Book Title: The Sky Throne by Chris Ledbetter
Category: YA Fiction, 300 pages
Genre: Fantasy
We received a complimentary copy of this book for use in our blog review. All opinions are my/our own.
About the Book
Duality dwells at every turn, and an adolescent Zeus will learn that all too well when Hyperion attacks his family on Crete.
When the dust settles, his mother is unconscious and his best friend left for dead.
Stacking epic insult upon fatal injury, Zeus discovers the woman who raised him is not his biological mother. But to ensure her safety while she recovers, a heavy-hearted Zeus leaves her behind to seek answers at Mount Olympus Preparatory Academia.
Zeus embarks on a quest to discover who ordered the attack on his home, avenge the death of his friend, and find his birth mother. When some of his new schoolmates vanish, Zeus's quest is turned upside down, and the only way to make things right is to access the power of The Sky Throne, confront a most dangerous enemy, and take his life back.
On his way to becoming king of the Greek gods, Zeus will learn to seize power, neutralize his enemies, and fall in love.
To read reviews, please visit Chris Ledbetter's page on iRead Book Tours.
My Review
Wonderful Greek mythology retelling for a YA audience. My youngest daughter loves mythology/fantasy books such as this one. At first, I doubted that the book could be that much different than so many of the other Greek God-to-modern-adventure-retellings I have read over the years with her. (This genre is clearly her favorite.) I was pleasantly surprised. The author does a wonderful job blending the ancient, mythological world with a modern world to which the young adult audience will relate and enjoy--and throws in a coming of age element that older adults will enjoy as well.
Readers will find some resolution--but, be left with loose ends. This book is part of a series (which I did not initially notice as we began reading it.) I was glad that the book does offer a good bit of resolution to the twists so that readers feel some closure to this first book. In spite of that closure, readers will be pulled into the storyline and the character's lives enough that they will certainly want to move on to the second book. My daughter already has it on her reading list for next spring!
Would I recommend The Sky Throne by Chris Ledbetter? My daughter ranks this book right up there with her favorites from the Percy Jackson series and the Seven Wonders series. The characters seemed more like typical, young adults than mythological kings--yet, some of the personality quirks and details reminded readers who they were reading about at times. The book does have some foul language and background themes that are a little mature for younger readers--but, not so much so that I felt uncomfortable allowing my middle school daughter to read it. She enjoyed the action and adventure--and the mythological retelling. I enjoyed the growth and development of the characters. We both look forward to future installments of the series.
Buy the Book
Watch the Trailer
Meet the author
Chris Ledbetter is an award-winning author of short fiction and novels for young adults. “Jason’s Quest,” a short story retelling of the Jason and Medea Greek myth was published in the anthology, Greek Myths Revisited. His first full-length novel, Drawn earned him two awards, Library of Clean Reads Best YA 2015 and Evernight Publishing Readers’ Choice Award Best YA 2015, as well as a USA TODAY “Must Read” recommendation. His second novel, Inked, concludes that duology. The Sky Throne is his newest young adult novel. The second book in the series is set to release in 2018.
He's a proud member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and a strong supporter of the Need for Diverse Books. He now writes and lives in Wilmington, NC with his family, including three cats.
Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ facebook ~ Pinterest
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends Oct 28
0 Comments