The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan

This action-packed story continues as the god Apollo learns what it means to be mortal and live as a human. The gods don't make friends or understand the idea of sacrifice. As Apollo goes through suffering and meets heroes that become friends he changes from self-absorbed narcissism to listening to his conscience and feeling guilty. Don't worry, he hasn't completely changed - he's still snarky and hides from danger now and then. When he sees the gods destroying the ecosystem he thinks of the time he was a god and didn't care about the earth being wrecked. Now he does care as he's living the nightmare, "I hate being mortal" he says. Apollo's character arc becomes more clear by the end of the book. The hero's journey for Apollo shows him being transformed by losing his powers and being mortal to learning what it means to sacrifice for others. When Apollo sees his hero friend giving his life to save others it hints that the god might truly change into a compassionate and good person. He slowly is the finality of death for mortals.

Apollo as the mortal, Lester Papadopoulos, is anything but godly with his acne skin and soft body. His 12-year-old companion, Meg, controls him through a curse and marches to her own beat picking her nose and wearing bright-colored clothes like a neon sign. This odd couple is endearing and currently continuing their mission to free five Oracles that have been side-lined by evil emperors trying to control Earth. Once Apollo succeeds he will be restored to Olympus as a god with all his powers returned. As time passes he turns more mortal and is losing most of his godly powers. The humor and tone are in the vein of other Riordan books. The introduction of new characters, such as the seven dryads who sound and move like a well-oiled Roman military legion even though they are few in number is a gas. "All Hail Meg!" is their mantra. Riordan's voice for the characters is distinct and well-done.

When the poets wrote about Odysseus, Greek narratives switched from immortal gods to mortal men showing heroes that suffered pain and death but lived life to the fullest creating legends of themselves passed on through generations. Riordan captures this switch in Apollo, an immortal god made mortal and pokes fun at the dysfunctional, self-centered stories about the Greek gods. Apollo is a modern hero in a tragi-comedy learning what it is like to be a human and heroic taught by semi-divine teens and mythical creatures. When he sacrifices himself not once but twice for his friends, he ends up being more human in this book than the previous ones. While before he only cared deeply for Meg, he is now learning to care for others.

4 smileys

The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) by Rick Riordan

Riordan's narcissistic god, Apollo has been punished by Zeus and cast out of Olympus becoming a mortal making a storyline that is a great study in irony and unreliable narration. In his god-like form, Apollo is arrogant, immortal, abusive, handsome, a sun god, healer, seer, and musician. As a mortal, he's lost all of that. He's the reluctant hero that doesn't want to go on a quest, is a klutz, coward who thinks of himself first. He's not handsome or athletic. He can still sing, play instruments, give medical care, and shoot an arrow with deadly accuracy. However, he's fat and pudgy and must serve the belching, fashion-challenged Meg. He learns to care for her even though she annoys him most of the time. The two make quite a pair and their extreme character traits make them funny.

You'll laugh at the play-on-words, one-liners, and poking fun at pop culture and mythology. The rare mythical "yale" monsters are on the "endangered species list" and called, the "Harvard's," by Meg. Tofurky, frenemies, are just a few words that the author combines to draw laughs in stressful situations. His one-liners start from the get-go when Festus, Leo's mechanical dragon, burns down the Indiana flag. Leo scolds, "Whoa, buddy! ...We've talked about this. No blowtorching public monuments." The characters are opposite their myths which adds irony. For instance, Calypso who controls air spirits is afraid of flying. Apollo is opposite his god-like self as an unfit clumsy braggart who fears a mortal death. He gives specific mythical facts about yale creatures and admires their looks and capabilities thinking he'd take a video if they weren't trying to kill him at the moment, "I would have gotten millions of likes on Godtube!" It's corny. It's fun. It's entertaining.

Riordan tends to "tell" more than "show", which helps younger readers that might not always recognize the character development. This is written for young adults with a 16-year-old protagonist. There are not the usual mnemonics to remember the gods as found in his middle-grade Percy Jackson series. However, character development and motivations are spelled out and it allows for easier interpretation by readers who may not be as fluent as others.

In his other books, the characters are human and the point of view is similar where the gods are presented as so oblivious to the fact that they are so selfish, egotistical, and arrogant that it's funny. A human might touch their lives, but they do not change and they do not work on developing friendships with each other. This book shifts the point of view to a god that has the choice to change making for a strong character arc. Here, Apollo, pokes fun at the arrogance of the god characters and even shows he still thinks like them - at least in the beginning. As he puts it in light of his own experiences as a mortal, he slowly changes as he learns to make friends and fight for a cause. 

