The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders, #1) by Peter Lerangis

The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders, #1) Reviews

• 
  Stella

  Ever since I finished the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, I haven't been able to find a good alternative. There are some great middle grade series out there, don't get me wrong. But none of them had the same feel to it as PJO.
  
  Until now.
  
  This book had a lot of similar elements to PJO. The one stood out to me the most was its humour. Rick Riordan was able to infuse humour into his books even when things got tense. What's even better was that the humour did not come from one single "comic relief character." Peter Lerangis took a page right out of Riordan's How to Write a Fantastic Book Series and did exactly that. Every one of the characters was capable of delivering a funny punchline and that showed great versatility. I really love it when a character is more than just "The Hero", "The Clown" or "The Nerd." Because in some way, everyone has those characteristics within them. Jack, Marco, Aly and Cass all displayed those characteristics and it made the story much more believable. And the best part of all is that they all had equal opportunities to shine; although the story was told in Jack's perspective, all of them could be viewed as the main character.
  
  Another character I thought Lerangis delivered really well was Torquin. He is a large henchman to the Karai Institute. Stereotypically, the large henchman is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and is usually used as a comic relief. Sure, Torquin had his funny moments, but he also showed that he is just like you and me. He gets frustrated when he has to come in on his day off, he hates babysitting the kids, yet, he is smart enough to monitor the entire institute's surveillance system and can notice when things feel off. At times you feel bad for him, and then you realize you really hate his stubbornness.
  
  If you're not a fan of Rick Riordan (although that is impossible), there are other aspects of this novel that might appeal to you. Like in the 39 Clues, this book drew in historical elements and made me really interested in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I go gaga for anything about ancient civilization, which made my time in my time in my grade 11 history class oh so enjoyable. This book had puzzles and riddles that needed to be solved and fans of the 39 Clues series should definitely check it out.
  
  There was also another element of this story that I enjoyed and it reminded me a bit of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel series (by Michael Scott). But I will put this under the spoiler tag just in case you find it spoilery. I like how the children don't really trust Dr. Bhegard and the Karai Institute, just like Josh and Sophie with Nicholas Flammel. I think their suspicion is justified and I am curious to read on to see if any of them would turn against the professor.
  
  One minor thing that I disliked about this book were the titles given to each chapter. I usually LOVE chapters with their own title, but only if they added to the mystique of what was about to happen. Some of the chapter titles in this book did the opposite; some (only some) of the titles kind of gave away what was about to happen in the upcoming chapter. Nothing major was given away or anything, but it still took away some of my excitement.
  
  P.S.: Totally adored the illustrations! They were an essential part to the puzzle solving. Excellent.
• 
  Kate

  I truly wanted to like this book. On the whole, I love YA fantasy, and after reading so many reviews comparing this book to the Percy Jackson series, I looked forward to a wonderful read. Then there's Peter Lerangis' pedigree as an author: having published so many books, and received so much acclaim, I felt confident an evening with this book would be well spent.
  
  How wrong I was.
  
  There is no character development here. Rather, we're introduced to Jack in the first character. He's a 13-year-old kid whose mother died (how, we never learn) and whose father has come up with excuses to travel ever since (and we're left to assume that it's too painful for him to be in the house now that his wife is dead). A series of au pairs have supervised Jack since his mother's death, and again we're not told why they keep quitting. In fact, his most recent au pair quits on the day the action in the book begins... and we have NO idea why.
  
  Not a chapter later, Jack suddenly finds himself in a hospital after losing consciousness in the school parking lot. A doctor is treating him, and at no point does he seem to wonder why his dad isn't there. In fact, when he's kidnapped from that hospital, at no point does he seem to think about his dad -- or even miss him -- at all.
  
  Eventually (and I don't want to give away much of the plot in case someone actually feels like spending an evening with this book), Jack winds up with a group of other kids his age. They, too, are one-dimensional characters, each of which Lerangis seems to have assigned an "odd trait" just to flesh them out a bit. There's Cass, a cowardly sort who likes to pronounce words backwards but whose physical appearance -- or ANY OTHER TRAIT -- most readers would be hard-pressed to describe. There's Aly, who has pink hair (though how she managed to dye it at the remote island institute is beyond my understanding), likes movies and is good with cyber stuff. Tall? Short? Fat? Thin? Who knows. Lerangis seems to think this is all we need to know about her. Oh, and there's Marco, some kind of super athlete who likes to call everyone 'brother' but whether he's white, African-American, Latino, whatever, we have no idea. Tall? Beefy? Short? Stringy? We don't know!
  
  These kids, all aged thirteen, get thrust through an unlikely and unbelievable set of plot points. Now, as someone who adores YA fantasy, I'm willing to suspend disbelief any time an author creates an enchanting milieu or, failing that, introduces me to such well-conceived characters that I am dying to know what happens to them. Here, the untraceable island is hardly described beyond being in an ocean with a volcanic mountain in the middle of it. The rest of the island's description is essentially a regurgitation of concepts from the TV show LOST: it's undetectable due to some magnetic abnormality; there was an ancient civilization there; strange hybrid creatures exist on the island; oh, and watch out for the electrified perimeter. So, as with the one-dimensional characters, this was again truly lazy writing.
  
  Even when the kids make their way to Turkey, are we treated to the sights, the sounds, the smells of this exotic locale? No, no we are not. We briefly encounter a taxi driver named Taki who is clearly a walk-on character. So why is he as equally memorable as the main characters? Hard to say. Even the so-called bad guys in the book seem to merely walk in to the plot solely to check off one more plot point, then disappear. There's no tension, no buildup, no real climatic encounter.
  
