91. Read and Review 100 Books (20/100) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender

'Rose Edelstein has just discovered that she can taste people’s emotions in the food she eats. She is nine when this first occurs, and it profoundly changes her life.

Rose can tell if a cook is happy, sad, rushed or passionate about the food he or she is making. She can place fruit and veggies to the region where they were grown, and discern if they are organic or not. And she can describe the factory that creates her potato chips and other processed food without the complications of human touch.'

What a super interesting premise - the concept behind the novel is truly unique however I didn't really feel it was well executed. I found the novel a little confusing in places, especially at its conclusion and a number of the characters just weren't likable.. all in all though it was a good read and the main protagonist, Rose's struggle to come to terms with and finally accept her 'gift' keeps you turning the pages.. 

91. Read and review 100 books (5/100) The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

'Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen prperty and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.'

I have found my Harry Potter replacement... his name? Percy Jackson... yes I'll be the first one to admit that I like children's books, and I'm not being facetious here. This really is like Harry Potter - only a Greek version! The series is all about a boy, who doesn't really fit into the real world, who finds out that he is actually the child of a Greek god, and is squirreled away to a private and secret 'summer camp' that normal people can't see even through its right in front of them, where he is taught how to be a good little demigod.. but alas, war is brewing and only our special young hero can stop it by going on a quest to retrieve something that was stolen... sound familiar? It should, if you're at all familiar with Mr. Potter! However don't let that influence your judgement of the story - it is different enough to stand on its own merit and it kept me interested on a flight between Seattle and Houston for 4 hours! An easy and quick read (remember, children's book) I found the writting to be entertaining and the premise to be unique enought that the tired and overused ideas didn't detract from the main story line. Looking forward to starting on the second book this weekend... hopefully it can keep me entertainined through my next flight or two!!