When he first becomes mortal, Apollo shows little compassion for others - he always put himself first. Even when he recognizes when the gods are unjust, he can’t quite embrace being human. When Britomartis says, “Being a goddess, my needs take precedence” it might as well be Apollo speaking. When she sends them on a quest to retrieve her griffins before she’ll help them take down Nero, Apollo shows some recognition, “Oh, the injustice!” But later he vows that if he becomes a god he will never send “a poor mortal on a quest. Unless it was really important. And unless I was sure the mortal could handle it. And unless I was pressed for time…or I just really didn’t feel like doing it myself. I would be much kinder and more generous than this net goddess was being to me.” He’s unreliable at best. He's starting to think about what it means to be human but drifts into his self-centered ways quickly. 

As a god, he thinks he’s better looking, has higher intelligence, and is perfect compared to humans. When in god form if he is bored, he kills people with no thought. He has to learn to value humans and not treat them as inferior beings. As a human, he starts to mock the gods and how they treat heroes. He doesn't appreciate the goddess Britomartis sending them on an impossible quest. When he wants to abandon the quest, Calypso muses,  "Do heroes ever return empty-handed saying to the gods, we tried?" When Apollo is willing to sacrifice himself for Meg, we see he has embraced friendship and is starting to care for humans or at least one human. Guess he has to start somewhere. When Emmie calls him Lord Apollo and he says the title doesn't fit him, it shows his changing identity that is learning what it means to be human.

Riordan creates many diverse characters in his novels, some more successfully than others. In the Magnus Chase series, the brilliant character Alex Fierro, represents gender fluidity who is male on some days and female on others. Apollo is pansexual, which means his sexual choices are not limited by gender, and his thoughts are funny in his attractions he reveals for both males and females. His character is not as brooding as Alex but he does have flashbacks that show he once cared for the villain, Commodus, as a much as he could care as a selfish god. They both had overbearing fathers and inferiority complexes and he becomes a foil to Apollo.

The plot uses poetry throughout from good to bad haikus for entertainment: “four beheaded dudes / are too much for one nightmare/ Why me? Sob.Sob. Sob.”  In addition to haikus, there are limericks, acrostic, and sonnet poetry that are explained to the reader. Again an example of telling and not showing is here as the reader gets a lesson in what makes it that type of poem. There is usually some snarky comment that is funny and a bad example to add laughs to the situation. 

Commodus represents the self-centered gods who generates no light. Commodus's father, Marcus Aurelius's said to his son, "Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what’s left and live it properly. What doesn’t transmit light creates its own darkness" and Apollo now understands what it means. The knowledge he's gained as a mortal has taught him to find meaning in life that extends beyond himself and cares about others. Apollo realizes that "Commodus hated that piece of advice. He found it suffocating, self-righteous, impossible. What was proper? Commodus intended to live forever. He would drive away the darkness with the roar of crowds and the glitter of spectacle. But he generated no light. ...And Apollo, above all, was the god of light." This revelation or climax allows Apollo to regain his superpowers momentarily and blind Commodus with light, a symbol of his awakening to new insights and knowledge on being human. It also reminded me of the story of Paul on the road to Damascus who was persecuting the Christians, was blinded by God, and later converted to Christianity. Commodus has no enlightenment but maybe he'll appear in later novels as someone who changes. 

I turn to Riordan for a break in heavy reading. I know I'll laugh. I know I'll see diverse characters. I know I'll learn about some mythological character or creature I've never heard about and I'll see how he uses creativity and craft to make them his own. If you like his other books, you'll like this one.

5 Smileys

The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1) by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan's hilarious portrayal of the Greek gods has upstaged so many of his mortal characters in past series, that I was jumping with excitement over his latest book whose protagonist is the fallen god, Apollo. Apollo wakes up as a teenage mortal with no powers, a serious case (ee-gods!) acne, and a snarky attitude. Two thugs rob him and beat him to a pulp as he discovers he is mortal and reveals in some snappy dialogue his over-inflated ego and extreme narcissism. He's the opposite of your stereotypical hero except for the sarcasm and wit. Meg rescues him with some weird garbage wielding powers that reveal her demigod abilities. She binds him to her as his vassal forcing him to do what she wants.  She decides to head to Camp Half-Blood to explore and control her new-found powers and Apollo hopes for help from Chiron to get his powers back. Apollo slowly changes as he learns what it is like to be human. The gods have never cared about mortals - they are easily used and disposed of as a means to an end. Apollo finds meaning in what it is to have friends, courage, and kindness.  He not only atones for his past but makes peace with former enemies.

When Apollo and Meg get to Camp Half-Blood, they discover that campers are going missing in the woods. The Oracles are no longer prophesying and Olympus seems to have gone silent. With all communication down, Meg and Apollo slowly figure out what is happening to the camp becoming friends in the process. In an action-filled climax Apollo sees himself for all his conceit and decides to change. Percy, Nico, Will, Rachel Dare, and Leo make cameo appearances along with some great monsters and villains in the usual satisfying Riordan style. Apollo is a flawed character which I tend to like as there is more dynamic in character arcs.

The strong character development and distinct voices were welcome after recent books Riordan's written where characters have been sounding alike. Apollo is an ancient person dealing with being a teen. He is having an identity crisis and adults can laugh at the humor directed at them, while younger readers can relate to trying to fit-in with peers. Apollo has no conscience as a god and he takes responsibility for past mistakes with those he's cared about and lost in death. He mulls over his love life with men and women in a matter-of-fact way and ponders the terrible choices he's made; something he has been unwilling to do up to this point in his four thousand-year-old life. His bisexuality is not heavy for young adult readers. Riordan draws much of his humor on pop culture and anachronistic references. I wonder if it will date the book in the future or if some of the humor will be lost? Not that it matters. He uses other comedic techniques that keep me chuckling throughout the text.

The suspense and action are done well as always. While Meg's goddess mom is discovered, the reader never knows her dad's identity. The goofy geyser gods were funny along with Apollo's corny poem poking fun at "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by John Donne. If Riordan had written his poem in a villanelle like Dylan Thomas, I would have been really impressed. Just kidding. I had to write a villanelle for a college English poetry class and it took me forever to write a crummy one. The geyser criticizes Apollo's poem (who, by the way, is the god of poetry) and instead asks for a jingle like the Oscar Meyer Wiener song. That's more like Riordan than a villanelle. The end is a cliffhanger with lots of unanswered questions making me anxious to read the next book. Another hum-dinger!

5 Smileys

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians companion book) by Rick Riordan (Goodreads Author), John Rocco (Illustrator)

This weighty book was cutting off the blood circulation in my legs after reading for two hours. I plopped it on my bathroom scale, the red digits glowing 4 pounds in the dark room. Okay, guess I have gramma-legs. Honestly, it felt like 10 pounds. Perhaps Rick Riordan can write about Hercules next and toss in a weight-lifting program for wimps like me. In this nonfiction gianto book, Riordan covers fifteen gods and goddesses in all their misery... I mean glory. Technically, I hear about the twelve Olympians, but Hestia, Dionysus, Hades, and Persephone are sometimes included; hence, 15. The narrator rightfully calls the Titans the first dysfunctional family and doesn't hold back moving on to the Olympians and exposing the raping, murdering, thieving, and psychopathic ways of them all.

Percy Jackson narrates with his wise-cracking, sarcastic, dumb humor that had me snort-laughing. He calls Zeus, "Thunderbritches," has play on words, uses SMS language or text messaging lexicons, and continually reminds readers that the Olympians' behavior isn't normal. Ya think? Jackson tries to be the voice of reason in the gods violent, unreasonable world. Believe me, you wouldn't want to be a Greek god. The power struggles and bad behaviors of the gods, goddesses, and kingpin Zeus, should turn off most readers from wanting to be dictators or scare them into making sacrifices or make them run in the opposite direction if they see one. Run, run, as fast as you can. That would be me.

The colloquial language makes this easy to read and Riordan uses his familiar technique of mnemonics to help with remembering difficult names. I kept a journal of who's who and still got blurry-eyed by the end. Of course the blood might not have been getting to my brain from this whale-of-a-book pushing on my legs.  Riordan has oodles of pop culture and technology references. I wonder if the book will seem outdated 20 years from now alluding to Tumblr, Facebook, Smartphones, One Direction, Baywatch, KFC, and Twinkies to name a few. Okay, maybe he doesn't mention the last but he does mention food. The pacing is fast-paced and the text reveals tidbits such as how the gods influenced Greek geography, word origins, the importance of the laurel leaf, and cities that honored particular gods. He also shows how arid cities and eruptions were tied in with the Greek creation myths. The additional facts enriches the action.

