When I saw a copy of Daughter of the Deep, it was love at first sight. The cover art stood out with the colors of the ocean and a giant squid in the background. But the selling point for me were the fancy letters on the top of the cover. They read: By Rick Riordan. You see, I am an avid fan of just about every adventure, sci-fi or realistic fiction chapter book there is. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, 39 Clues, you name it! Riordan is especially great because he adds pop culture and a fast-paced plot with a myth or story. So I snatched the library book off the shelf to give it a go. It did not disappoint me. The narrator and main character Ana Dakkar just wants to have a normal life. It is close to her birthday when her world starts unraveling. She is going on a field trip for her final exam. Then her school goes up in flames as she and her classmates are catapulted into a new world. They are now at war with Land Institute. The Nautilus, Captain Nemo, and the events of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were real. She is now forced to lead her crew of high schoolers after her professor reveals a secret she never knew. She is a direct descendant of Captain Nemo. And she is the key to his technology. What the book mainly shows, however, is that secrets are a double-edged sword. From the action packed beginning to the climatic end, the plot is based on a series of secrets being revealed, with most of them being one blow after another at Ana. Her friend is granted information that she should’ve known too. She doesn’t know her family well. She doesn’t know what happened to her parents. And even though her ignorance protected her for some time, they had to reveal the secrets to make her truly safe in the end. What makes this book stand out from other science fiction thrillers, however, is that while you can never see what technology is coming next, you also can’t see what twist is coming next. You see the warring sides clearly throughout the book, yet some things still don’t feel quite right. You can even doubt the technology at times. So, it sends the sense that you have to be on guard. It’s sort of like a detective story, just that you have to figure out the enemy’s move, like a chess game. However, if you can guess the “OH!” moment near the end, you must be a genius! This book is definitely for science fiction and action book fans. If you’re looking for a mythological book like Percy Jackson, this book will be ok for you, but it lacks the information and strong connections to myths. You should try it anyway though, because with a strong and fast-moving plot, this thriller will please fans of all genres. Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan. Disney Hyperion, 2021. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
Book Reviews
Murder on the Orient Express, Reviewed by Orin, 13
Murder on the Orient Express is a tense, nail-biting mystery written by one of the most widely published authors of all time, Agatha Christie. The book stars detective Hercule Poirot, who is on the Orient Express when a millionaire named Samuel Ratchett is found dead in his compartment. With a body stabbed a dozen times in the train, the detective must look for answers among his fellow passengers who just might be the killer. This novel, although old-fashioned, is mystery at its peak. Red herrings are packed piles and piles atop each other and every single passenger Poirot interviews could be lying, adding a mysterious tone throughout the entire book. As the book goes along and the case drags, the pace gets a little faster and the book adds a more tense tone. As the book crescendoes to the climax and the solution, Poirot’s allies grow more desperate. The book then reveals its big twist, and the story concludes itself. One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is not just because of the mystery and the twist, but because of how it plays with tone emotion. You sympathize for these characters and you feel the raw emotion pop out as the book peels off its layers like an onion. The theme of this book blurs the line between good and evil and right and wrong. In the end, Hercule Poirot makes a difficult choice that is both right and wrong. The tone, emotion, and the themes make this book not just a clever mystery, but a tragic, dramatic story that makes the reader learn a lesson. The writing is also top-notch. Every little detail is not hidden from the reader adding more and more elements atop mysteries as the book goes on. You can not only understand the physical clues, but understand the psychology behind the characters that guides you closer to who the killer is. Poirot interviews the passengers like a professional and every word that he or the passengers speak has a secret double meaning. Agatha Christie is truly a gifted writer. Finally, this book is so relatable because of the emotions that drive the crime. Because you want to understand why the killer did what they did and you feel what the passengers feel as Poirot inches toward the solution, you can’t put the book down. I felt the passengers’ feverish excitement and their deepest despair. I felt the core of their guilt and the wound filled with grief that wouldn’t go away. Murder on the Orient Express is a book hard to leave behind and impossible not to finish in just a few sittings. The book has mystery, emotion, a tense tone, and a big twist. The book also has countless movie and TV adaptations. Agatha Christie also wrote other brilliant books like Death on the Nile, Murder on the Links, And Then There Were None, and ABC Murders. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. Collins Crime Club, 1934. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
A Town Girl’s Year in the Countryside: A Review of Phebe Fairchild by Mary G. Lane, 11
Have you ever been away from home for a year? In the book Phebe Fairchild, set in the 1830’s, a girl named Phebe travels from her New Haven home to spend a year with her Aunts in the Connecticut Countryside while her parents are at sea. During the year Phebe is with them, she struggles to meet the strict Puritanical expectations of her relations, but her greatest trial is protecting her jewels and cherished book of nursery rhymes. Will she make it through with her things, or will she discover that the greatest treasure lies in her heart? Phebe Fairchild is a great book for kids ages 8-12, especially those interested in nineteenth-century cultural history. It is emotionally balanced, historically rich, and full of fun rhymes and songs that readers will enjoy. This book is a heartwarming tale of trial, culture, and character development, and it’s full of humor. It has interesting historical content, showing the strict traditional upbringing practices of the time. Phebe has parents who believe in loosening the restrictive bonds of the breeding of children in that period, as well as allowing “worldly things” in their home. Thus, Phebe has been brought up on an easier basis, increasing her struggles with her strict Aunts. Though the book talks about hard things like the harshness of Phebe’s relations, it tells of them in a soft, gentle way. It also keeps the hard parts spread throughout the book by alternating them with many interesting and fun sections. This is a good example of how the book is emotionally balanced. While her older relatives scorn the nursery rhymes Phebe loves, some of the cousins like them. Lois Lenski uses the children’s poems as a symbol of the changing attitudes of adults on the subject of child rearing. Readers who are interested in nineteenth-century traditions will definitely like this story because it has rhymes from Phebe’s book, is emotionally balanced, and is culturally interesting. It is true, the book is more of an emotional experience, not an adventure story. As it does not have as much action as some, some readers will like it more than others. For instance, there is more talking in the book than some may prefer. However, the talk of the characters articulates the cultural and historical essence, even if it is less exciting than action. Phebe Fairchild is a good book for kids 8-12 because of all these reasons. It is historically rich, is emotionally balanced, and also has fun and funny rhymes. The emotional story really shows what growing up in nineteenth-century America was like. This is such a fun and cool historical novel and a very good book. Happy reading! Phebe Fairchild by Lois Lenski. Purple House Press, 2020; orig. 1936. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