  Oh, and don't get me started on the cliff-hanger ending. Listen, the only reason cliff-hangers work is because the book -- the characters, the description or the plot (and preferably at least two of the three) are so compelling that the reader can't wait to pick up with the next events. Here? Lerangis introduced the one and ONLY plot twist through the entire story... and it came so late, after such a disappointing read, but I could not possibly care less what might happen next.
• 
  Ems Loves to Read

  Wow.
  
  That's pretty much how I was left feeling after this book. To say that it ends on a cliffhanger is a gross understatement. Luckily, it's one that has me jonesing for the next book in the series. Fall 2013 can't come soon enough!
  
  I had a completely different experience with this book. I chose it as a classroom read aloud for my fourth graders. The trick to picking a good read aloud is to get one that's the start of a series and one that will capture the students and make them demand more. A good read aloud can spark a love of reading in reluctant readers and get your casual readers to jump into more books.
  
  This one was PERFECT.
  
  It was really fantastic to read The Colossus Rises out loud and see the reactions of my students. To say that they enjoyed it would also be a gross understatement. They really love being read to, but with this one, they were begging me to keep going. I think they'd have gone for an all-day read aloud if we'd been able to swing it. They laughed, they cried (for real!), they shouted, they jumped out of their chairs...perfect reactions to this book, in my opinion!
  
  For me, I loved how Peter Lerangis pulled a genius move on us with the way he ended his chapters. Brilliant. It definitely keeps you coming back for more. They were absolutely perfect for ending as read alouds too, because my students were irate that we stopped! They just HAD to know more! A book that captures the interest of ten year olds like that is pretty darn awesome.
  
  I loved the story, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that he incorporated the ancient wonders. See, I'm a huge geek, and the ancient wonders are all over my geekish radar. I love learning more about them, and I've actually toyed with the idea of writing a series myself. Well, now I don't need to, because this book is the start of a fantastic series. I know I couldn't do the wonders any more justice.
  
  It's fast-paced, very appropriate for tweens, fun, and with characters that you'll come to love. I'm definitely ordering the next book in the series, and I may just read this one aloud again. My students will definitely thank me for it.
  
  4 Eiffel Towers
  
• 
  Erin

  I was rather disappointed with this book. It's clearly meant to ride the coattails of Rick Riordan's two mythology based series (if it wasn't written to that purpose, it's definitely marketed that way; down to the similar cover art and font!), but Lerangis is not up to the story-telling level of Riordan.
  
  Every character in the book is a cliche (you've got your quintessential superman/brawn, computer/indie chick, and brainy nerd as the support team to the main character who feels like a useless imposter) and the deliberate quirks of the main characters (the nerd/brainy kid talking backwards all the time, the jock referring to the others as "brother" and "sister") were perpetually annoying rather than funny or endearing.
  
  And on top of that, the plot development is so contrived as to be eye-roll worthy and anything but fun. There's too much attempted explanation without any real impetus for the plot to even exist. These kids are kidnapped "for their own good" because of some genetic thing that's going to kill them that only the Professor knows how to fix, and then sort of (but not really) told about some mission that the institute is on to find Atlantis and corresponding knowledge, but with no explanation of how this really applies to them. Then they are sort of (but not deliberately, it's all a big accident) included in the search. I just couldn't figure out the purpose behind the search. And I couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to get my eyes to stop rolling through the contrived set-up. Once the story finally got moving past all the explanations, the puzzle solving part of the quest was fun, though.
• 
  Clare

  As the first book in a new series with a grand name (Seven Wonders), The Colossus Rises is a medium-paced action-adventure that will hold the interest of average to advanced readers. Reluctant readers would find the all-absorbing
  Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set series more entertaining.
  
  While it doesn't bode well that within minutes of finishing the book I'd forgotten the name of the main character, Jack (looked it up again) and his friends were pleasant company for the most part. The main pull of the story is that neither Jack nor the reader knows whether his special 'institute' captors are really concerned for his welfare or are out to exploit him for their own sinister ends. The characters' trust in the Institute takes a roller-coaster ride through attempted escapes, re-captures, seemingly earnest outpourings of concern from the head doctor and treatments which seem to address the strange illness which is said to afflict the young teens.
  
  The special powers which each of them possesses emerge in extraordinary ways, and their adventure to find the loculi is as fantastic as a fairy-tale. Neither the characters nor the ancient wonders are developed in depth, which leads to a sense of things happening merely 'because the author said so'. Hopefully the credibility of both characters and context will improve as the series progresses. Reviewed for
  www.GoodReadingGuide.com
• 
  Liviania

  I first became aware of Peter Lerangis during the Columbia Publishing Course's Book Workshop. He's written more than a hundred books for children and young adults, including entries in the popular series The 39 Clues. His new series, Seven Wonders, is obviously aimed at the Percy Jackson demographic of his fellow 39 Clues author Rick Riordan.
  
  THE COLOSSUS RISES begins with Jack McKinley getting sick, collapsing in the street, and briefly waking up in the hospital before coming to at a strange Academy. He and the other kids there have special abilities, but the price is that they'll die within the year. What comes next is a fast-paced adventure with plenty of puzzles to solve. Lerangis does a good job setting up the world and search for the McGuffins, so I hope future Seven Wonders books will develop the four kids more.
  