The unexpected twist on Riordan's presentation of the Olympians is showing the goddesses not as complete victims. Don't get me wrong, it's still a patriarchal social system, but the women do stand up for themselves or try to fight back. Riordan sneaks it in when he can without compromising historical accuracy. At least from my limited Greek myth knowledge, I didn't see any exaggerations. He uses dialogue to be creative and add a fun narrative to the facts and by having Percy narrate he is able to bring in a modern-day perspective. When the four sons of Ouranos decide to kill him, Percy says, "The girls were too wise to get involved in murder. They made their excuses and quickly left." He'll point out other times how today a boy and girl wouldn't treat each other with the disrespect shown by the gods and goddesses. He muses how dumb it is when the gods ask Zeus if they can marry a woman versus the god asking her directly. He also talks about how the gods act differently than humans stating the obvious such as a brother and sister wouldn't marry each other. The different versions of Greek myths can be confusing as well and Percy explains the historical inconsistencies as to which story he is going to go with in his narrative. While it isn't necessary to know the Percy Jackson series in order to read this book, you'd get more of the jokes and tone being familiar with the fiction series.

Even with Percy trying to balance things out, I got a bit depressed about the whole female being-taken-advantage-of-deal. Hades was the culprit. The man can be a downer. Just kidding. I got lost in the tales again once I got done with the women. Ugh. The gods were yucky to them. No wonder two swore off marriage. If D'aulaire's book of Greek myths is for elementary then Percy's Greek Gods is for upper elementary or middle school. The brilliant illustrations by John Rocco remind me of Renaissance art. The baby leading the cows reminded me of the Rubens artwork, except for the dark outline of the cow. Rocco uses a soft, dreamy palette that shows an innocent-looking baby Hermes stealing cows, with snow shoes on his feet. Perhaps the dark pencil around the cows signifies the two that Hermes eats or is meant to add a 3-dimensional look. Rocco captures the weird and humorous myth in his painting. Rocco's monster, Kampe, illustration is pretty spectacular and reminds me of Caravaggio's Medusa at the Uffizi museum in Italy. The humungous boar fighting the puny human will be a favorite with students too.

Greek mythology has violent stories. That's just the way it is. Percy does warn when a story is going to get more gory than usual. The gods and goddesses are nasty to each other, but the mortals seem to be the ones on the receiving end of the lightning bolt. They get vaporized, zapped, and quartered. Percy even comments how mortals would get punished for behavior that the gods and goddesses did all the time. But the gods held themselves to a different moral standard. This tome doesn't get into the Greek heroes. I can see why. It would be too much. I would have had a 10 pound book if Riordan had done that. All the same, I found myself wanting to hear their stories. Maybe Riordan will come out with another book and mention the heroes. He could publish it after Christmas and market it as a dumbbell/book combination. Or maybe not.

4 Smileys

The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

I like Riordan's banter, his caricatures of the gods, nonstop action, monsters, dialogue, and stupid sense of humor. He seems to have so much fun and doesn't take himself seriously all the while teaching facts about mythology that is memorable. He makes learning history fun and his use of humor represents a type of controlled rebellion readers can live through in a vicarious way. His female characters are strong and heroes in their own right and even though he tries a bit too hard to represent every race on Earth at least his tolerance message doesn't seem as forced in this novel as the last one. I'm referring to Nico's sexual orientation and fears. In this book, Nico's point of view in the chapters shift toward him accepting himself, learning more about his powers, and moving on with his life. There is a whole lotta action and less internal changes which is fine by me. I like it better when Riordan doesn't go into great depth. He isn't particularly strong with the romantic subplots that all sounded very similar in the last book. Except Nico's and that felt inauthentic. He's back to the formula that I recognize and I blasted through his book with many guffaws.

Gaea, the Earth goddess, is rising and wants to destroy all humans. The gods are suffering from multiple personality disorders as their Roman and Greek counterparts within each of them cannot agree with each other. Gaea cannot rise unless the blood of some demigods is dripped on the soil. Traps are set to make this happen. Meanwhile the Roman camp is attacking the Greek camp and the demigods must stop their destruction first before halting Gaea. The prophecy says that one of the demigods will die. The heroes know that they need the help of the gods but are having a hard time getting their cooperation as they war within themselves. When Gaea creates a trap the demigods must split up to do the impossible of saving the world.

