can give her, but also she realizes that part is not strong enough to overrule her own personal wants and desires. She realizes she can choose to be who she wants and her choice to give over her life to Nyx is Zoey's way of reclaiming her future. Hunted is targeted at older readers: high school aged or older, with violence and complicated romantic entanglements.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, 2005 Mirmax Books

     Percy Jackson has always had a hard time with school; his ADHD and Dyslexia make reading difficult and sitting still nearly impossible. During a field trip to the Greek exhibit at the New York City Percy is attacked by one of the Furies, but somehow he escapes. Percy is expelled from his sixth school with the incident.
     After the close call Percy and his mother take a vacation from his stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, a man who can be best described as a chauvinistic stink-pot, his repulsive odor overpowers everything. When Percy's friend Grover, a fellow student, appears at the cabin he brings tidings of danger. He is revealed to be a half-man, half-goat satyr and close on his hooves is the Minotaur. Percy's mother drives the pair to Camp Half-Blood, but the Minotaur catches them as they reach the camp boudaries. It captures Mrs. Jackson when she cannot pass through the boundaries because she is completely mortal, she dissolves is a shower of gold dust. Percy attacks and defeats the Minotaur with its own horn, fueled by a boiling rage--it attacked his best friend and killed his mother! Percy stumbles into camp dragging Grover and the horn.
     When he wakes, Percy is moved to one of twelve cabins at the camp devoted to each of the major gods of Greece, he is under the care of Luke Castellan in the Hermes cabin. He meets Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and learns he is the son of one of the gods (but because he has yet to be claimed he is gets shuffled into Hermes' cabin). The camp is a training grounds where the demi-gods can learn to fight and develop their god-given talents, as well as be protected from the mythical creatures wandering the world looking to destroy them.
     During a game of Capture the Flag Percy is injured by the Ares cabin. He steps into a river running through camp and is healed. Then, after the game is won, he is attacked by a hell-hound, but saved by arrow-wielding campers. He steps into the river for healing and Poseidon's trident appears over his head to lay claim; Percy is announced the son of Poseidon and moved to his cabin.
     One of the camp's directors, a centaur named Chiron, explains that Poseidon has broken a treaty between the three greatest gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) that they would not have more demi-god children as they become too powerful and tend to start world-wide conflicts. He also reveals to Percy that Zeus's Thunderbolt has been stolen and Zeus suspects Percy. He is granted a quest to find the missing bolt and clear both his own and his father's name. Chiron points to Hades as the culprit and Percy begins his quest.
     After a visit to the Oracle Percy, Annabeth, and Grover go on their journey. Luke provides them with a pair of flying shoes, and the trio travels west to find the underground entrance to Hades before the Summer Solstice. They run into creatures of mythology including the furies, Medusa, the Chimera; encounter Ares who reveals Percy's mother is still alive; and are lost in the Den of the Lotus-Eaters in Las Vegas for several days. They escape to find there are only five days left until the Summer Solstice and their deadline.
     In Hades the trio must first bribe the ferryman to allow them to cross the river Styx, then escape as Luke's shoes try to drag Grover into Tartarus, and convince Hades that Percy did not steal his Helm of Darkness. They find Mrs. Jackson, but must leave her when they find the Lightningbolt in a backpack from Ares. On their way to return the bolt to Zeus, the travelers encounter Ares again and defeat him to retrieve Hades' Helm of Darkness, which they return via the Furies (witnesses to the battle).
     Percy risks entering the realm of Zeus by flying back to New York where Olympus has moved to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Zeus is pacified and Percy returns to camp where he is a normal camper.
     On the final day of camp Luke reveals he was the one who stole the bolt, on orders from Kronos who is rising from Tartarus. Luke summons a pit scorpion and Percy is nearly killed. Chiron saves him and Percy decides to live with his mother rather than stay at camp. Annabeth decides to try living with her father again, and Grover is granted the quest to search for Pan, a rare opportunity and dangerous task from which no satyr has returned.
     Percy evolves throughout the story from a young boy who has no confidence in his ability and has lived his life criticized and put into a box based on his inability. When he goes to Camp Half-blood Percy realizes he has been judged by a scale that he wasn't compatible with. In the new world of demi-gods Percy becomes a hero; he has superior warrior abilities, he is humble despite his accomplishments, and still he is a likeable person. Like many people, Percy doesn't believe in himself and it isn't until the entire mission depends on him that he realizes he can accomplish his goal.
      The Lightning Thief is an intriguing adaptation of ancient Greek mythology in the modern world. The story is suited to readers in grades three through seven, and Percy's adventures continue in The Sea of Monsters.

