The Trials of Apollo Book One The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan is the start of a new Greek mythology series from middle grade staple Rick Riordan. This new series centres around the god Apollo, who has been stripped of his godly powers by his father, Zeus. Naturally, adventures and shenanigans ensue. For me this read a little younger than the Heroes of Olympus series, more in line with Percy Jackson. Apollo’s human persona is aged 16, but he spends a lot of time hanging around with 13 year old Meg which naturally makes the feel of the book somewhat younger. Also, there is no emphasis at all on romantic relationships. What I liked Riordan’s writing style. After many series including Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Riordan’s light, witty style should be familiar to most readers. If you enjoyed the earlier books, you will certainly enjoy this one. They are very funny. I breezed through The Hidden Oracle in an afternoon. While it is not necessary to have read the earlier series, I would strongly recommend doing so before picking up this latest one. There are many references to characters…
[book-info title=”Because You’ll Never Meet Me” author=”Leah Thomas”] Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas is a young adult contemporary novel and tells of the pen friendship between two isolated young men, Moritz from Germany and Ollie who lives in the US. Each of the two young men has a physical ailment which limits their interaction with mainstream society. These same limitations – for Ollie an severe reaction to electricity and for Moritz a heart defect requiring an electronic pacemaker – precludes their ever meeting face to face. Their friendship develops through the letters they write to each other. The novel is written in the style of letters exchanged between the two. I loved this book, which I listened to in audiobook format. What I liked The characters. I adored both Ollie and Moritz and was emotionally invested in their journeys. I was really rooting for them both. Their two differing points of view are beautifully brought out through the letters they write to each other. Each has a unique writing style which gave a wonderful insight into their characters. It is a mark of how invested I was in the two that when Moritz finally comes back…