The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #1)
by Rick Riordan 

5 out of 5 stars

Magnus has been living on the streets ever since his mother died. They say it was an explosion, but Magnus knows she was killed by wolves with glowing eyes. In fact, a lot of strange things have been happening, so when Magnus’ weird uncle tells him that their family is involved with the gods of Norse mythology, a lot of things start to make sense to Magnus. His uncle tells him to find the long-lost Sword of Summer, but a fire giant attacks Boston and Magnus has no idea how to fight a legendary giant even if he could find and retrieve the lost sword.

I loved this book so much! It has all the sass and adventure and legends that I have come to expect from Rick Riordan. I laughed, I cried, I loved every minute!

The best part of this book is how Magnus goes from having no family at all to having a whole bunch of close friends who are ready to dive into battle at his side. I love a good “found family” trope and this one is so beautifully heartwarming! Magnus goes through a huge character arc as he learns to trust people and learns to trust himself. He goes from being this jaded homeless kid to a respected and honored warrior.

I loved learning about all the Norse legends, the ancient gods, and the Nine Worlds! I recognized some of the more well-known characters like Thor, Odin, and Loki, and a few of the lesser-known like Hel and Freya. But a lot of the legendary characters were new to me and it was so delightful to discover them for the first time. It was also a lot of fun to see how Thor and Odin and Freya are reimagined in the most irreverent and hilarious ways! It’s so clever and imaginative!

To see the violence and mild swearing in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-sword-of-summer-magnus-chase-and-the-gods-of-asgard-1-1853265