Mister Monday

Mister Monday by Garth Nix, 2003 Scholastic Books

     Arthur Penhaligon is a normal, everyday boy who suffers from asthma on Earth. One day while running for gym class he has an asthma attack and collapses on the ground. His friends Ed and Leaf, a brother and sister duo, stop to help him use his inhaler before hurrying to get the school nurse. When they've gone, Arthur watches two men appear in thin air and debate whether or not to give him the "key". Sneezer finally convinces Mister Monday to hand the key over explaining that once Arthur dies the key will revert to Monday and he can continue his work.
     They give a minute-hand shaped piece of metal, presumably the key, to Arthur and disappear in a flash of light leaving behind a small book. He picks up the book and as Leaf and Ed come back with help Arthur passes out.
     When he wakes up in the hospital Ed and Leaf tell Arthur about a strange old man pushing a young man in a wheelchair and several strange dog faced people. They are searching for the key, which has magically reappeared in Arthur's pocket, but can't find it. Leaf and Ed leave, promising to visit Arthur again.
     Arthur goes home a week later, but his friends have yet to come and see him. He uses the key to open the book, titled "A Complete Atlas of the House and Immediate Environs" and learns that the strange building he passed on his way home (a new construction that wasn't there before) is called the House and is a realm outside of human Earth. Further reading reveals that the House has an entrance called "Monday's Postern". When the Fetchers (the strange dog like creatures Ed saw) come to Arthur's home the Key animates a ceramic Komodo dragon to save him.
     The next morning, Monday, Arthur learns the reason behind Ed and Leaf's absence--their entire family is under observation for a virus that, according to Leaf, has the same smell as the Fetchers. No one else notices the smell, but Arthur believes her when things start to get weird at school. He hides in the library when Fetchers appear along with Monday's Noon. Noon is much stronger than the Fetchers and resists their weaknesses; when he tries to attack Arthur Noon sets fire to the Library and Arthur barely escapes with his life. Noon vanishes at one o'clock, but the Fetchers have taken the Atlas and Arthur must find salt to vanquish them and get the book back.
     The smoke from the library fire starts to spell out a message telling Arthur to enter the House and he does. He uses the Key to open the door and discovers the House is the organization around which the universe is structured. Its purpose it simply to record and observe what happens through eternity. While adventuring through the House Arthur is in perfect health--allowing his adventures. He meets Suzy Turquoise Blue who was a child brought to the House by one of the immortal Denizens of the House: the Piper. She accompanies Arthur and helps him realize that he is the Rightful Heir of the Architect of the World; he must save the House and enact the Architect's original intention. In order to do this Arthur has to kill Mister Monday and take the second half of the first Key (the hour hand to match his minute-hand Key).
     On the path to retrieve the Key, Arthur learns how the House was created, then fell into disrepair and how the Architect handed over the Keys to the Morrow Days. The Architect and her consort, the Old One, created the universe, but the Old One betrayed the Architect and was imprisoned. Many years later the Architect left the House giving the Keys to the Morrow Days: Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday, Lady Friday, Superior Saturday, and Lord Sunday. But each of the Trustees embody one of the seven deadly sins and, instead of simply observing the universe, the Morrow Days began to interfere causing the House to disintegrate into chaos. The first part of the Will explains all of this when she follows Arthur on his adventures in the form of a frog.
     When Arthur defeats Monday and obtains the rest of the Key the Will manifests itself as Dame Primus. She is not pleased when Arthur heals Monday rather than simply killing him, but takes over government when Arthur returns home. The book ends Tuesday, just after midnight when Dame Primus calls Arthur on his House emergency phone.
     This first book in the Keys to the Kingdom Series sets up the House and conditions of Arthur's quest through it. The fantasy element of the House relies on its hodgepodge of different worlds and eras--steam and electronic technology right next to medieval weaponry and Victorian culture. Possibility is everywhere as Arthur is tries to find his place in the new world. The story is easily enjoyed by young readers, and while there is violence throughout the tale, it isn't as prevalent as n other stories for young adults.

