Review: The Sea of Monsters

Title:  The Sea of Monsters
Series:  Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2
Author:  Rick Riordan
Publisher:  Disney Hyperion Books
Pages:  279
Format:  Paperback
Source:  Bought

The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read installment of Rick Riordan's amazing young readers series. Starring Percy Jackson, a "half blood" whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Riordan's series combines cliffhanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each installment. In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come.

My Review:  I really just never get tired of reading Rick Riordan books.  His stories are all so refreshing and fun.  There's always a lot of adventure and a whole lot of humor.  It still amazes me how much these books can make me laugh.  I feel like that's a really important element to have in books because with out it, your writing falls a little flat.

It was cool being back with Percy and seeing how he'd grown in the time that had past since the last book.  I really love it when books show out characters growing up and maturing.  It makes them feel more realistic and easier to relate to.  Percy was still his loyal, funny self but he was a lot smarter this time around and, in my opinion, had more control over his actions.  He knew when to fight and when not to and that really showed his maturity.  It was really cute seeing Annabeth and Percy together.  They are still too young to really understand what they feel for each other but it was just so adorable seeing how they acted around one another and cared for each other.  Tyson was a new addition to the story and he was a really entertaining part of the story.  It bothered me how people picked on him but I loved seeing the way Percy slowly grew to accept what Tyson was to him.  My only problem is that it felt like Tyson was used as an easy way out for Percy.  He got them out of a lot of tight spots.  I would have liked to see Percy figure those things out.

It was fun comparing this story to the Odyssey.  There was a lot of similarities between the two and I really enjoyed how flawlessly Riordan weaved ancient mythology into this modern day myth.  It's one of my favorite parts of this series.

If you enjoyed the first book, I would highly recommend you read this book.  And if you haven't started reading this series, you need to seriously get on that!  You won't regret it! 

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