MINI REVIEWS: Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, The Dark Beneath the Ice, & Long Way Down

Mandy is back with more mini-reviews today! I mean, trust me, I’m shocked most of all that I can actually do mini when most of my reviews end up being novels. Today, we’re taking a look at a few books that actually were pretty decent! From Greek Gods to Ice to Emotional Poetry…this girl brought 3, 4, and 5 stars!

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Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

This was such a fun take on mythology, and the authentic Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan voice was just amazing. I have always loved Greek mythology, and it was so much fun to dive in the wit and humor that this book brought. Sometimes I can get super distracted with nonfiction books, but this really kept me entertained except for a few sections.

There were a few things that were off for me. I felt like it lost a little bit of steam for the last few gods like Hermes and Dionysus. The biggest issue for me was sometimes it got a little too light hearted? I mean, I absolutely loved the humor and the fun and it all made everything so interesting, but, like, the gods were messy and dark at times. I thought the book skimmed over a few really dark spots that the gods did. I know it’s a kid’s book, so obviously it’s not going to break out all the really really dark stuff, but there were a few things that were specifically mentioned in here that were kind of glazed over and me knowing the true dark stuff was a little cringey.

However, for the most part, it was fantastic. I learned a LOT that I had never heard about or knew, which was a lot of fun. I loved how Riordan created whole dialogue scenes that really made it feel like an actual story and really never got too long that it got boring. It was a super well done way to dive into the Greek mythology tales, and I can’t wait to check out the Greek heroes. 4 crowns and an Ariel rating!

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The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé

Best part of this book: the friendship/relationship between Marianne and Ron (Rhiannon). Omigosh, it was amazing and messy and realistic, and I super super enjoyedddddddddd. I loved reading them together, and they just had instant chemistry from when they popped onto the scene. I loved their friendship, and how Ron continuously looked out for Marianne and supported her despite, like, an evil spirit trying to kill her.

Other good things: the plot was pretty interesting at parts and there was a decent spookish mood.

Main bad part of the book: the writing. Everything just kind of felt super meh? Like, I never really felt scared or tense or on the edge of my seat. I also felt like some things would get drowned out. Like, we would have something spooky and then have 3 huge paragraphs about feeling cold or being by a lake. I started skimming pretty good at points because it was just a lot of prose, and I wasn’t into it.

Other issues: I felt like the explanation and ending didn’t really equate with what the book was bringing – like it didn’t fit and it fully didn’t make sense. I still don’t quite understand it all and how what it ended up being was able to do it.

Overall, the book just felt pretty meh. I was ready for dark and spooky, but it was just kind of eh. There were a few good things, but it just felt pretty lackluster. 2 crowns and a Cinderella rating!

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Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Dear gosh, this book was just as AMAZING as everyone said it was.

To be honest, poetry and verse kind of scares me. I never seem to understand it, and it’s always far too deep for this book princess. However, I used to have a friend who was pretty interested in spoken word and I have been hearing so so much praise for Jason Reynolds, so I thought I would give it a try.

And you best believe it was fantastic. I didn’t realize you could make me feel so so many things without all the prose and full sentences and giant paragraphs like you could. Each phrase, each word had feeling and importance and meaning to it. Nothing was meaningless and each dropped like a rock into water, creating an impact. This story was so vivid and dynamic and heartbreaking and deep and more – all told in a few minutes down an elevator in prose.

I’m trying to think of words for this book, but I really don’t have much. It totally blew me away, and like I was shocked because I was ready to feel confused with it. Trust me: just pick it up and bask in the excellent, brilliance with how this book was written, how it tells a heartbreaking, emotional story in few words, and has much intensity. 5 crowns!

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What do you think? Have you read some of these books? What were your thoughts? Let’s discuss in the comments below!