Jason, Piper, Leo, Nico, and Reyna are the narrators of this story. They are trying to figure out their destinies as Greek or Roman heroes and figure out their fatal flaws or physical weaknesses. Greek tragedies have heroes that have misfortunes happen to them because of some error in judgement. Riordan pokes fun at this concept as the demigods banter with the gods. The demigods don't usually make errors and Riordan seems to be following the Greek comedy more than any tragedy. The heroes find happiness at the end in one way or another. If you have liked the series so far, you won't be disappointed with this one.

4 Smileys

The Fire Thief

As punishment for giving humans fire, the Titan Prometheus is chained to a rock by the gods where his liver is ripped out of him by a Fury. The story begins with Prometheus breaking free of his chains and making a deal with Zeus to find a hero. He decides to travel in time to Eden City, 1858, an industrial cesspool where misery runs rampant. Prometheus can't believe what humans have done with fire. The city is cloaked in smog. He is so disappointed. He meets up with Jim and Edward, two thieves who put on a stage show for the rich and rob them while they are watching it. When they get caught Prometheus becomes the hero without even realizing it.

This book has asides and footnotes where the author is speaking to the reader. Some will find them hilarious and some will find them annoying. Or maybe both. This technique slows down the pacing of the book. If it annoys you, then don't read them and stay with the action.

I enjoyed Deary's characterizations of Zeus with his pot of thunderbolts and throwing temper tantrums. Zeus and Hera sounded like an old couple bickering and Hermes as the spoiled son. The Chimera (a monster with three heads of a lion, goat, and snake) was the most entertaining creature of the four: "...Help me and I'll give you the city."

"Ah," the goat gurgled. "A settee - I need somewhere comfy to sit."

"Goat-head," the lion groaned. "You are deaf."

"Death?"

"Deaf!" The lion roared.

"I know. It's all your roaring. Wrecked my ears," the goat replied.

"Shut up and let's hear what the Fury has to say," the snake pleaded. p137

While funny, the plot was predictable in many parts and some of the foreshadowing obvious. There is a Dickens type ghost story at the end and a running joke about school being miserable. I thought the setting could have been more developed and the plot less predictable. Still it is a fun read and students who like Percy Jackson should enjoy it.

Reading Level 5.6

:-) :-) :-) 3 Smileys

Quicksilver

Hermes is the wise-cracking messenger god in Greek mythology. He can make Zeus laugh as well as the people that he ferries to the dead in the underworld. He helps Perseus slay Medusa, Persephone spend time with her mom, is involved in the Trojan War, and gets Odysseus released from Calypso.

The author covers a lot of ground with all these stories. Some will like it and some will not. I didn't like it. Hermes never comes alive for me. It felt like the quick tour through Greek mythology. It was too many stories and not enough depth. I did read it, so it wasn't horrible.

The book has violent parts and some might be uncomfortable when the goddesses undress in front of Paris or when Andromeda is left nude to the sea serpent by unscrupulous parents.

:-) :-) 2.5 Smileys

Dread Locks

Parker Baer is rich and bored. Until Tara, the new girl, moves in next door. Baer meets her when she shows up in his bed just like Goldilocks. Only this Goldilocks is not scared by anyone and she is not just hungry for porridge. Tara's blond curls seem to be alive and she wears dark glasses all the time because of an "eye condition." When students start becoming ill at the school Parker notices that Tara is involved somehow. When Parker's brother gets sick he is convinced Tara is behind it.

The plot is predictable at first and you know that Tara is Medusa or one of the Gorgons from Greek mythology. The author skillfully unfolds this with tension and suspense so it is not boring. Then the plot starts twisting in unique ways at the end that aren't predictable. There is a lot of violence and the ending is not happy although Parker acts like a true Greek hero.

:-) :-) :-) 3.5 Smileys.

Oracles of Delphi Keep

A hellhound wants the blood of orphans Ian Wigby and Theodosia after they discover a box from a cave at the White Cliffs of Dover. The box contains a three-thousand-year-old prophecy written by the great Oracle, Laodamia. As the mystery unfolds the two end up on quest with the likes of a professor, two teachers, and an orphan as they try to save the world from being taken over by a demogorgon or demon God of the Earth.