  My main complaint would be that Aly is the only girl. There are three boys - Jack, Marco, and Cass - why not two boys and two girls? There's no indication as to the kids' race. All four are thirteen, but I think this book will appeal most to slightly younger readers.
  
• 
  TJ

  THE REVIEW
  
  Why this book?
  
  People compared it to Percy Jackson
  
  What I thought
  
  Whoever compared this to Percy Jackson
  
  
  Sorry Peter Lerangis you are no Rick Riordan. Not only was this book boring it was also disappointing. There is poor characterization and meh action scenes etc.. I was expecting another Percy Jackson, you have no idea how happy I was to find this book. I spent the whole book waiting for something exciting to happen, but unfortunately it never came. With that said, it had an good premise and it does have what it takes for others to like it, but it just wasn't for me.
• 
  Darcey

  DNF. I started reading it, stopped reading it, started again and then stopped again, this time for sure. It was reviewed by Rick Riordan as a great book, but the fantasy and adventure weren't as great as hoped. I've gotta say, I can't say much about it because I've kinda forgotten what it's about and the characters and all, but I do remember that it wasn't fab as expected. Thanks anyway to my family who bought it for me!
• 
  Jana

  Loads of fun, very fast, very action-packed. Recommend for fans of Percy Jackson!
• 
  Betsy

  One Sentence Review: Picked this up on a whim just because it was so popular with the kids and found it to be a wholly diverting, fun bit of folly that won't make you think too hard but, by the same token, will never ever bore you.
• 
  Donna

  I really wasn't sure if I was gonna like this book. I was pleasantly surprised. The characters are fun and full of adventure. The plot idea is interesting and not one that I have seen before. I really enjoyed reading about all the ways they dodge Torquin. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and I am interested in finding the answers so I will definitely be reading more of this series.
• 
  Elizabeth

  It was not my favorite book. I just didn’t like it after Marco fell into the volcano.
• 
  Leah

  
  http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress....
  
  

  On the morning I was scheduled to die, a large barefoot man with a bushy red beard waddled past my house.

  
  That, my friends, is how you start a book.
  
  Jack McKinley was just like any other 13-year old boy: always woke up late for school, didn't want a babysitter while his father worked out of town, dreaded math tests. His world changed one morning when he passed out just before school. The next thing he knew he was in a hospital with the strange red-beared man claiming he was a doctor. Suddenly Jack was whisked away to a totally remote island - radar doesn't work there, it's not on any map, even the inhabitants aren't entirely sure where they are.
  
  Along with Jack, three other 13-year olds are housed at the giant compound: the Karai Institute. There's Marco, athlete extraordinaire; Aly, a genius hacker; and Cass, able to memorize anything. Jack learns he's not like other kids. He's one of the Select, an extremely small group of kids who possess a specific gene. This gene allows their natural talents to expand and become heightened. Unfortunately, Jack also learns that no Select has lived past 14. It's at the Institute that Jack receives treatment in order to halt his impending doom - and possible discover the secrets of Atlantis in the process.
  
  The Colossus Rises was fun! It started out a bit slow and bogged-down with all the world-building and explanation, but once the action started, I settled in and enjoyed the ride.
  
  The Select all bear a white λ in their hair. I don't know if it'll become key in the following books, but it seemed unnecessary in this one. Especially since it doesn't really do anything - Aly dyed her hair and her λ is covered, resulting in...nothing. It makes the Select special snowflakes and nothing more.
  
  While reading I couldn't figure out if certain characters were good guys or bad guys. Even after finishing I'm still questioning certain actions and scenes. The Professor in particular. He used these children as pawns, as a way to discover the heart of Atlantis and uncover the seven hidden powers. However, there were times when it truly felt as though he cared for them.
  
  The children were great. Jack, Cass, Marco, Aly, they all had their own personalities and felt like real kids. They questioned authority, they were scared, they joked around, they missed their parents. Marco was loud and boisterous to the point of being annoying and overdone, but even he was great. Although I could have done without his constant Brother Jack/Sister Aly.
  
  

  The thing about horror - real-life horror, not the kind you see in movies - is that it is so silent. No screaming sound track, no fancy camera angles. Just two bodies vanishing into the shadows. Gravity doing its work.

  
  Things really got good toward the end. After a mistake on Jack's part unleashes griffins the kids uncover old riddles and codes telling them where to go to track down the seven powers. The seven wonders of the ancient world. Their first stop: the Colossus of Rhodes. Unfortunately for them, the statue has long since been destroyed and what's left is buried deep under the sea.
  
  The Colossus Rises is a wonderful start to a new series! Although my studies dealt with other aspects of history, I've always been fascinated with ancient history - the Greeks in particular. The seven wonders of the ancient world? Sign me up! From the moment I first heard about this book I was intrigued and I wasn't disappointed. I'm hoping that, with the world-building and explanations out of the way, the next book will jump right into the action. I can easily see this series appealing to a younger crowd although I certainly enjoyed it myself!
• 
  David

  13 year old Jack Mckinley got hit by a car one morning and almost died in the operating table. When he woke up, he realized he was no longer in a hospital where he was rushed into but instead he was transported in a remote place, completely far from where he lives, known as the Karai Institute. There he discovered through the help of Professor Bhegad that he has a rare genetic marker called as the G7W and he needed to get the treatment which the Karai institute can provide or he's going to die. There he also met Marco, Cass, and Aly, kids with remarkable talents and all bearing the same genetic marker as his. Jack was informed that the genetic marker they all carry has a striking connection to an old civilization in an island called the Kingdom of Atlantis and they needed to find the seven loculi which was taken and lost. The kids had then set out in an incredible journey facing various creatures and struggles along the way. But through the talents they were bestowed and their pursuit of getting back to the lives they were used to, they were able to find the first loculus but Marco had escaped with it and it was the dangling question of what-would-happen-next that readers were left hanging onto.
  
