The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

This is Book 2 of the Percy Jackson series. I am reading the series with my 10 year old son, so we are reading it out loud, alternating every chapter (or couple of pages, depending on the evening). I am starting to really like the main characters, Percy, Tyson, Annabeth, Chiron and Grover. I am still not as invested as I was in the Harry Potter series, but I am enjoying it. I would guess that the farther we get into the series, my investment will grow however. It usually does with series of books.

The prophecy is what intrigues me the most of course. I assume that Percy is the the half-blood, or demi-god, that the prophecy refers to, but introducing Thalia into the mix gives it an interesting twist. She also, being the daughter of one of the Big Three, Zeus, could be the demi-god referred to in the prophecy. I am not sure how old she is (yet), but Percy has a couple of years before he turns 16 years old. I did like reading about the Sirens - and Annabeth's desire to hear them without killing herself, as well as the island of the Cyclops. I really don't remember much of Greek mythology at all, so I have been entertained reading about each god or monster and the characteristics which make them unique.

It also doesn't hurt that some parts are funny. Tyson is a character. He shows his "youth" by the comments he makes and the way he looks up to Percy as a "big" brother. The story actually takes place in the United States. Mortals cannot be killed by the weapons of the gods & monsters; and the gods & monsters can't be killed by mere mortals. Of course Percy is both, so he can find himself in dangerous positions as half mortal, half god. This story takes place in New York and Miami, which is weird if you think about it! Anyway, Percy & gang is able to accomplish their quest - or actually Clarisse's quest - to recover the golden fleece, which was the main goal of Book Two. They needed the golden fleece to stop the poison from killing Thalia's tree. The ultimate goal of the series however is to save Mount Olympus from the titan Kronos, who we discover is Chiron's father. (Luke/Darth Vader similarities anyone?)

Wendy's Rating: ****