Friday, February 13, 2015

Book Review: The Blood of Olympus

The Blood of Olympus
by  Rick Riordan
Date Read:  2/10/15
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★


Ok, let me start by saying I was very disappointed that there WAS NOT A CHAPTER FROM EITHER PERCY’S OR ANNABETH’S POV!! So this is more of a 3.5 star review.

This was the end to, let’s admit, another Percy Jackson series, and yet there was not even ONE chapter from either POV. So disappointing. But I will say that at least we didn’t have the really boring POV of Frank. We get to learn more about Reyna, which was a nice change.

To me, it didn’t feel like a lot happened in this book. The POVs kept switching back and forth and everyone was separated, so in the same space of time, two different things happened, but it didn’t seem like the story moved a whole lot. All of a sudden I was half way through and realized that only like 2 big scenes had happened.

I was also let down by how quickly the battle ended. We’ve had 4 books leading up to this big huge battle, and in the end it only lasted a couple pages. Don’t get me wrong, I hate it when things are dragged out over 20 pages, but we’ve had such a huge lead up to have it over so quickly. But that’s kind of how the whole book felt. So many people doing their own thing that the battle came fast and was over fast. I don’t know, it was kind of a let down to me.

I did like Leo’s story throughout, though his pining away for Calypso was a tad bit annoying. But overall his story was really good. Getting to see some more of Nico was nice too. I wasn’t huge on the whole “crush-on-Percy” thing…seemed kinda thrown in to the series. But I liked seeing him accept himself and grow as a person in this book.

I did giggle like a school-girl when some of our old favorite characters showed back up. Most of them just made cameo appearances, but really, that’s all I needed.  [SPOILER: When Blackjack was shot with the arrow my heart sank! I was going to kill Riordan if he killed him! PHEW. And Tyson’s brief appearance was my other favorite. Rachel was more just talked about rather than seen, but hey, she’s still there. And I liked seeing Clarisse taking care of Hedge’s wife – a softer side to her. END SPOILER]

We get a LOT of wrap up at the end, which I appreciate at the end of a series. I will choose to believe that all the characters keep their happy endings and no more super bad monsters come. =)

Overall I enjoyed getting a new series in the Percy Jackson world, and I enjoyed getting to know these new heroes. I was a little disappointed with the final book though – I feel like he could have done so much more with it. And I didn’t feel as attached and see as much growth in the characters because there were always so many POVs in each book. Maybe Riordan needs to slow down with how many books he’s writing so that he can really focus on one book and make it great, rather than putting our 2-3 books a year that are just good.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Measles Outbreak and Vaccinations: My Child is at Risk because of Someone Else's Choice

I know everyone is having their say about this Measles outbreak…so due to the fact that I have a child too young to receive her vaccine, I wanted to add my thoughts to the debate.

According to the CDC, “Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body. About three out of ten people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea. Complications are more common in adults and young children.  Measles can be serious, especially for children younger than 5 years old.  It can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and death” (http://www.cdc.gov/measles/).

Measles was considered eliminated in the United States in 2000.   This means that the disease had no transmission for 12 months in the United States.  Therefore, even if someone came to Disneyland from another country who was not vaccinated, it shouldn’t have affected our country like it is currently.  The anti-vaccination movement that has taken hold in the US has adversely affected us.  The ones that are the victims of this though, are the ones with no choice - those too young to be vaccinated and those with immune deficiencies.

These people that are either too young for vaccination (like my 4 month old daughter who cannot receive her MMR vaccine until she is 12 months old) and those with immune deficiencies (either a specific immune disorder or due to receiving chemotherapy), have to rely on what is called “herd immunity”.  This means that a majority of the population is immunized against contagious diseases, leaving little opportunity for an outbreak.  Therefore, infants, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals have a level of protection even though they can’t be immunized, because the spread of the disease is essentially contained.  If you’re still having trouble wrapping your head around the concept of herd immunity, here is a picture from the CDC depicting scenarios of when almost none of the population is vaccinated and when most of the population is vaccinated.



So why have so many people become “anti-vaxxers”?  I’m going to talk about the reasons I’ve discovered and why or how we should help educate the population that vaccinations work.

