The Son of Neptune

     Another great book by Rick Riordan.  Percy finds himself in California this time, fighting Gorgons who won't die.  These Gorgons are greeters from Bargain Mart with big buttons on their vests and silver trays loaded with free samples.  Although Percy puts up a good fight, these Gorgons keep coming back to life.  Death has been kidnapped and the monsters reform as fast as Percy can kill them.
     As Percy escapes on a free sample tray, he encounters Juno and carries her across the Tiber River to Camp Jupiter.  By doing so, Percy loses the protection of the River Styx and chooses a life of pain and possibility.
     Percy becomes a member of the Fifth Cohort with the two kids who save him from the Gorgons - Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque.  After the nightly war games, Frank is claimed by his father Mars.  Percy, Frank, and Hazel are sent on a quest to free Thanatos, the god of death, from captivity in Alaska.
     On their way, they face many monsters and have wonderful adventures.  I love the new characters in the book.  In Greek tradition, they meet a blind man who sees and knows everything.
     Ella is another favorite.  She is a small, kind-hearted Harpy that remembers everything she reads, including prophecies.  One of my favorite parts of the book is when she falls in love with Percy's cyclops brother - Tyson, my favorite character in the series.  They were very cute together.
      I also like the Hyperboreans, bright blue, peaceful giants, living in Alaska  For some reason, they seemed to fit Alaska well.  I could visualize them going through Alaskan life at peace with nature and immune to the angst of the humans and monsters below.
     Arion was another fun character.  Who wouldn't love riding a gold-eating horse at the speed of light?  He also has a trash mouth, but we never have to actually hear the words, since Percy is the only one who understands horses.  
     Of course, I also like Octavian.  In the ancient days of Rome he would have read animal entrails for signs.  At Camp Jupiter, he reads the stuffing of stuffed animals instead.  That made Nick and I laugh hysterically.    
     My favorite part of the book occurs at Iris' store called Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles or R.O.F.L. for short.  The store is protected by a brilliant rainbow that blinds the monsters trying to get inside.  When Polybotes demands Iris kneel before him, a dark object flies out the window and lands at his feet.  Polybotes yells, Grenade" and orders everyone to the ground.  When it doesn't explode, he looks more closely.  He roars in outrage, "A Ding Dong?  You dare insult me with a Ding Dong?"  It was so unexpected that I couldn't stop laughing.  What a great thing to throw at a giant threatening you to show how little you think of his threat.  A great life lesson in that analogy, as well.  
      The book was fast paced and full of adventures, romance, and monsters.  I enjoyed the writing, the variety of new characters, and the humor.  It was a wonderful addition to the series.  It is going to be really hard to wait for the next book that comes out in the fall.                 

The Lost Hero

      Rick Riordan is now officially one of my all-time favorite authors.  This man is an incredible writer.  I wish I had written this book!
     The Lost Hero is the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series.  I loved the characters in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, so I was leery of a new set of characters.  I knew from the first sentence that I would love these characters just as much as Percy, Annabeth and Grover - "Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day."
     The story alternates between three characters, which is confusing at first.  I would just get into this character's story and then it would switch the point-of-view.  It took a while, but once I got to know the character's better, I was able to keep them straight.  I liked getting to know the perspectives of the three characters.  I did miss the funny chapter titles that Rick Riordan used in the first series though - like "I Accidentally Vaporized my Pre-Algebra Teacher."
     I loved the new monsters/bad guys.  It was fun to see how King Midas would survive in the modern world.  Of course, with all of our current greed, he fit right in.  I also loved Medea and her department store of gently used items of dead demigods.  I was alternately disgusted, sympathetic, and intrigued by her character.  I also liked Aeolus - the Lord of the Winds.  It turns out that the weather is controlled by the God's whims and their needs to reward or punish mortals.  Aeolus runs a weather channel that updates every 12 minutes and he is literally going insane from updating the weather as the Gods change their minds about the weather patterns. "We'll have a low-pressure system moving over Florida today, so expect milder temperatures since Demeter wishes to spare the citrus farmers..."  He tapped his earpiece.  "Sorry, folks!  Poseidon is angry with Miami today, so it looks like that Florida freeze is back on!  Sorry, Demeter.  Over in the midwest, I'm not sure what St. Louis did to offend Zeus, but you can expect winter storms!"
     It is a long book, but the action, humor, and well-developed characters make it a fun read.  I recommend it to all kids, teens, and adults that love fantasy or Greek/Roman mythology.  One of the best books Rick Riordan has written so far.

