Mona Lisa? Yeah, she's classic.

So, here I am, at a library conference. I usually find these quite fun. However, I've somehow contracted what appears to be food poisoning. To make the matter worse, since I'm on the children & young adult services board, I'm missing dinner with the author we brought in for the breakfast keynote. Who's the author, you ask? Rick Riordan. Yep.

So what'll I do instead? Well, I guess this.

Meg Powers has just survived abduction. She was left to starve, handcuffed in a cave in the middle of nowhere. She had to crush her hand to free herself, then crawl through a forest on a ruined knee. All she wants to do is hide, recover, and have a normal college girl life. But some people think she's a hero, and what might have blown over after awhile won't, because not only is she famous for what she went through, she's famous for who she is - the daughter of the first female U.S. President. The paparazzi aren't going anywhere.

Loooove this. Love. No, really. Love. Meg is snarky and angry. And rightfully so. But behind all of that, there's this brilliant, compassionate, driven young woman. She's funny - and remarkably normal, at least considering her situation. We watch Meg heal her psychological and physical damage ever so slowly, despite setbacks and spotlights, relapses and conflict. She's so alive that she seems real. Or is that the other way around? Either way, I want her to be real. I want to be her friend. I'll have to settle for reading about her, and luckily, there are three books in the series before this one. I hate jumping into the middle of a series, but this title easily stands on its own. It just makes me want more. It's character-driven drama at its absolute best.

If you didn't follow the original link, I invite you to read Ellen Emerson White's blog. It may be the smartest author blog out there.