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein, 1954 George Allen & Unwin

     Several decades after his mysterious and strange Uncle Bilbo returns from his journey to the Lonely Mountain Frodo Baggins is marked by Gandalf the Grey for another quest. This one is to escort the Ring Bilbo lifted from the creature in the goblin's cave to the fires of Mordor. The journey is an overarching plot through the separate books: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
     On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo disappears on an extended holiday, leaving his heir Frodo with the One Ring that he tricked out of Gollum in The Hobbit. Seventeen years later Gandalf returns and reveals the history of the ring: the Dark Lord Sauron forged it to subdue Middle Earth, but he was defeated in the Last War of Alliance by Gil-galad the Elven king and Elendil High King of Gondor and Arnor. Isildur, son of Elendil, kept the ring rather than destroy it and after much bloodshed it reached Smeagol. Smeagol carried the ring for centuries and became Gollum, from whom Bilbo obtained it and passed it to Frodo. Sauron has returned to Mordor and is searching for his ring to help him rule the world.
     Gandalf suggests the Shire is no longer the safe place for the ring and sends Frodo away. He and his companions, Samwise (Sam) Gamgee, Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck, and Peregrin (Pippin) Took prepare to leave the Shire, but Gandalf is called away and they decide to leave without him. The group is pursued by black-clad riders, Nazgul or Ringwraiths who are the servants of the Dark Lord, once great kings themselves. Frodo and his companions evade the Ringwraiths through the help of elves and several hobbits of the Shire. They travel to Bree and meet Strider, a Ranger and companion of Gandalf who will guide them to the Elven Rivendell.
     The companions reach Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Wraiths. Frodo is stabbed by their captain before Strider can drive them away with torches, but a part of the blade remains in the wound and he becomes more and more ill as they venture further toward Rivendell. Strider tells the company that unless they can treat the wound, Frodo will become a wraith himself.
     The group is met by Glorfindel, an Elven Lord and helps them reach the River Bruinen near Rivendell, but all nine of the Wraiths ambush them at the ford. Glorfindel and his horse outrace the nine with Frodo, and as they cross the river to safety a flood controlled by Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, sweeps them downstream.
     When Frodo awakens, he rests in the house of Elrond, has been healed by the Elven Lord, and Bilbo is waiting to see him. Frodo meets several strange, yet interesting, characters including Legolas, Prince of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood, Gloin who joined Bilbo on his journey to the Lonely Mountain, and Boromir the son of the Steward of Gondor.
     Elrond calls together the Council of Elrond where the gathered travelers share their news. Gloin tells of the dwarves' attempts to find their lost homeland the kingdom of Moria, Balin and his expedition have not been heard from in years. Boromir reveals a dream both he and his brother, Foromir, had sending them to find "the Sword that Was Broken" and "Isildur's Bane" in Rivendell. Elrond has Frodo bring forth the ring, and labels it Isilidur's Bane.  Strider is revealed as Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, True King of Gondor and wielder of the Sword that Was Broken. Gandalf reveals he has been to see Saruman, the chief of Wizards, for advice, but Saruman turned against them and locked Gandalf in his tower Orthanc until he escaped. Saruman is not in Sauron's service and musters his own force of orcs to find the ring and master Middle Earth.
     The Council of Elrond concocts a plan to cast the ring into the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor--the fires from which it was fashioned--to destroy the ring and end Sauron's powers. Boromir argues that the ring be used to fight Sauron, but Elrond explains the ring's inherent evil cannot be turned for good.
     Frodo volunteers for the mission and is chosen as ring-bearer. He is joined by eight companions called the Fellowship of the Ring: Boromir and Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Gimli son of Gloin, and the three hobbits Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Their journey south is foiled by heavy snows in the Misty Mountains, then by Wargs on the hunt for the ring in the West. They must travel under the mountains through the mines of Moria, where they discover Balin and his band have been killed by Orcs and other creatures who then attack the Company. During the ensuing battle Gandalf and the Balrog of Morgoth fall into the abyss of the mines.
     The rest of the troupe escape to the forest of Lothlorien. There they meet Galadriel and Celeborn and they gift the Company with goods that will prove to be useful in their later journeying. As they leave the forest and the elves, Frodo attempts to plan the remainder of their journey, but it attacked by Boromir who hopes to get the ring and use it to save Gondor. Frodo escapes, but while the rest of the Company searches for him he decides to travel to Mordor by himself. Sam insists on following him and the Company is broken.
     The first book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the beginning of the journey: Frodo learns to embrace the adventurous spirit his uncle Bilbo also held on to, he goes through trials and tribulations, but comes out the other end. Relationships are built and devolve under the power of the ring, and each character's base nature comes out with the temptation of ultimate power that comes to the ring's bearer. It is a chronicle of the battle between good and evil, and those who get caught along the way.
     The Fellowship of the Ring is more thoroughly enjoyed by an older audience, high school or older, who may catch the nuances of the story. There is significant violence and some suspense sprinkled through the tale; it pushes the story and the characters to their end.