First, many people have a fear of their child getting autism due to an article that was published in 1998, stating a link between vaccines and autism.  However, just doing a google search about this, you will find all sorts of information showing that the article was retracted and proven fraudulent in February of 2010 (12 years later).  Here are the reasons that this article was proven as fraudulent: 1) Facts were altered regarding the patients’ medical histories, 2) data was picked and chosen which supported their case, 3) scientific misrepresentation because it stated sampling was consecutive when it was actually selective, and 4) Wakefield was financially supported by lawyers who were pursuing lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers.  See full information here.  Therefore, this link to autism was an elaborate fraud that has had a huge detrimental effect on our country.  Fear broke out in parents and for 12 years parents were not having their children vaccinated.  Now what we have is a large portion of our population un-vaccinated against these contagious diseases (for disproved reasons), which means these eliminated and eradicated diseases will now be making a strong comeback in the United States. We’re taking 3 huge steps backward.



Speaking of fear leads in to my second reason for the anti-vaccination movement.  In the United States we are very privileged. If you step foot outside of our country, you will see this in many aspects.  The United States population has become so complacent in their views of vaccination because these diseases have been eradicated or eliminated (in the US). They haven’t seen what Measles, Polio, Tuberculosis, etc look like.  They haven’t seen how people can die from them.  Meanwhile, mothers in Africa will walk miles and stand in line in the heat for hours to receive a vaccination against any disease.  This is because they can see these diseases and what they do every day. We are fortunate in the United States to have been given immunity to these diseases so we don’t have the constant worry about catching a deadly contagious disease.  So what does that mean? That means the people now worry about silly things like “Oh my gosh, my child might get autism according to a fraudulent article, so I’m not going to give them immunity against a deadly disease”.  Fear is what drives most people. I wish I had the numbers for the amount of un-vaccinated people who went out and got their vaccinations when the Measles outbreak occurred.  
Even if you use common sense and just look at the facts: 1) Almost all people were vaccinated in the 70s and 80s and most of these diseases were eliminated or eradicated in the 90s and 2000s. 2) Now that people aren't getting vaccinated, these diseases are coming back. Even common sense tells you the common denominator is VACCINATION! It works.

Finally, the most obnoxious reason I've heard is that it is their “choice”.  This enrages me because a) you’re making a decision for someone else (your child, not yourself) and b) the rest of the population is affected by THEIR decision.  My child, who at 4 months old, is too young to receive her vaccine against Measles. So now, for the next 8 months, I have to worry about taking her to populated areas for fear that she will catch the Measles. And do you know why she’s too young to get the vaccine? Because it’s dangerous being so young and the complications (pneumonia, encephalitis, etc) can be very severe in a child that young. This is the very reason that we have herd immunity. But our herd is small now. And some else made the decision not to vaccinate their child, and that child will walk around with Measles for 4 days expose MY child and others unable to receive their vaccine.  That is not fair. MY choice is for my child to not contract these diseases and have her vaccinated – so doesn't my choice count too?  As another argument I heard so eloquently stated: “You can drink in your own house and that is your choice – but when you get in a car, you are now putting others at risk…and that is NOT your choice.”  That is why you can be ticketed and put in jail for DUI or sued for manslaughter if you kill someone while driving under the influence.  The same is true for vaccinations. When you choose not to vaccinate, you are also putting the population that does not have the ability to vaccinate at risk.  You should be held personally responsible if my child contracts a preventable disease because you chose not to vaccinate – especially if there are serious adverse effects from the disease – such as pneumonia or death.  Another comparison is with peanut butter at schools. My child won’t be able to bring peanut butter to school for fear of exposing a child with a peanut allergy to it. So what is any different about an un-vaccinated child coming to school and exposing my children to a PREVENTABLE disease?!

Schools used to require that children are up to date on their vaccinations prior to attending.  However, over the years, most states allow exceptions to these rules for either medical reasons or personal and religious reasons.  I’ve researched and found that there are only 2 states (Mississippi and West Virginia) in which the only exceptions are for medical reasons (immune deficiencies). Arizona, where I live, allows all the exceptions, and according to CNN, nearly 5% of school aged children in Arizona were able to skip vaccinations last school year due to any of those exceptions.  I feel that public schools should require all vaccinations, except in cases of medical reasons (and those should be specifically stated and have to be proven).  If parents want to object due to personal or religious beliefs, then they can go to a private school. But if their children are receiving a free education supported by the public, then they need to do their part in supporting the public health and receive their vaccinations.


I’ve ranted about this for a while, but I hope that it has given information and arguments that will support vaccination.  Perhaps we should fund trips to Africa for parents who have “personal belief” objections to vaccination so that they can see these populations where Polio and Measles run rampant.  They need a good reality check.  We also need to change the rules in schools.  For now, I’m going to be fearful of public places for 8 months while my child cannot get her vaccine, all because some other parents made the “choice” for her child not to vaccinate.  That parent made the choice for ME and MY CHILD as well, and that’s just unacceptable.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...