  The blend of sci-fi fantasy and the context of history was what I liked about this book. For a person like me who has a great love for geography and had since then admired the seven wonders of the world, I purchased this book right away when I saw it in a bookstore. The story didn't fail me though and it was actually beyond what I expected. This book has brought me into another awesome roller coaster ride, with the characters I've grown to admire along the way, and the equal amount of fantasy and adventure, which made it a genuine page turner. And though this book is intended for ages 8-12, I believe it can still be enjoyed by readers of all ages. After all, we are never old enough to read books like this. Also, the ending was such a cliffhanger for me, but in a good way. I mean the book has kept me glued and the story was just fast paced. So when I reached the end, I was kind of left hanging in there and my mind was itching to find out what's going to happen next. Good thing the second book comest out this fall! I am of course looking forward to that for I am excited to the next adventure The Selects will be embarking on!
  
  Now who's going to the book signing of Peter Lerangis on Saturday? I can't wait to thank him and meet him and have this book signed! 3 days left!
  
  
• 
  Karissa

  
  This was the first book in the Seven Wonders series and I have had it to read for awhile. My son (8 years old) and I ended up reading it together. It was a very fun and well done middle grade adventure fantasy. My 8 year old son and I enjoyed it a ton. There are, ironically, five books in the Seven Wonders series. The final book in the series, The Legend of the Rift, will release in March of 2016.
  
  Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with a desperate problem….he’s going to die any day now. Then he wakes up at the Karai Institute where he finds out he possesses a special gene that gives him superhuman powers...if he doesn’t die from it first. Jack, along with the other kids with this strange gene, need to find the seven loculi if they are going to cure their condition once and for all. The loculi just happen to be hidden in the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Thus starts a crazy adventure full of danger and magic.
  
  My whole family really enjoyed this book. It’s written in a snappy and witty style that moves fast, has some humor in it, and is exciting. The book features four main characters: Jack, Marco, Aly, and Cass. All of them have different abilities and strengths.
  
  I really enjoyed that the kids have to search out the Seven Wonders and deal with some interesting magical characters. We get to learn some of the history behind the Seven Wonders as well. Parts of the book have a tomb raider type of feel to them as well which I enjoyed.
  
  The book ends at a good spot and wraps up nicely.
  
  Overall this was an entertaining and fun adventure fantasy read. Fans of Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull will enjoy this series as well. I enjoyed the snappy dialogue and history and that the book moved at a fast pace The characters are easy to relate to and the story is engaging and interesting. My son and I will definitely continue with the series. This is a series that both middle grade readers and adults can enjoy together!
• 
  Tatiana

  Питер Леранжис «Семь чудес и ключи времени».
  
  Могущество Атлантиды было украдено. Раздроблено и спрятано по всему миру. Вы должны его найти. Ваши жизни будут спасены, Джек, когда будут обнаружены все части Могущества, вам необходимо собрать их и вернуть на Атлантиду.
  
  Сию серию сравнивают с приключениями Перси Джексона от Рика Риордана, причем Леранжиса хают. Именно имя Риордана на обложке привлекло мое внимание. Как-то совершенно не на слуху был у меня Питер Леранжис. Мое личное мнение – это даже близко не Перси Джексон. С таким же успехом произведение Леранжиса можно равнять на Гарри Поттера или любую другую книгу приключенческого жанра с подростками в виде главных героев.
  
  Чего ждать от книги? Это увлекательная история, где экшен будет преобладать над всем. Типичные четыре героя, у которых оказался ген, который давая им сверх способности, параллельно приближает их к смерти. С такими генами мрут они к годам четырнадцати. Но добрый доктор знает способ как их лечить, хотя и без гарантий. Плюс еще будут всякие чудища, спрятанные сокровища Атлантиды, сектанты, поиски чудес света и вообще много всего. Все это перемешано, в убойных дозах подано. Прочитала с удовольствием, ловила себя на том, что спешу к книге. Приятное чувство. Из минусов отмечу, что у автора выходят местами сумбурные сцены этого самого экшена, которого в книги ну очень много. Хотя не скажу, что это испортило мне впечатление. Еще бы хотелось по больше таких-то душевных отступлений. Герои бездумно рвутся вперед, а что и почему ими руководит совершенно не раскрыто. Обязательно продолжу читать серию дальше!
• 
  Jean (Bookish Poetess)

  “Do you know the term deja vu? When you have this odd feeling I've been here before, even though you know you haven't? That feeling is considered to be a fantasy, too. But research shows that deja vu is a connection to something real—some past event that left an unanswered question.”
  
  It's been a year since I first read this one and now I finally decided to re-read it and then the next books because I already have the book two! I stumbled upon this book years ago and I really wanted it immediately because Rick Riordan's praise about the book was on the cover. At that time, I was head over heels with Percy Jackson and wanted to read a book that may be similar to it. The Colossus Rises really fits into that description. It was a book full of adventures and knowledge about ancient histories and all that made it very interesting.
  
