The Sea of Monsters: A Book Review

Title: The Sea of Monsters

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: Fantasy Adventure

Reading Level: 11 and up

Summary:When Thalia’s tree is mysteriously poisoned, the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail. Now Percy and his friends have just days to find the only magic item powerful to save the camp before it is overrun by monsters. The catch: they must sail into the Sea of Monsters to find it. Along the way, Percy must stage a daring rescue operation to save his old friend Grover, and he learns a terrible secret about his own family, which makes him question whether being the son of Poseidon is an honor or a curse.

My Review: I was really excited to get back to Percy and his crazy demi-god friends. I heard that this one was a little slow, but I am here to tell you this is just not so. This adventure was just as fun as the first, I particularly liked it because it made so many references to the Odyssey which I read (abridged of course) in the 8th grade. I love looking up the real stories to all the creatures and gods mentioned in this series. It's really becoming a favorite of mine. I think even though the characters are demi-gods and have special powers you can still relate to them. Percy's feelings of isolation from his father, and learning to cope with a new younger brother named Tyson a cyclopes, Annabeth's longings to bring her parents back together, and Clarisse evergiong quest to make her temperamental father Ares proud of her. The writing is funny, and clever, there's a lot of action with a couple touching moments in between. Just like the first. So if you did read The Lightning Thief don't hesitate to pick up The Sea of Monsters next.
Content: Violence and some scary situations
Rating: 4 big star out of 5
Recommend: Of course!

Upcoming Reviews: Barnaby Grimes: The Return of the Emerald Skull by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell