#now I gotta get the apollo trials and magnus chase series' too

[tequila-tekaylah]

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[juliethebibliophile]

I Realize I saw The Lightning Thief Musical 3 Days Ago Now and I Still Haven’t Blogged About It?

So I’m gonna do that now. 

Okay, so I first heard about this musical 5 or 6 years ago on Tumblr when they first started workshopping it. Since then, they’ve been off Broadway twice(I live in New York), literally ON MY CAMPUS once, and every time my best friend and I have planned to see it but been too busy or forgotten to buy tickets. This year, while they were in Manhattan for their tour, we FINALLY went. That notion alone was enough to make me cry you guys, you have no idea how much it meant to me to finally see this show(that is another post entirely that I made on Facebook and might make here but I digress)

FULL SPOILER FREE REVIEW BELOW THE CUT

 Okay, so first thing I’ll say is from the moment this show began, forget that, from the moment I was on my way there, but especially when I got into the theatre, and again when the show started, I turned into a 14 year old again. I had not touched “The Lightning Thief”, or the first Percy Jackson series, since the 5th grade(I’m a junior in college now). I hadn’t even thought about the franchise as a whole since I read “The Blood of Olympus” when it came out in 2014(okay that’s a lie, I read the first Magnus Chase and Trials of Apollo but you get the picture). And yet, this show got me jumping up and down and crying about Percy instantly. And now I’ll go through the reasons why I think that is. 

So with me not having read the first book in ten years, I knew the movie was inaccurate, but I didn’t really know how or why because the plot of the movie was what stuck in my mind. When I reread the book in preparation for the musical, and saw the musical, I really understood where the movie went wrong, and in turn where this musical went so right. In general, the musical comes off like the characters and places in the books jumped right off of the pages. What really amazes me about this is that the actors are all obviously in their twenties, and yet you still feel like they’re the twelve year olds you know and love from that first book. I credit this to the incredible talent of the actors of course, but to some other things as well. 

The musical works with minimalism in terms of sets and effects, for obvious reasons, but this serves it so well. The minimalist way that everything is done matches the heart of the book. The things they do are things that kids playing pretend could do with props in their garage. And that’s what makes it so great: it has this childlike story hour feel that matches the childlike feel of the books, and also plays to the nostalgia factor that the books hold for the majority of the show’s audiences. 

The show is a comedy in a lot of ways, but it doesn’t feel like a parody because the books are comedic/not taking themselves seriously in that same way. The way the gods are portrayed in the musical(I won’t spoil anything but like...I nearly pissed myself at Poseidon) much better matches the feel of the books than the edgy, domineering figures in armor that the movies gave us. Every moment of laughter that the show provides has so much emotion behind it as well, and it harkens back to Percy’s sarcasm and ridiculous sounding chapter titles from the original series. 

The songs are amazing. Seriously, it’s been 3 days, and this soundtrack is still the only thing I can listen to. There are songs full of emotion and heart like “Good Kid” (which I’ve been crying over for years), “Strong” and “Tree on the Hill”, songs that are full of comedy and fun like “Another Terrible Day” and “Drive”, songs that’ll have you crying from triumph and pride like “Son of Poseidon” and “My Grand Plan”, and songs that are a perfect combination of everything like “Campfire Song” and “Bring on the Monsters”. In general, they all reminded me of the most joyful, innocent parts of myself, and reminded me what it’s like to love Percy Jackson.

The way the musical handles time restraints is spectacularly done as well. The song “drive” basically covers all the major events of the quest in about 5-10 minutes(save for Aunty Em’s and the trip to the Underworld which have their own scenes) and they technically don’t do everything that they do in the book, but the musical finds a way to pay homage to and acknowledge those events while also brushing past them in a comical way that the audience eats up. 

Speaking of time constraints, the musical also pays homage to beloved parts of the series that don’t occur in “The Lightning Thief”. Without changing or manipulating any plot points, they reference Bianca and Nico, the “dam” snack bar, Percabeth, and more. The subtle references are even more fun than if these elements had been placed in via changing plot(I’m looking at you creepy pool makeout scene in the movie) and the audience goes wild every time. 