The Last Olympian

     The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan is a fitting ending to a wonderful series.  I am sad to see the series come to an end.  It has been a pleasure to spend the last two years with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson.
     In this book, all of the pieces from the earlier books come together in an epic battle between the Titans and the Olympians.  Although strength and prowess play a role in the battles, the true heroes are successful because they are able to persevere, see the good in one another, and join together to fight for their cause.
     I was intrigued by Prometheus.  He was an interesting character and I am still not sure if he was trying to help or hurt Percy.  I loved the way Prometheus gave Pandora's Box to Percy to test Percy's view of humanity and hope.  I would love to read more about Prometheus in other books.
     Although the characters are growing up, they still kept the internal qualities that I loved about them.  I enjoyed the ending of the book because each character was given an ending that he/she deserved.  No one was overlooked or pushed to the side in a quick ending.
     I loved the way all of the human characters were given redemption, even though they had turned to the dark side.  It was an uplifting view that all of us make mistakes, but all of us can redeem ourselves and make a difference in the end.
     Rick Riordan is an amazing writer.  I love his characters, his creativity in creating a world unlike anywhere else I have ever been, his humor, and his uplifting view of the heroic qualities in all of us.  I am a better person for having read his books.

The Battle of the Labyrinth

     The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan is my favorite book in the series.  This book is a very creative look at the myth of Icarus and Daedalus.       This myth is one of my favorites, and I was thrilled to be able to strap on the bronze wings and soar through Colorado.
     In this book, Luke has found a way to enter the labyrinth, but he hasn't been able to master it yet.  In fact, one of the people he sends into the maze loses his mind.  Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson must find a way to get to Daedalus first.  
     My favorite monster in this book was the Sphinx.  Like her mythical version, you must answer her questions to move on and avoid being eaten.  However, the modern Sphinx has been impacted by No Child Left Behind.  She now asks trivial questions to assess your knowledge and makes you bubble in your answers on a standardized test sheet.  As a teacher, I loved her analysis of modern education.
     I also loved meeting Pan and finding the reason behind his disappearance for the past two thousand years.  He left us with an important message about the environment without hitting us over the head with a moral.
     Calypso was another character I loved meeting.  Her island was beautiful and I loved the way she took care of Percy.  I knew his departure was inevitable, but I wished she could have found a way to go with him.
     I even liked Dionysus in this book, which has never happened before.  After losing a son, he seemed almost "human" at the end of the book and I was finally able to relate to him.
     There were only two parts I didn't like about the book.  The first was the love triangle introduced with the addition of Rachel Elizabeth Dare.  I liked the character, but I didn't like the way Annabeth and Rachel kept fighting for Percy's attention.  I also HATE the Pegasi.  The Pegasus is one of my favorite mythical creatures, and I hate the way the Pegasi in the book sound like they are stereotypes of minority groups.
     This book is an awesome book and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy books, Greek mythology, or Percy Jackson.

The Titan's Curse

     The Titan's Curse is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  It wasn't my favorite book in the series, but it was still fun to read.
     One of the problems I had was the number of new characters to keep track of in this book.  Thalia joins Grover, Percy, and Annabeth in rescuing Nico and Bianca di Angelo from a Manticore.  Along with many bad guys, we meet Atlas and the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis.  We also meet Artemis' hunters, Annabeth's dad, Zoe Nightshade, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare.  Thalia, Bianca, and Zoe seemed too much alike and I kept getting them confused.  With so many new characters, I didn't get attached to anyone like I did in the other two books.
     The quest seemed contrived and I didn't feel the urgency for everyone to make it safely to Mount Othrys.  It also seemed redundant to keep using the solstice as the deadline they faced.
     I did not like the Pegasi and that was disappointing because they are some of my favorite mythological creatures.  I did not like the way Blackie talked in slang that seemed to mimic stereotyped versions of African American speak.  Mr. Riordan could have done a much better job of creating the dialogue for them.  I felt the same way about Percy calling the Ophiotaurus "Bessie."
     I liked the ending surprise.  It fit well with the details in the book and made a surprising shock that I didn't see coming.  I am excited to see how Nico fits into the prophecy in the next book.
     It was an okay book, but not as great as the first two in the series.

Sea of Monsters

     The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan is the second in the series.  Nick and I loved it just as much as The Lightning Thief.
     The characters were still well developed.  We both absolutely LOVED Tyson, the baby Cyclops.  A close second was Rainbow, the Hippocampus.  And a third was the Laistrygonian Dodge Ball Players.
     The Sea of Monsters is a parallel book for The Odyssey.  For my English teacher friends, struggling readers could read The Sea of Monsters, while advanced students read The Odyssey.  Then they could share with someone who read the other novel and compare the two novels.
     I love this book and recommend it to everyone!

The Lightning Thief

     Nick and I just finished reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.  We both loved it.  If you saw the movie, don't let that stop you from reading the book.  The book is totally different than the movie.  I had read the book before, but Nick had only seen the movie.  He had a great time pointing out the differences as we read.
     Rick Riordan used to tell his son stories about a boy with dyslexia and ADHD because his son had those disabilities.  He turned the two disabilities into advantages for a half-blood hero.  It's one of the things I love about this book.
     The story is very different from other books that are out now.  Although there are lots of double-crossing going on, they are believable and unpredictable.  The characters are well-developed and engaging.  There are Greek monsters and suspenseful scenes, but they weren't too scary for Nick to read before bedtime.
     This book had a bit of everything: suspense, humor, friendship, monsters, and heroes.  The book's messages were positive, but didn't hit you over the head.
     It is one of my favorite books and I loved reading it with my favorite guy each night.