Hades: Lord of the Dead

Hades: Lord of the Dead
George O'Connor
First Second
(January 31, 2012) 80 pages

This story might be called Hades: Lord of the Dead, but surprisingly, it is really a story about the heroine Persephone. Hades steals Persephone away to the underworld to be his bride. In this re-telling, O’Connor creates a much more rounded character for Persephone than you might have met in other myths. We discover a strong Persephone, who maybe really likes being Queen of the Dead; an independent Persephone, who stands up to her mother and goes to great lengths to get away from her; and an empathetic Persephone, who tries to ease the suffering in the Underworld.

In true Greek style, it is also a tale of woe. In her despair, Demeter abandons her duties and searches endlessly for her daughter Persephone. It is through Demeter’s desolation that we have the creation of the seasons.

I think this is a great read. Greek Mythology fans will enjoy this story, and its graphic novel format will make it accessible for so many more readers. Hades: Lord of the Dead is the fourth in a series of Olympian graphic novels by George O’Connor, and now I can’t wait to go back and read the first three books.

The Missing, Book One: Found

Found 
Margaret Petterson Haddix.
Scholastic Books 
314 Pages


Almost every kid, at one point or another, has thought that they were adopted. Jonah knows it's true though. In fact he's known his whole life. He hadn't questioned it too much ever. For him it's alway been a fact. Like 2+2=4, or, the Earth revolves around the sun.
One day he receives a letter in the mail. It says "You are one of the missing." Naturally he's freaked out by this, and decides to tell his new friend Chip, who just moved in a few months before. It turns out that Chip got a letter too. It says the exact same thing. Then they both get a second letter. This one reads "Beware! They're coming back to get you."

Jonah, Chip and Jonah's little sister Katherine are thrown head first into the mystery of the "Missing", which involves an FBI investigation, a mysterious man who always seems to be around, and a plane that suddenly appeared out of no where, with no pilot, and no crew.

Although I love this book, and I love the concept, I found it a bit hard to follow at first. In the beginning, each clue that the kids found seemed unrelated, and disconnected. They brought up more questions than answers, for both me, and the characters. But as time went on all the different clues came together and wove the facts they compiled into the answer. That seemed so obvious once I knew it.

In a way though, I'm glad the book kept me guessing. Sometimes, if an author makes the main answer to a mystery obvious, I tend to get bored and feel tired.

All in all, I found it an amazing book, and whenever one of my friends is searching for a good book to read, this is always one of the first ones that I recommend.

I give this book 4 pilotless planes out of 5.