That’s another measure of how spectacular the show is. The audience, which anyone with eyes can see is comprised of hoards of diehard Percy Jackson fans(fully grown adults in Camp Half-Blood T-shirts EVERYWHERE), goes absolutely batshirt nuts with excitement over this show. This makes it such a fun show to go to, because everything you wanna cheer for in an absolute nerdy, over-the-top way, everyone else is cheering for as well(Percabeth references, Percy being proclaimed the Son of Poseidon, etc.) It just brings you back to childhood joy and innocence for the two hours that you’re there.

The show immerses you in nostalgia in every way. The concession stand sells 90% blue food(an expert way for them to get all of my money too I willingly spent 17 bucks on snacks because they were blue). They reference inside jokes and fan favorites. In general, you can tell that everyone involved in the show has been a Percy Jackson fan at some point(or at least they did their research because seriously...”dam”). It’s funny, ridiculous and quirky, but so are the books, and the musical is also deep and emotional and beautiful in ways that I can’t even put into words. Just listen to Good Kid and Son of Poseidon. Seriously. They’re on Youtube and Spotify. You will cry. 

In conclusion, I have nothing negative to say about this show...like at all. If you’ve ever been a fan of Percy Jackson in any capacity, you’ve gotta see this show. I’ve been so ridiculously happy since I saw this show, and I forgot until I saw it what a significant part Percy Jackson played in my childhood and adolescence. It was an absolute delight from start to finish, and I will definitely be seeing it every time I have the opportunity. 

[aesarctic]

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan

The third book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. Finished it a month ago, but I just got the review done.

Read on Goodreads

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

FOR THE SUPER NON-SPOILERY AND THE NON-SPOILERY PEOPLE: This is the third book. Can't say much. Here: The Sword of Summer

