Review - Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus by Kate O'Hearn

Title: Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus
Series: Pegasus (Book #1)

Author: Kate O'Hearn

Publisher:  Aladdin

Release Dates: May 22, 2012
Pages: 385, Hardcover

Lexile Measure: 620

Age Range: 8+

Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
(This book was originally published in the UK as Pegasus and the Flame in 2011).

Summary from Goodreads: A young girl, a winged horse, and a war of epic proportions make for an adventurous start to an exciting new trilogy.

When Pegasus crashes onto a Manhattan roof during a terrible storm, Emily’s life changes forever. Suddenly allied with a winged horse she’d always thought was mythical, Emily is thrust into the center of a fierce battle between the Roman gods and a terrifying race of multiarmed stone warriors called the Nirads. Emily must team up with a thief named Paelen, the goddess Diana, and a boy named Joel in order to return Pegasus to Olympus and rescue the gods from a certain death.

Along the way, Emily and her companions will fight monsters, run from a government agency that is prepared to dissect Pegasus, and even fly above the Manhattan skyline—all as part of a quest to save Olympus before time runs out.

OUR TAKE

After my nine-year-old daughter read The Flame of Olympus, she said, "This is my new favorite book.  Mommy, you have to read it!  Now!"  In fact, she was so emphatic about it that she cried when her brother said he wasn't interested in reading the book (he was not thrilled about the idea of a pegasus book).  She refused to give up - she finally negotiated with him that she would read the first Harry Potter book (which she had been reluctant to pick up for some reason) if he would read this book.

Turns out, even 11-year-old brothers can love a pegasus book if the story has enough adventure in it!  (He's already read the second book in the series, even though my daughter and I haven't gotten to it yet).

The story starts out with an epic battle that is taking place in Olympus and is told from the perspective of Paelen, a thief who wants to steal Pegasus' golden bridle.  When the war is all but lost, Pegasus escapes to the mortal world.

A girl named Emily finds Pegasus, hurt and alone.  She wants to help the mythical winged horse, but she doesn't know how, so she recruits the only person she can think of to help her - a young bully named Joel who is obsessed with Pegasus and mythology in general.   Soon, both Emily and Joel find themselves fighting mythical monsters and running away from a government group that would imprison Pegasus, all the while struggling to save Olympus and human world along with it.  

The POV in this book switches back and forth between Emily and Paelen.  My daughter loved Emily and the human perspective, while my son was a big fan of Paelen and his storyline (which includes Paelen being caught by that dangerous government entity!).  

I thought that the book was extremely well-written and enjoyable.  There was lots of action to hold a child's (or middle-schooler's) attention.  The ending was also very satisfying - as an adult, I figured out what was going to happen, but my kids weren't so sure.

I would highly recommend this book to any kid who loves fantasy or adventure books (and to their parents too!).  4.5/5 stars