  I like how Peter Lerangis tells the story of Jack McKinley and his adventures with his co-Select whom he found in Karai Institute. The adventures and secrets that were waiting to be untold was enough to get hooked into the story, but there was the funny side of the characters which made the book a lot more fascinating! I really love the character of Torquin though he was just a minor character. There's something so endearing about him.
  
  Yes! Definitely! You should read this one if you are looking for something light, funny and adventurous to read!
• 
  Enzo

  So this series is often compared with Percy Jackson and the Olympians for good reason. Its a big adventure and you only get the first taste in this book. Peter Lerangis is pretty well known for his other Ya Series "39 Clues" which is a big hit at home. I saw the book and kept thinking I knew the author. Then it dawned on me the Clues book. So I put it in the Queue.
  I really like adventure books specially when they have mysteries at the end of the proverbial rainbow.
  The first kid we meet is Jack an average kid whose father is away for work. But he develops a Lambda on the back of his head. After an incident at school he faints. When he awakes he has already had a surgical procedure supposedly to save his life. From there its on to meet the team Marco, Ally, and Cass. They are the other select (gifted, cursed) kids out there. They are joined by the muscles Torquin a regular Hulk of a man then proves the stereotypical. Lots of muscle doesn't a brain contain. After making a discovery in the island where the Karai Institute is located they fly off to Rhodes for their first adventure. Lots of fun.
• 
  Cam

  I really enjoyed this book. I think it Is very fun and interesting. I would recommend this book to fans of Rick Riordan because this series is closely similar to the Percy Jackson series. So, this book is about a boy named Jack who wakes up one morning to find a mysterious mark on the back of his head. Later that day, he faints while talking to someone. When he wakes up, he learns that he is in some sort of institute. Later on, he learns that there are seven objects called Loculi and they are hidden in the seven wonders of the ancient world. Jack and his three friends go on a mission to find the first Loculi. Unaware of the dangers that they must face.
• 
  The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo

  Finally, an action/adventure novel I didn't hate! Too bad it's targeted to 13-year-olds. Think Percy Jackson without all the Greek and Roman gods.
  
  Jack and his 3 friends are different from you and me. As descendants of Atlantis, they have a genetic mutation that carriers don't typically survive past age 14. It's a good thing for them that the Kalai Institute has abducted whisked them away for treatment! Unfortunately, the only thing that will absolutely save their lives will be if they can locate 7 artifacts and install them in a hidden room in a lost volcano's caldera. These artifacts, called loculi, are hidden in each of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - most of which are now either lost or have been destroyed. Whew, finding them will be a tall order for a bunch of pre-teens!
  
  The kids are likeable and the adventure is cute. I really liked this first novel, in which the kids first meet, locate the volcano (bonus, there's a waterfall with healing powers there), and track down the Colossus of Rhodes. Fun!
• 
  Laurel (Yeetarandomwriter)

  A friend let me borrow this book, and I enjoyed it! It did resemble Percy Jackson a little bit. I like the characters and their friendships (especially that the strong, funny and would be seen as "less smart" character, is actually smart too!). I think they were (as least the kids), pretty realistic, though they are a lot smarter than me, haha.
  The dialogue and action was great. I felt bad for the characters with the pain they had to endure (they are thirteen!! *hugs them*). The mystery/clue parts went a little over my head sometimes, but it was cool too. There is some sort of magic (that I don't quite understand yet, it reminded me of the Avatar last Airbender), and like I said, pain for the beans, a scary monster/animal or two, and I almost forgot, the book I borrowed had quite a bit of spelling errors/missing punctuation/ formating, but it said advanced copy or something, so I imagine it got smoothed out before publishing. (And it didn't bother me that much), but I think that that is about is it. :D
• 
  Mitchell

  It's funny that Rick Riordan is the only guy with a blurb on the outside of the book because I can see exactly how this fits into the "you secretly were born to go to hero school" genre that might appeal to Percy Jackson fans. And, you know, it was fine.
  
  Lerangis's strength, in general, is a talent for great pacing and keeping action/adventure plotlines alive, and that is the main reason I kind of liked this book. I was never bored reading this—it's the kind of thing you can sit down with and be drawn in, losing time in the outside world because everything is happening with such fluidity and speed in the fictional world. And if I were twelve or thirteen, I can definitely see this as being a book I loved because it is just that exciting!
  
  But for all the strength of the storytelling itself, my feelings about everything else are on the wishy-washy side of things.
  
  For one thing, what was going on? I'll grant that there's a possibility I was reading too fast to get the things I should have gotten, but I just had a difficult time buying anything that was going on. With the bulk of the book taking place on a remote island and only four "Select" characters, our protagonist included, it was hard to relate the lost civilization from Atlantis with anything concrete in the world. I never felt totally sure why the kids had to receive drug treatments, I was not really convinced regarding the ancient Atlantis civilization, and I didn't understand why their "demigod" status was important to the world at large. If it weren't for the griffin at the end, I feel like you could make a compelling argument that the kids were basically hallucinating the whole time (while being fed lies from the institution) and it would be a valid reading of the text.
  
  That said, overall the worldbuilding felt a little shaky. We never got the rules about what it means to be one of the Select kids, why they die at age fourteen, their significance to the world. I got that they were responding to situations that began in Atlantis times, and yet I also didn't really understand why their institute was at war with the monks. It was just... vague. Again, maybe I'm missing something, but for me not to know their Capital-P-Purpose at the end of the book is concerning.
  