FOR THE SPOILERY PEOPLE: Oh. My. Dear. Gods. Let's talk about my thoughts pre-book. I got this book maybe two days after it came out--in my defence, it was a busy time in my life. Marching band is a big deal. Marching band ending in my senior year of high school is a bigger one. After marching band, school got in the way. I wasn't able to read the book. A sad life, I know. I was looking forward to this book for forever at that point. (Where "forever" = about 1 year) But then. A four day weekend was coming up. It was time. I picked up the book. And I read it. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead is an end-book. The last book. It's the last book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. I've read three other end-books by Rick Riordan: The Last Olympian, The Serpent's Shadow, and The Blood of Olympus. The Last Olympian is by far my favourite of the three. In fact, it's high up on the favourite-end-books list. It's amazing. TLO SPOILERS:  The entire thing is dedicated to the battle that has been built up for four books. The battle is amazing. There was the right amount of death. The ending was near perfect. I loved it. END SPOILERS To be honest, I don't remember much of The Serpent's Shadow. If I wasn't on a rereading ban, I'd probably reread that series. And then, Blood of Olympus. We all have feelings about that book. Mine aren't the best. Not the worst, but not the best. The point is, I didn't know what to think about this book. Was it going to be a good end-book? Would it wrap up everything? What the heck was going to happen? Percy Jackson is my all-time favourite character in any Rick Riordan book in the history of Rick Riordan books. When I finished the second book, Annabeth ended the book by saying it was time to meet Percy.I remember thinking that this meant Percy was probably going to make a cameo at the beginning, teach Magnus a couple things, and be on his way. AND I WAS RIGHT. Some people I knew thought that he'd be throughout the book, and they were angry because of it, but no. Nope. Personally, I'd love more books with Percy as the main character. I know he needs a well-deserved break, but he's still my favourite. I'd even go for a series that just follows his current life. Anyway, I loved the beginning. And we finally got to know what Percy's baby sister's name is! Estelle! It feels like such a difference from the other names in these books, and it caught me off guard at first, but I actually really like that name. And he's so excited to be an older brother! I love Percy. Moving on, fast-forward to looking through Randolph's place. We get to see more of Alex's sass, which I love. The whole cast of characters in this series is fantastic. I didn't really think much of anyone other than the main four until this book, but now I love all of them. Which I'll get into later. Spoiler for The Shadowhunter Chronicles: Anyway, so originally, when naming Magnus Magnus, Rick asked Cassandra Clare if he could use the name Magnus, since Cassie also has a character named Magnus in her books. And Magnus gets together with Alec. In these books, Magnus gets together with Alec. I don't ship either, but I love the parallels. When we meet Sam, we find out that it's Ramadan, and I think this is really cool for a children's book to touch on. It also shows how powerful Sam is. She's an amazing fighter, and she can do all of it while going through the month of Ramadan. Talk about a powerful character. She's incredible. Sam has been struggling with her shape-shifting and resisting Loki when he tries to control her. Magnus says to her,"You'll find a way. A way that works for you." And it's never really mentioned in the book if she does. It's highly implied, shown in pages 363 and 373 (hardback, first edition) when she resists Loki. I do kind of wish we got a line about figuring it out, though. Chapter nine: I Become a Temporary Vegetarian. This needs a shout-out because this was definitely one of my favourite moments of the book. Aegir asks if there are any dietary restrictions. Sam imediately says that it's Ramadan. Aegir: "I see. Sorry. Yes, I don't think dwarves are halal. I'm not sure about elves." And I love this, because Sam then says, "They're not, either. In fact, it's Ramadan which means I need to break my fast in the company of dwarves and elves, rather than eating them or being around anyone who does eat them. It's strictly forbidden." Conclusion: Sam is amazing. But it gets better: Magnus claims he's a vegetarian and Alex claims he has green hair. Green hair of course means that he can't eat dwarves or elves. There are so many other funny moments and lines I wish I could highlight on, but I don't have the time to type all of them out. When Magnus challenges Loki to a flyting, Loki refuses. This made me so excited. It didn't occur to me that he might refuse. Probably predictable, but I was excited for the plot twist. Very, very excited. Then a couple pages later it turns out they're having a flyting and I could never describe the disappointment that arose from that. I have to say though, Magnus' speech had me kind of speechless. And embarrassed. I really liked it. I'm a sucker for friendship stuff, and it made me feel. In the end, we get a phone call between Magnus and Annabeth. This next bit contains spoiler's for Riordan's Trials of Apollo series. ToA and MCGA take place at the same time. In The Dark Prophecy, Apollo joins up with Leo and Calypso, they go through some times, and then the book ends with Apollo meeting (waking up) Grover Underwood. I admittedly don't remember too much, but that's what I think is a good summary. So, I don't know about you guys, but Grover coming back to reality seems pretty good to me. I missed him. So, when Annabeth seemed to be crying, you have no idea how badly I wanted the third ToA book. What happened? What's the bad news? Gods of Olympus I need to know. It was intense over on my end when I read that chapter. END SPOILERS Magnus and Alex opened the mansion for homeless kids in need, and I thought that that was incredibly noble and true to Magnus' character. I loved it. All in all, the book was good, I'm not sure where I'd place it with the other books, though. The first was my favourite, then maybe this one? I really liked getting to know the characters in this book. However, as a series ending, it wasn't the strongest. I expressed earlier how worried I was that it would be a bad ending, and it definitely wasn't the best I've ever read. I think major battles should feel major--not a couple pages long. Also, every Riordan book ends with a huge meet-and-greet with the gods at the end. I've read it so many times, I'm ready for something new. There must be some other way to end these books. A lot of our characters develop in this book, or we get to know them better, and I thought it was incredible. Here's some highlights and thoughts: Alex: She seems to be a lot happier in this book, and her relationship with Sam is strong The piece of evidence I have on me right now is on page 168, where Alex is texting Sam because she wouldn't just leave Sam on the boat without updating their cellphone plans and making sure they're able to text at all times. Alex even says, "Well duh. Gotta keep in touch with my sister." Maybe it's small, but as someone who is close to her sibling, it means a bit more to me. Also, her relationship with Magnus went through some major developments. Most of it was pretty embarrassing for me, and I really don't have much to say about it. Speaking of Alex, she has a lot of moments where it seems like she's forcing gender identity into the reader's face. I think that this is good. This is a children's book, and it's good to introduce kids to these things, because they're reallyimportant, to some more than others. It may even help out someone who's reading the book. It's also important to just educate the audience as a whole. And if you're wondering how I'm deciding to use which set of pronouns, I use the pronouns that match the section of the book I'm talking about, and if I'm talking about a generalization, I use she/her pronouns because that's when Alex said to do in the second book. TJ: He cannot back down from a fight. This is why he must fight Hrungnir, and we get to know a lot about him. We got a glimpse of what his life was like and how he came to be involved in the war. It was glimpses, but it's also a huge deal. Mallory: First, we learned how she died, then we learned who her godly parent is (Frigg, only the queen of the Aesir), where she is told that she's the key to retrieving Kvasir's Mead. Mallory then kills all the thralls, which of course gets them a step closer to getting the mead. That's a really short version of it all, but it made me from hating her character to liking her, and I was impressed. I still don't understand why Magnus wants to call her Mack, though. Halfborn: We start learning about Halfborn when he tells Magnus that they're heading towards the places that Mallory and Halfborn died. It gets worse as the crew heads towards Fläm, and it's revealed that that is Halfborn's hometown. Sixty pages later, we learn that Halfborn wanted to get out of Fläm--he wanted to be known. Be famous. Then, later on in the book, Fläm gets insulted, and Halfborn was not having it. He has a rather one-sided conversation about it with Magnus, and it was really nice to have a bit of closure to Halfborn's mini get-to-know-him arc. Halfborn's not my favourite, but at least I can respect him as a character now that he actually is one. I was really happy to know that we were getting to know his story as well (because this was before I knew we were getting to know everyone's stories.)