The Last Battle

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, 1956 Geoffrey Bles

     In the final episode of the Chronicles of Narnia things are not as they seem. Peace has reigned since Caspian X in The Silver Chair, and King Tirian rules in peace, but the prophecying centaur Roonwit predicts strange and evil things in the near future.
     Shift, a talking Ape, concocts a plan convincing Puzzle, a simple but well-meaning Donkey, to dress in a lion's skin and pretend to be the Great Lion Aslan. Shift uses Puzzle to convince the Narnians of Aslan's return and coerce them into working for the Calormenes, cutting down the Talking Trees for lumber and paying money into a fund for Shift's own use.
     Tirian believes the rumor of Aslan's return, but becomes suspicious when he overhears Shift proclaiming Aslan and the Calormene god Tash as one and the same. When he challenges the Ape the Calormenes attack and tie the king to a tree. Tirian calls to Aslan for help and is sent a vision of Digory Kirke, Polly Plummer, Lucy, Edmund, and Peter Pevensie, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole, although he doesn't know who they are. King Tirian appears at a dinner party where the group is gathered to remember Narnia and their adventures and the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve recognize him as a messenger from Narnia.
     Moments later in Narnia, yet a week later on Earth, Jill and Eustace appear and rescue Tirian and the band of loyal Narnians held captive by Shift and the Calormenes. A battle ensues where Tirian, Jill, Eustace and the rescued Narnians attack Shift and the Calormenes, shoving them into the stable where the false Aslan resides. The stable is haunted by Tash who swallows the ape whole, but when the rest of the rescue party is flung inside they discover a vast and beautiful land.
     The group encounters the various people from our land who have traveled to Narnia within the series, with the exception of Susan (she regards Narnia as a game she played while an immature child rather than the real place where she was once a queen). Peter orders Tash to leave and they are joined by Aslan, who proceeds to stand at the portal to Narnia and judge all of the creatures, living and dead, who gather to pass through. Those who have been loyal to Aslan or have upheld his morality are welcomed into Aslan's Country while the rest lose their intelligence and vanish.
     In a spectacular show Narnia ceases to exist and Peter closes the door between Aslan's Country and the shell of what Narnia was. Aslan sends his party further into the "Real Narnia" where they find more companions from previous novels and "Real England". Aslan reveals that the travelers and the Pevensies' parents have died in a train accident from which only Susan survived. He reveals that this is only the beginning of an eternal story in which "every chapter is better than the one before."
     The Last Battle is very much like the biblical Judgement Day. The end of the world and salvation through the Christ-figure Aslan, but it also holds truths about a secular world: the characters who are damned are those who have attempted to take advantage of the honest, hard-working folk and their belief in something greater than themselves; not only do Aslan's followers find eternal joy, but those people of Narnia's world who are morally upright are rewarded; and the memories of their youthful pastimes create camaraderie among the English friends of Narnia--Susan has forgotten the innocence of her past and loses her entire family when they are snatched from England to Real England. Lewis's stories may have a heavy Christian overtone, but they are still stories about self-discovery, honesty, and loyalty to one's own beliefs.
     The intended audience for The Last Battle is later elementary school: between 8 and 13 years old, yet readers of all ages can find something new and interesting in the story.