  (But it's the first book in the series, imaginary haters in my brain say. More would be explained in the next books. I know, I reply. But it's the first book so it's supposed to be the one doing the heavy lifting for the rest of it, dangit.)
  
  I've been using "the Select" as a shorthand for the four main characters (Jack, Marco, Cass, and Aly), but while we're here, I do not like "the Select" as a thing, at all. Maybe because it reminds me of the Calvinist elect, or something. Bhegad, the institute's head, explicitly describes the kids' condition as a "survival of the fittest" situation, made special because they carry the blood of kings (55). The Loculi, the things they are supposed to be getting, only respond to that same "royal blood," which gives this whole book an air of genetic superiority that I didn't like and am not going to.
  
  Beyond that, I wasn't really into the characters themselves. Marco was a token black kid; Aly was a token girl. Cass seemed like he had compulsive behaviors, but they dominated his character to the point that we only saw his interiority one or two times. Aly was a love interest for Jack; there were zero sparks. It's a book that seeks to achieve a "found family" narrative, but I never felt a sense of belonging between the characters. (I do think a multi-POV storytelling device would have helped on some level.)
  
  There are some other things I could comment on—unproductive escapes, magical healing, the fact that ancient civilizations are referred to modern country names (9.9), and the fact that I had no idea whether I was supposed to care about Marco at the end—but there is one thing that really bugged me and we are going to talk about it.
  
  Professor Bhegad and the Karai Institute were ridiculous and I couldn't take the story seriously when they were in play, and that's the whole truth. These two things had two poles, where one end was "incompetent and morally bankrupt" and the other side was "idealistic and sympathetic" and there was no in between. Bhegad (a man of color, btw) would say things like "hacking is an ugly word" even though he'd literally sanctioned hacking or give children illegal drugs against their wills, and so you'd think he's probably evil (55). But THEN he would seem to be intelligent or nice or just trying to help and he'd kind of actually mean it and so he was kind of supposed to be a "good guy" all along???
  
  Bhegad in particular felt far more inconsistent than complex, and the fact that nobody ever got around to making an official statement as to the Karai Institute's actual evilness made me frustrated and disappointed.
  
  So.
  
  TL;DR: You know, I thought I liked this book more than I did, but while it was good writing, at the end of the day the concept bothered me too much to like it, which is a shame.
• 
  Lori

  The Colossus Rises is the first book in a series for middle-grade readers. In the beginning, we meet Jack, who I think is 13. He's just a regular kid. Except that he's going to die. He just doesn't quite know it yet. In The Colossus Rises, we get to follow Jack as he learns why he's different from most kids, meets kids that are just like him, discover the special mission he must go on, and face adventures most kids only dream of. The big question for this series is whether or not the kids can find and save all of the lost loculi before their time runs out.
  
  My favorite thing about this book was the characters. Jack is great as a regular kid. He wants his dad to care more about him and be around more, he worries about tests at school, he wakes up late, he builds crazy contraptions that act as alarm clocks, and he doesn't like to see the little kids get picked on. Everything he does, both before and after we learn about his condition, seem like natural actions a kid his age would take. He doesn't seem to be super mature for his age but he's also not dumbed down. He understands the importance of what their group is doing and he works together with his new friends to accomplish their goals. I enjoyed seeing the different characteristics and special talents of all four kids in the book. I liked that they all took care of each other and became each other's family when they could no longer be with their own families. No matter what else was going on in the book, the pull the kids felt to each other could be felt by me. It was very nice to read about.
  
  I also liked how well this book crafted its backstory. While the book is fantasy and everything (except the Seven Wonders) is made up, the explanation behind the kids' condition and the loculi and the reasons they were created and why they are needed now and everything is very solid and thorough.
  
  I think kids who read this will really enjoy the non-stop action in the book and the way the kids all work together. There are always convenient excuses for why the adults are left behind (which I think actually works for kids books much better than young adult books). There were very few down-times once the action started and some of it gets a little intense (kidnapping, near-death, scary creatures). There are also a couple emotional moments that might be hard for the younger kids. My guess is that kids who've read and enjoyed the Percy Jackson series will really enjoy this one as well.
  
  Final Thoughts: For me, as an adult, I actually found the book to be about 50 pages too long. At points the action seemed to happen for no reason, neither furthering the story nor adding anything to the plot. I also found a few of the transitions to be rough. At one point we are in an airplane and the next we are in a taxi with no explanation to how we got there or what happened in between. For kids, these things are all fine. Tons of action gets kids excited and keeps them reading. But I want there to be a reason for everything that happens in a book, and in this one, not everything had a reason. But ultimately, this books is for kids and I think it was done really well for them. And I'll definitely keep reading the series. I want to learn more about Jack and his friends Marco, Aly, and Cass. They are what really made the book work for me. I also want to learn more about Professor Bhegad and his motives. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Will he turn out to be a Snape, mean but hiding something deeper, or more of a Professor McGonagall, tough on the outside, soft on the inside? Or maybe even a Barty Crouch, Jr, appearing to be someone else to get what he wants? Or maybe he really is just a plain old good guy. There's still a lot to learn about all of these characters and many more adventures to go on. And I'll be there to see where they lead. I gave The Colossus Rises three and half stars and would recommend it for kids 10 and up.
• 
  Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου

