The High Court by Chris Ledbetter {Young Adult Book Review}

The High Court is book 2 and the continuation of The Sky Throne which we read and enjoyed. Read our review below for how we felt about the continuing journey!

Disclosure: I received this book to review through iREAD BOOK TOURS, I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

High atop Mount Olympus, dawn breaks on a new academic term. Normalcy has returned to campus following a harrowing expedition into The Underworld to rescue kidnapped students by Zeus and his fellow Olympians. Now, as they prepare to testify in The High Court, Hyperion will be tried for the attack on Crete and death of Anytos. Kronos will stand trial for the murder of Mount Olympus Prep’s Headmaster Ouranos.

As the trials draw near, Mount Olympus Prep students and faculty are besieged repeatedly by a race of gargantuan stone and earth giants. Under heavy assault, the Olympians are forced to flee to the volcanic island of Limnos to regroup. Meanwhile, a toxic poison Zeus has carried with him since a prior fight with a dragoness, creeps toward his brain.

In a race against time and beasts, Zeus and his friends must find a way to survive not only the toxin ravaging Zeus’ body, but also the giants who grow stronger after every attack, and somehow make it to the The High Court alive.

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The Sky Throne, also referred to in this review as ‘book 1’ was a great read that I couldn’t put down. I read it solely as a book to connect with my then 11 year old daughter. She was big into Greek mythology (and still is) and I felt that the book was a precursor to the Greek mythology she understood. It was like a fun prologue to what she knew. (Read my review.)

When The High Court came out; clearly I had to continue the journey (and why wouldn’t I after loving book 1 so much!?) I had to know what happened and what was going to happen. (Exactly how I feel now that I finished book 2!)

I felt the first half the book was drawn out and didn’t grab me as quickly as book 1. It may have just been my attention span because it had suspense and action, but it felt… long winded. Not as… enthralling.

The story continues as someone or something is trying to stop Zeus and his ‘family’ from moving forward from where we left off in book 1. (I don’t want to say anything that may ruin either book for anyone who has not read it.)

Action, suspense, and mystery unfold as these ‘obstacles’ keep getting in the way. Then of course, there are the trials that leave us in a state of emotion, confusion, anger – wanting to know what is yet to come.

I enjoyed The High Court; I highly recommend both books; and I will definitely be passing the second book on to my now 13 year old who raved to her friends about book 1. I am certain she is going to enjoy it and we will both be waiting as patiently as we can (not our strong suit) for another installment so we can continue this journey with Zeus.

About the Author
Chris Ledbetter is an award-winning author of short fiction and novels for young adults. “Jason’s Quest,” a short story retelling of the Jason and Medea Greek myth was published in the anthology, Greek Myths Revisited. His first full-length novel, Drawn earned him two awards, Library of Clean Reads Best YA 2015 and Evernight Publishing Readers’ Choice Award Best YA 2015, as well as a USA TODAY “Must Read” recommendation. His second novel, Inked, concludes that duology. The Sky Throne is his newest young adult series. It includes, thus far, The Sky Throne and The High Court.

He’s a proud member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and a strong supporter of the Need for Diverse Books. He now writes and lives in Wilmington, NC with his family, including three cats.

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