[catradoraloveismylegacy-blog]

Books will be the death of me

They just ruined my lovely day that was already going pretty shit, by not holding what they promised!!

Well technically it's Amazons fault but let's be dramatic with the intro?

So,

I wanted Percy Jackson 4 and 5 to be in the same design as my first three because the design is simple and beautiful and stuff so I searched for HOURS through the internet to find the matching ones and I was literally never as happy as on that day because I thought I found them! YAY! Big time, I had to pay for one in dollars (I live in Germany) and the shipping would take a week or so longer but that's okay because I'LL HAVE ALL THE PERCY JACKSON BOOKS IN THE OLD DESIGN!! Happiness, sunshine, rainbows, my gay heart is bursting out of my chest in giddiness!

· · ·

Bullshit! The fourth book arrived today and boom!

Notice something?! Huh?! Huh?!

Correct, IT'S NOT THE SAME!!

'it's not that big of a deal' some would say but IT. IS!!

Now I have to wait for a wHOLE WEEK!! before I can finish reading the series!!!!!

FOR NOTHING!!

Plus, the same happened with trials of Apollo AND Magnus Chase!

I mean

What the fUCK IS THIS!! It's huge!!

But at least the cover is in the same design!

With Trials of Apollo they couldn't even manage that!!

I gotta be honest, I like the design of the last book the best, but still!

Too big and a different cover!!

FUCKING END MY SUFERING!

The only series that is now in the same design is heroes of Olympus, but those are severely damaged!

How could one treat a book like that?

(I mean. Don't get me wrong I'll be super happy about my new books, but I have to get it all out first)

So all in all, I HATE AMAZON!!

I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU BETRAYED ME!!

THIS WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN NOR FORGOTTEN!

THIS WAS THE LAST TIME THAT I'LL BUY ANYTHING FROM AMAZON!!

YOU JUST LOST A CUSTOMER BY NOT TREATING BOOKS CORRECTLY, YOU TWAT!!