Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riodan is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians children's series. This book starts out with main character Percy and his friends in all sort of trouble. First of all, Zeus turned his daughter Thalia into a tree that protects their beloved Camp Half-Blood and someone poisoned the tree so camp is dying! Secondly, Percy's best friend Grover is being held captive by a Cyclopes in the Bermuda Triangle. Thirdly, the quest to retrieve the magic item that can save camp (the Golden Fleece) is given to another hero, Clarisse, whom Percy does not get along with. Percy then has to decide to break all the rules and risk being expelled from camp for life to protect his friends.

(If you want to know about the first book in this series check out the review below this one.)

One thing I really loved about the second installment of this series was the added character Tyson. I can't say too much without ruining the story but he is amazing and he really developed the story for me! I love how fast-paced this series is and also how it makes you want to read and learn as much as possible about Greek Mythology. Even some of the most obscure Greek myths that I've never heard of (I had to do some research about them) were woven into this story and I thought that was SO cool. A lot of children/YA authors tackle Greek Mythology but they never do it like this. They always focus on the most common Greek myths and just reiterate what we already know. Riordan really did his research and he teaches the reader so much about mythology. I also really loved how this book seemed to focus more on family, and the bonds of family. I think that's a really good lesson for children, and the are the target readers.

Cons: The only con in this book is actually the exact same as it was for the first book; the predictability. I don't think the predictability affected how much I enjoyed the story at all and I don't think children (the target readers) would even pick up on it.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!
Avg. Rating: 4.17 out of 5 stars!

One word summary: Family
Recommended: Fans of Harry Potter, reluctant young readers, anyone.

*I wanted to point out that this book has also been made into a movie, as was the first. I haven't seen them yet but once I do I will be doing a post comparing/contrasting them and given my opinions. Look for that in the future! :)*