  Ο Peter Lerangis είναι ένας από τους πλέον αγαπημένους και διάσημους συγγραφείς εφηβικών μυθιστορημάτων. Οι περισσότεροι θα τον γνωρίζετε από την σειρά βιβλίων του "39 Στοιχεία", που έχει κυκλοφορήσει και στη χώρα μας με επιτυχία ανάλογη με αυτή του εξωτερικού. Όταν, λοιπόν, έπεσε στα χέρια μου το πρώτο βιβλίο της νέας του σειράς, "Τα επτά θαύματα του κόσμου", δεν μπορούσα να μην νιώσω ενθουσιασμό, μα και αγωνία συνάμα. Καλώς ή κακώς, όταν ο πήχης βρίσκεται πολύ ψηλά, δεν είναι εύκολο να διατηρήσεις σε χαμηλό επίπεδο τις προσδοκίες σου, με αποτέλεσμα πολλές φορές να απογοητεύεσαι. Ευτυχώς, και όσον αφορά το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο στην προκειμένη περίπτωση, οι προσδοκίες μου βρήκαν αντίκρυσμα και κάτι παραπάνω.
  
  Ο Τζακ είναι ένα συνηθισμένο νεαρό αγόρι ή τουλάχιστον, σχεδόν συνηθισμένο, αφού δεν έχει παρά λίγους μήνες ζωής, πεθαίνοντας λίγο-λίγο εξαιτίας μιας σπάνιας ασθένειας. Μια μέρα, χάνοντας τις αισθήσεις του, καταλήγει να ξυπνήσει σε ένα παράξενο νοσοκομείο συντροφιά με έναν παράξενο επιστήμονα ο οποίος του ανακοινώνει πως ξέρει από τι πάσχει, αλλά και πως έχει τη λύση στο πρόβλημά του. Μόνο που ο Τζακ δεν μπορεί να λάβει απλά μια αγωγή. Πρέπει να αγωνιστεί για να την κερδίσει αφού οι ρίζες τις ασθένειάς του βρίσκονται πολύ βαθιά πίσω στο χώρο και το χρόνο. Μαζί με τους φίλους του, ο Τζακ πρέπει να κάνει ένα μεγάλο ταξίδι κι έναν αγώνα δρόμου, προκειμένου να μαζέψει επτά μαγικά αντικείμενα που όλα μαζί, αποτελούν τη μοναδική του σωτηρία.
  
  
  
  Ο συγγραφέας έχει κάνει μια πολύ έξυπνη επιλογή την οποία διαχειρίζεται εξαιρετικά καλά. Προκειμένου να χτίσει έναν φανταστικό κόσμο και να αφηγηθεί την ιστορία του, αναμειγνύει "υλικά" που δεν είναι πάντα εύκολο ν' αποδώσουν. Χρησιμοποιεί πραγματικούς τόπους, αν και ξεχασμένους. Μέρη που αναγνωρίστηκαν και θαυμάστηκαν, αλλά που χάθηκαν στο χρόνο. Χρησιμοποιεί μια ρεαλιστική πραγματικότητα, μέσα στην οποία εντάσσει την δική του μυθιστορία. Και όλα αυτά, με την υπογραφή της γοητευτικής του πένας που είναι τόσο ζωντανή και παραστατική και που χωρίς να καταφεύγει σε υπερβολές, σε μαγνητίζει και σε καθηλώνει, σε παρασύρει σε μονοπάτια που θες ν' ανακαλύψεις, να εξερευνήσεις τα μυστικά τους. Γιατί εκτός των άλλων, η ιστορία του Τζακ έχει έντονα αποκρυφιστικά στοιχεία και αυτό την κάνει ακόμα πιο γοητευτική.
  
  
  
  Άλλο ένα στοιχείο που σε κερδίζει σε αυτή τη νέα ιστορία του Lerangis, είναι ο πρωταγωνιστής του, με τον οποίο συμπάσχεις αλλά με έναν αρκετά περίπλοκο τρόπο. Ο Τζακ δεν είναι απλά ένα παιδί που μπλέκει σε μια κατάσταση χωρίς να το θέλει. Δεν καλείται να γίνει ήρωας για χάρη του κοινού καλού. Ο Τζακ, πεθαίνει, κι αυτό είναι κάτι που το γνωρίζουμε από την αρχή, με τον χρόνο να είναι ο μεγαλύτερος και πιο απειλητικός εχθρός. Ο Τζακ εξαναγκάζεται να κάνει όλα τα παραπάνω, δεν έχει άλλο τρόπο, δεν έχει άλλη επιλογή. Αν θέλει να ζήσει, πρέπει να αγωνιστεί, να δώσει ό,τι καλύτερο έχει. Και μπορεί τα κίνητρά του να μην είναι αυτό που λέμε αλτρουιστικά, είναι όμως τόσο αληθινά και ειλικρινή, που δεν μπορείς παρά να το αποδεχθείς και να τα κατανοήσεις στον απόλυτο βαθμό.
  