The pacing is a little slow in spots but picks up toward the end as the characters of Caphiera and Magus chase after the group of questers. Caphiera is like Medusa except people turn to ice rather than stone. Magus controls the hellhounds and fire. He can burn a person from the inside out. The characters are 8 and 14 years old but sound older and have incredible physical stamina. They seemed older to me than the ages they were given in the book. I wished that the teachers Perry and Thatcher bantered more and could provide some comic relief but they argued with each other through most of the story. I thought Perry in his persistant belief that nothing was real got ridiculous because the author drew it out too long.

The book gets more violent toward the end as the two tribes in Morocco fight in a bloody battle. Most of the story draws from Greek mythology and Druids from Celtic mythology. This is the first book in a series and fantasy lovers should enjoy it although it might be dense for some readers at 552 pages.

Reading Level 7.1

:-) :-) :-) 3 Smileys

Dussie

The title of the book, Dusssie, by Nancy Springer is supposed to be a snake hissing.  However, in the book her name is Dusie, pronounced "Do See." The play on words is the heart of the story. Dusie is trying to figure out who she is on the inside. She wakes up one morning and has snakes on her head. Mom explains that she is a gorgon: Color me stupid, but I was thirteen before I understood why my mother always wore a turban. I thought it was just part of her artistic weirdness. I had no clue until my own hair turned into snakes.

Dusie's real name is Medusa - named after her famous aunt. Dusie flips out but still tries to go to school and cover her snakey head. Except things go awry. She gets annoyed with a boy she likes on the way to school and gives him the evil eye. Oops. Now he's stone on the outside but breathing on the inside. Dusie feels awful. She sets out to turn him back and learns how to like herself, her snakes, and (gasp) her mom.

Dusie doesn't interract with many other characters. She makes friends with an old man who helps her find a cure for her snakes and she argues with her mom. She also talks to the Sisterhood but that's about it. The plot was well done with some interesting twists but I thought the story could have used another character. Maybe another kid like her? A cousin?

Dusie gets her snakehead because she starts to menustrate and enters womanhood. While the story is a clever way to address the anxieties of puberty, I wish the author had left out the details of cramps and changing sheets, etc. in the first chapter. It turned me off. If you can get past that it is a fun book and quick read.

Reading Level 7.1

:-) :-) :-) 3 Smileys

Medusa Jones

Medusa Jones is being bullied at school by the popular kids. Her parents don't help much with solving the problem and the teachers at school are disrespectful bullies themselves. Medusa goes on a camping trip with the popular kids and when they get in trouble she and her friends have to decide whether or not to help them.

The illustrations in this book are well-done but the story is not well-written. There are cliches and the plot is random and predictable. I'm not sure what the chapter on Medusa going to the barber relates to the overall story; it just seemed mean-spirited. I also thought Medusa was out of character at the end when she called her friend an idiot and said she was "the beauty and brains of the outfit." She sounded just like the bullies in the story.

You need to know what a Gorgon is and be somewhat familiar with Greek mythology when reading this story. Also, a "chiton" is a tunic. It is mentioned several times in the story. I'm more familiar with the word, toga.

Reading Level 4.1

:-) :-) 2 Smileys

The Lost Hero

I didn't peek!

When I get bored with a story, I peek ahead to the ending.

Oftentimes this spoils the story. But this time I just hardly put the book down. In the book, The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, the action was nonstop, the characters were fun, and the plot unpredictable. I might have even liked it better than the Percy Jackson series. Shhhhh! I said "might."

Three new characters are introduced to Camp Half-Blood: Jason, Piper, and Leo. The characters are quite distinct and Leo is hysterical. I also got a kick out of how some of the gods are presented like Aeolus, who is slightly insane from trying to predict the weather which the gods constantly change: "'Hello Olympus! Aeolus, master of the winds here, with weather every twelve [minutes]! 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 ear piece. 'Sorry folks! Poseidon is angry with Miami today, so it looks like the Florida freeze is back on! Sorry Demeter!'" (p. 416) He also describes Aeolus as having so much plastic-surgery that his face looks like "a Ken doll someone halfway melted in a microwave." (p. 412)

Jason is the hero and leader, while Piper is smart and beautiful. Leo is the wise-cracking jokster who keeps everyone laughing: "'Your Dad is Hephaestus.' 'Festus?' Leo had heard somebody say that before but he was still dismayed. 'Sounds like the god of cowboys.'" (p. 67) Whoop it up with this new quest as the demigods fight to save the world from evil.

Take away the "might." I think this is Riordan's best book yet.

Reading Level 4.8

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 5 Smileys