All About Middle Grade Review: Odin's Ravens

Odin's Ravens (Blackwell Pages, 2) by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr, May 13, 2014. 342 pages. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Source: Own/Bought.

Seven kids, Thor's hammer, and a whole lot of Valkyries are the only things standing against the end of the world.

When thirteen-year-old Matt Thorsen, a modern day descendant of the Norse god Thor, was chosen to represent Thor in an epic battle to prevent the apocalypse he thought he knew how things would play out. Gather the descendants standing in for gods like Loki and Odin, defeat a giant serpent, and save the world. No problem, right?

But the descendants' journey grinds to a halt when their friend and descendant Baldwin is poisoned and killed and Matt, Fen, and Laurie must travel to the Underworld in the hopes of saving him. But that's only their first stop on their journey to reunite the challengers, find Thor's hammer, and stop the apocalypse--a journey filled with enough tooth-and-nail battles and larger-than-life monsters to make Matt a legend in his own right.

First Sentence:

If there was one thing worse than seeing a giant's head rise from the ground, it was seeing two giant heads.

Guys, Odin's Ravens was SO good! But those poor characters just cannot catch a break!! Seriously though, the second installment was really interesting and I'm enjoying seeing the direction that the authors are taking their vision of the descendants of the Norse gods.

• There are two things that I really like about this series. First being that I love how Matt and Fen, as the descendants of Thor and Loki respectively, don't really seem like they could or are the reincarnation of, well, Thor and Loki. They are truly themselves, just burdened with roles neither one wants to fill. Secondly, I like that they have kept certain things surrounding the whole Norse mythology. You know, the stories that everyone just so happens to know (Balder, anyone). I like the dualism it brings to the story keeping things new but also harking back to the myths.

• The end of  this book made me so upset! What happened was expected, but it didn't make it hurt any less. While I am not going to tell you what happened, I'll tell you why it made me upset. What happened _______ totally messed up the trust and, dare I say it, friendship that was happening between two of the characters. Not to mention that it'll change the dynamics of yet another relationship within the group that first left Blackwell to prevent Ragnarök from destroying the world. Yes, yes that end hurt on so many levels. *hugs poor stricken character*

•  As you can tell, I really enjoyed the overall plot and character development. What I also enjoyed was the writing, again. I thought the authors did a great job progressing the story and developing the characters. Though it is a crying shame that thing had to happen with that one character. Seriously though, I have immensely enjoyed reading this one and am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the conclusion when I'm able to.

Final Verdict: Odin's Ravens- Well worth waiting the time it took to get a copy to see the continuation of this series. I'm quite enjoying the blending of striking a new path in regards to Norse mythology and still maintaining some of the most iconic stories relating to the Norse gods. 

Odin's Ravens earns

A copy of this book was purchased by me for my reading pleasure. All thoughts are my own.