  Αν κάτι πρέπει να αναγνωρίζουμε στον Lerangis είναι η αστείρευτη φαντασία του, αλλά και ο μοναδικός τρόπος που μπορεί ν' αποτυπώνει στο χαρτί τις εικόνες που έχει μέσα στο μυαλό του. Συνδυάζοντας το υπαρκτό με το φανταστικό, το ρεαλιστικό με το μυθοπλαστικό, καταφέρνει να δημιουργήσει ένα λογοτεχνικό κράμα που είναι ιδανικό για τους νεαρούς αναγνώστες στους οποίους απευθύνεται, αλλά διαβάζεται εξίσου ευχάριστα και από άτομα μεγαλύτερης ηλικίας, τα οποία δεν έχουν πάψει να επιζητούν μιας διαφορετικής μορφής περιπέτεια, και που κάπου βαθιά μέσα τους, έχουν διατηρήσει ζωντανό κάποιο από τα στοιχεία εκείνα που τους έκαναν κάποτε να είναι παιδιά. Περιμένοντας σε λίγες ημέρες το δεύτερο βιβλίο της σειράς, μπορώ μονάχα να σας προτρέψω να την ξεκινήσετε αφού πραγματικά αξίζει και θα σας χαρίσει μοναδικές στιγμές δράσης και αγωνίας, αλλά και γνώσεις.
• 
  Will Robinson Jr.

  This was a great contemporary fantasy adventure but I felt there are other books like this that do a better job with the genre. The witty banter between the characters was well done and the action is well paced. The concepts and the maguffin introduced in the story is interesting enough. There is also a little globe trotting in the story which gives the book an exotic feel. Ultimately where the book ends up being okay is the lack of character development of the characters other than our main hero. Marco, Ally & Cast have distinct voices but we really do not know much about them. Lerangis does give a few peeks into their families and backgrounds but often pulls back to leave their pasts a mystery. It's as if he is saving it for future installments. I always feel that first books in a series can setup the possibility of future adventures but they need to feel stand alone. The ending felt anti climatic and I guess I will have to inevitably read the next book. This was a great book for those who love the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series. There are just other series I thank that do a better job. Here are few I will recommend:
  The Hound of Rowan,
  The Dragon's Tooth,
  Midnight for Charlie Bone,
  The Red Pyramid,
  The Unwanteds.
  Gregor the Overlander, and the
  The Mysterious Benedict Society.
• 
  Fabian Lozada

  The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders, #1), what an amazing title. That, and the fact that Rick (author of the Percy Jackon series) said it was good made me want this book to read it.
  
  Normally i love books with some myth behind them, and normally i do not see many books that include the seven wonders of the world and the city of atlantis. It has a nice plot to it, and the words used in the book were expected, but as someone has said before me, 8-12 year olds probably do not know many.Personally i was ok and the 1-2 words i did not know were not crucial, but for a younger audience it should be noted that the words be easier to understand. That being said, the way the book was written is definitely not for an older audience either, it is kind of stuck in between preteens and teens.
  
  The story itself developed slowly and was not that exciting in the fighting scenes... well action scenes. The characters are easily forgettable and have no actual background which would really help the reader get to know them. But we must not forget the audience it was intended for, i am older than 12 now but i am positive that younger kids would have found the characters very relate-able because they go through some of the most usual preteen stereotypes. One can tell that the characters are of a relatively young age.
  
  My Opinion:
  It was not exactly a fun read per se, but it was entertaining enough while i waited for my next book which was due to come out this month. I did not have to struggle through it, but i was not capable of reading it at times (meaning i just needed a break from it, but my attention did eventually go back to wondering on what happened next). I believe i will purchase the sequel once it is released, but i do not have high hopes for how good the book will be.
• 
  Madilyn

  Star Rating:
  
  *2.5 - 3 stars, I can't decide, it's somewhere in there*
  
  
  Plot:
  
  Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In six months, Jack is going to die.
  
  After Jack collapses in the middle of a busy street, he's whisked off to a strange hospital in a strange place. There are armed guards and weird kids and fantastic creatures, not to mention no parents, no phones, and no possibility of escape. The place is run by an odd professor named Bhegad, who tells Jack that what's killing him is a genetic trait inherited from the prince of a long-lost civilization. It's destroying Jack by making him too strong too fast. He'll need to stay strong though - because it's up to him to save the world.
  
  -Goodreads description
  
  *Note* I think this description is a little misleading, it only tells you about the first couple chapters, then the whole story changes quite a lot (in my opinion).
  
  
  Overall Opinion:
  
  This is a short review, I don't really have much to say about this book.
  Meh. It was very cliché, very predictable, but also confusing. I couldn't keep everything that was going on straight towards the end. I would have liked more world building, and more character development. It started out with a great plot line, but unfortunately it wasn't very well done.
  I don't think I'll be continuing in this series.
  
  
• 
  Hope Reads

  Original review posted on y blog:
  
  
  http://www.pageschaptersandbooks.blog...
  
  My Thoughts:
  
  The story follows a thirteen year old boy Jack and his friends, who also are affected by the same genetic disorder and find themselves at the Karai Institute on an island that is hidden away at middle of nowhere basically. This is where the adventure begins for Jack and his friends. This was an easy and fast book to read and beginning of the book was interesting but towards the middle of the book I just wanted it to get over with. I felt like the story is trying too hard to be like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series.
  
  For me reading middle grade, like any other book, is hit or a miss, however I can’t say that this was a miss because I did not hate it or love it. But I thought it was alright. There was just something about the book that I could not pinpoint why it did not work for me. Maybe because I was distant from the characters and the story, I was not emotionally investment in the story or the characters.
  
  Overall this was an alright read and I'm pretty sure that I’ll not be continuing with the series. However I do think that this book or series might appeal more to the younger audience. Overall this was fast paced and entertaining read but this is not a series for me.
  
  I give this book 2/5 Stars!!!