Reviews: Number the Stars & The Serpent's Shadow

Here’s two more book reviews of books I read earlier on this year. They’re an odd pairing to put together, but so it goes sometimes. Both wonderful books.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Oftentimes, Holocaust books show us what went wrong and how horrible it was. Which it was. But also important is to show what good people did to help fight the great evil of it, and that is what is shown in this book in a clear way that children and adults can understand.

This story takes place in Denmark, already occupied by the Nazis, and it is told from the perspective of Annemarie, a young Danish girl whose best friend is Jewish and how Annemarie’s family does their best to save her friend and the friend’s family.

The book is based on true events; the Danish successfully smuggled many Jews over into Sweden in similar ways to which it is done in the book. That in and of itself is fascinating. But the strength of the book lies in the character of Annemarie and the example she sets of courage in the face of real danger. The truth of life is that what’s easy and what’s right rarely match up and every time they don’t it requires courage to stand against what’s wrong.

As usual for a Newbery Medal Award winner, such as this book (it is a winner), this story should be read by everyone. In addition to the moral lessons learned, there is history to be discovered and characters to understand. I give this book a high recommend. It is short and easy to read and worth every page.

The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan

To those unfamiliar with Riordan’s more recent books, such as the Percy Jackson series, his books are full of modern culture references that draw in the kids, while covering enough history and mythology to draw in adults. That’s the way I see it anyway.

This book is the final book of “The Kane Chronicles,” similar to the Percy Jackson series in that it asks the question: “What if old mythology was real and active in the modern world?” It’s a question full of possibilities and very interesting to delve into because it allows for both the teaching of old mythology and the showing of how old mythology is still present in the modern world. For instance, did you know that Obelisks such as the one at the Washington Monument, stem from the belief system of the ancient Egyptians?

So because this is the final book of a trilogy, it’d be hard to give you more of a summary than a short version of what’s given on the book cover: Carter and Sadie Kane, brother and sister, are modern Egyptian magicians and are trying to restore Ma’at, or order, in the world, but as things stand chaos is heavily at work and magicians are divided in what they should do. And what’s worse, Apophis, the epitome of Chaos, is set to emerge and destroy the world in 3 days if they don’t do anything about it.

This is an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. If you enjoy Rick Riordan’s style of storytelling you will find exactly that right here. It’s entertaining, funny, and at the same time well thought out and filled with interesting characters, especially the main two who have their own struggles and changes over the course of the series. This is a definite recommend to those who enjoy mythology and enjoy following pop culture, or at least don’t mind it in a novel. This isn’t your literary deep-meaning type book, but it is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.