I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the DAUGHTER OF THE DEEP by Rick Riordan Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: DAUGHTER OF THE DEEP
Author: Rick Riordan
Pub. Date: October 5, 2021
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 416
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N Exclusive Edition, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
New York Times #1 best-selling author Rick Riordan pays homage to Jules Verne in his exciting modern take on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana’s parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family’s she’s got left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. Ana’s freshman year culminates with the class’s weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it’ll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory of their lives.
But wait, there’s more. The professor accompanying them informs Ana that their rival school, Land Institute, and Harding-Pencroft have been fighting a cold war for a hundred and fifty years. Now that cold war has been turned up to a full broil, and the freshman are in danger of becoming fish food. In a race against deadly enemies, Ana will make amazing friends and astounding discoveries about her heritage as she puts her leadership skills to the test for the first time.
Rick Riordan’s trademark humor, fast-paced action, and wide cast of characters are on full display in this undersea adventure.
Reviews:
“If you have ever craved a story that will leave your heart racing, your lungs gasping from the numerous twists and turns, your soul heaving from the effort of now carrying an ensemble cast, you will find all that and more in these pages.”―New York Times best-selling author Roshani Chokshi
“Daughter of the Deep took me back sixty-seven years, to when I dreamed of becoming Captain Nemo. May all the young minds reading this book dream about the world beneath the sea and then make their dreams come true just like I did.”―Dr. Robert Ballard, from aboard his ship of exploration, the E/V Nautilus
I hadn’t read a Rick Riordan book (besides the short Kane Chronicles novellas) since 2018 before I read this book. I read the entire PJO series, then HOO, and I was done. I hadn’t taken the time to delve into his newer series, and I honestly thought that my time with him was over. I appreciated all he had done to get me into Roman, Greek, and Egyptian mythology in middle school. I enjoyed my time with the books and had spent time delving into the works of other authors. Then, I saw that Rockstar Tours was doing a tour for Rick Riordan. Reading the synopsis, I realized this book was going to be set in the science fiction universe of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I’ve been trying to read more science fiction, and this book sounded really, really good. I couldn’t help myself, I signed up for the tour and waited anxiously for my copy. I thought I knew what I would be getting into. I had no idea the absolute journey that Riordan would be taking me on.
Harding-Pencroft academy is a five-year high school that trains students to be marine scientists. Ana’s parents were both marine scientists before they passed in a diving accident several years ago. She’s attended Harding-Pencroft for a year already, but freshman year is when the school’s training starts to become more intense. Her older brother Dev has gone further in the school than she has and tells her that she has a lot to look forward to. While on her freshmen trip that was supposed to be her first foray into the more difficult course material at the school, a tragedy occurs and Ana’s whole world falls apart. Again. Now, it is up to Ana and her team of freshmen friends to fight off the rival Land Institute school with limited supplies and little training while on the run.
I absolutely loved Ana from the beginning of the book. I wanted to be a marine scientist as a freshman in high school (until I struggled my way through chemistry and decided science might not be for me). Seeing another freshman going through the same thing that I would have dreamed of doing at that age was an experience. Ana is an amazing main character with lots of personality that shines through in every chapter. She’s been through a lot of tragedy in her life, but she’s never given up. With the help of her brother, she has continued to head towards achieving her dreams. She’s also Hindu, which is mentioned a few times in the story. Her character grows so much throughout the story and she reminded me so much of my high school friends and me.
The cast of characters in this book was one of the most diverse I’ve ever read in a Riordan book. There are characters from all cultures, races, religions, and even a neurodivergent character with a service animal. These characters really felt like a group of kids from a real-life school rather than a group of kids in a fantasy world. I felt like I could relate to them on a deeper level than I ever related to Percy or his friends as a POC. This book is definitely for kids in the 2020s.
The worldbuilding of this book was incredible. Even though this book is technically not based on mythology, I still felt like I had been swept up into a world that had its own myths, histories, and geniuses/gods. The plot twists in this book just make the world grow larger and larger, and I cannot wait to see how much it grows in future series installments.
According to recent news, this book is getting turned into a Disney+ movie in the future! If you want to be a part of the early crowd that gets to know this world before it becomes super-popular, preorder this book now!
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new YA fantasy read.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books.
About Rick Riordan:
Rick Riordan, dubbed “storyteller of the gods” by Publishers Weekly, is the author of five #1 New York Times best-selling middle grade series with millions of copies sold throughout the world: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and the Trials of Apollo, based on Greek and Roman mythology; the Kane Chronicles, based on Ancient Egyptian mythology; and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, based on Norse mythology. Rick collaborated with illustrator John Rocco on two #1 New York Times best-selling collections of Greek myths for the whole family: Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes. Rick is also the publisher of an imprint at Disney-Hyperion, Rick Riordan Presents, dedicated to finding other authors of highly entertaining fiction based on world cultures and mythologies. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @camphalfblood.
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Giveaway Details:
3 winners will win a finished copy of DAUGHTER OF THE DEEP, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
| 10/1/2021 | BookHounds YA | Excerpt |
| 10/2/2021 | YA Books Central | Excerpt |
Week Two:
| 10/3/2021 | Locks, Hooks and Books | Review |
| 10/4/2021 | The Bookwyrm’s Den | Review |
| 10/5/2021 | Kait Plus Books | Review |
| 10/6/2021 | Simplybeccamee | Review |
| 10/7/2021 | YA Book Nerd | Review |
| 10/8/2021 | Nonbinary Knight Reads | Review |
| 10/9/2021 | Books and Ladders | Review |
Week Three:
| 10/10/2021 | More Books Please blog | Review |
| 10/11/2021 | Bri’s Book Nook | Review |
| 10/12/2021 | Lexijava_Bookish | Review |
| 10/13/2021 | Zainey Laney | Review |
| 10/14/2021 | @moonlight_rendezvous | Review |
| 10/15/2021 | @jypsylynn | Review |
| 10/16/2021 | Sometimes Leelynn Reads | Review |
Week Four:
| 10/17/2021 | Nerdophiles | Review |
| 10/18/2021 | History From A Woman’s Perspective | Review |
| 10/19/2021 | The Momma Spot | Review |
| 10/20/2021 | Books a Plenty Book Reviews | Review |
| 10/21/2021 | Books Are Magic Too | Review |
| 10/22/2021 | Lifestyle of Me | Review |
| 10/23/2021 | Stuck in the Stacks | Review |
Week Five:
| 10/24/2021 | @fictitious.fox | Review |
| 10/25/2021 | @drewsim12 | Review |
| 10/26/2021 | laura’s bookish corner | Review |
| 10/27/2021 | two points of interest | Review |
| 10/28/2021 | Feed Your Fiction Addiction | Review |
| 10/29/2021 | @abackwardsstory | Review |
| 10/30/2021 | Popthebutterfly Reads | Review |
Week Six:
| 10/31/2021 | BookBriefs | Review |
