Book Review: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

 

Goodreads Summary: He holds the secret that can end the world.
The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.84 stars with over 155,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Middle Grade

Goodreads Challenge: 42/50 books (Ahh, I'm so close!)

2021 Reading Challenge: #9 Read a book by an author Mike/Michael/Michelle or variant (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! We are fast approaching the end of 2021, which means Tress and I will be launching the 2022 challenge later this month! Stay tuned. I hope you all will join us again. I'm so close to hitting my goal of 50 books for 2021. I don't think I'll get eight more books in this month, but I'm going to try. I'll be pretty happy if I get 45 books. 

I've been reading the Memoirs of Cleopatra since what feels like she walked the Earth, so I decided to try and supplement my reading with a book on Kindle since that one is a physical book. I wanted something light and fun that would be easy to get through. The Alchemyst by Michael Scott definitely fits that requirement.

I really enjoyed the story. I thought it was a lot of fun, and I wanted to keep reading it. I really liked the fantasy aspect, and the world was created. I thought having the gods of various mythologies as an elder race of humans was interesting. I felt that Michael Scott did a great job including all five senses in the story. I feel like smell tends to get forgotten about sometimes, so I really liked that all of the magic had its own unique scent. Having the magic have a color attached with the auras also helped bring in the visual effects. 

The characters were likable. I liked the dynamic between John Dee and Nicholas Flamel and how it pits their motives against one another. The twins were alright. I didn't really have any overwhelming positives or negatives for them. I did appreciate that there wasn't any romance in this book or swooning over crushes. I feel like many YA fantasy tends to focus on some teenage love triangle, and this didn't (Yay).  I liked Scatty and her Grandmother quite a bit. As usual, Sassy Grandma stole the show. 

I think my biggest issue with this book is that it moved really fast in a way that came across as "I've got this thing to tell you, but I'll tell you later." The background story ends up getting told after a bunch of other stuff happens, so I kind of forgot why it was pertinent information. It just didn't really feel like a natural story flow to me. When it came to the actual Alchemy, I thought it was more tell than show. We got told Nicholas was an Alchemyst, but I didn't really feel like it was ever shown, or if it was, it blended in with the other magic in the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed it. I'll probably get around to reading others in the series, but I probably won't make some significant effort to do so. I think it'd be a fun read for younger teenagers who like fantasy. It's listed as a YA, and the twins are 15; however, I feel like it'd be incredibly appropriate for younger like 10 or 11. I'm not a parent, though, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt. 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany

 

Goodreads Summary: The official playscript of the original West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter, and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

The playscript for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was originally released as a 'special rehearsal edition' alongside the opening of Jack Thorne's play in London's West End in summer 2016. Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, the play opened to rapturous reviews from theatergoers and critics alike, while the official playscript became an immediate global bestseller.

This definitive and final playscript updates the 'special rehearsal edition' with the conclusive and final dialogue from the play, which has subtly changed since its rehearsals, as well as a conversation piece between director John Tiffany and writer Jack Thorne, who share stories and insights about reading playscripts. This edition also includes useful background information, including the Potter family tree and a timeline of events from the Wizarding World prior to the beginning of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Goodreads Rating: 3.58 stars with over 767,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Plays, Magic, Adventure, Middle Grade, Time Travel

Goodreads Challenge: 18/50 (Almost caught up, woohoo!)

2021 Reading Challenge: #59 Read a book that has unfavorable reviews, but you're still curious about it. (Get the full challenge here)

Book Review:

Happy Sunday, Readers! I've been completely burning through books, and it makes me happy. Though, I should probably be using this time to work on a paper for my ethics class. Sometimes when Tress and I come up with our challenge prompts, I think we have specific books in mind for it. At least, I do from time to time. This is one of those times and one of the even rarer times when I read the book I wanted the prompt for. Often, I end up reading something else or not getting to it at all. On Goodreads, The Cursed Child has pretty average reviews; however, I had it in mind for this prompt because I have heard absolutely nothing good about it from my group of friends. I was curious to see if it was bad as everyone had said.

I was torn on reading this for multiple reasons. First, I was hesitant because of the bad feedback I had heard about the book. I was also unsure if I would read it because of the current hate that J.K. Rowling has been putting into the universe. I feel like in the past six months, or so, I've had to touch on a lot more current events than I'd like to, which was never the intention of this blog. I wanted it to be a safe place to just discuss books and escape whatever's going on in the world. However, I think that with how divisive things are becoming, I also need to make my stances on things known. Reading this makes me feel like a giant hypocrite and like I'm supporting her hateful views, and I don't at all. I want people to live their lives and be comfortable as their authentic selves without the fear of someone cruel treating them like they aren't people. This is a hard one because I absolutely love the Wizarding World, but I also despise the author's views.

Anyways, on with the review. I actually enjoyed the Cursed Child quite a bit. I thought it gave an exciting glimpse into life after a hero's work is done in stories that we don't often get. I think to really get into it I had to remind myself that it's a play, and as a result, it's not going to be able to have the same detail as a 500+ page book. I've never really had an issue with reading plays, but I can see why having the notation of what the authors are doing would take some out of the story.

I thought that even though characters many of us grew up with were adults, there was a glimpse of who they were in the original books. There was also a serious nostalgia factor as the story explored the possibility of what would have happened in the original books if the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament had gone differently. It gave a fascinating take on events. I also like that these events brought some beloved characters back to life, at least briefly. 

I enjoyed the irony of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy's sons being best friends and all of the drama that ensues because of it. It also amuses me that Draco's kid is basically a Slytherin Hermoine. I liked that it shows what Harry Potter would be as a parent and trying to figure it out, especially given that many of us who grew up when the books and movies were first replaced are parents now (not me, but most of my friends are). I think it was a good way for my generation to further grow with a character they love.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I had been thinking about rereading HP. This was a good way to reconnect with the story but also read something new. I think to enjoy it, there's definitely some level of having to remove oneself from what should happen or what already happened in the stories, and understand that it's a play, so it's not going to have the same level of detail that a regular book would.