Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters Book Review

The Sea of Monsters Book Review

AUTHOR: Rick Riordan

RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2006

SERIES: Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Book 2)

PAGES: Approx. 279 pages

RATING: 5/5 STARS

If I wasn’t already beginning to fall in love with the world of Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan has sealed the deal in this epic follow-up to The Lightning Thief. I picked up this book and was immediately sitting at the edge of my seat, watching as disaster forces Percy away from his ordinary school back to the safety of Camp Half-blood.

*~*~*~*

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, has never had an easy life. At his new school, being friends with the “school freak” makes him a target for constant ridicule, and when monsters come-a-knocking, who else is to blame for the damage they leave behind? Returning to Camp Half-blood should’ve been a relief – except things have grown more dangerous than before.

Thalia’s pine tree, which has acted as a protective barrier for the camp, has been poisoned, leaving Camp Half-blood vulnerable to attacks. Chiron is fired for the deed, and the new Activities Director is making life at Camp Half-blood miserable for everyone, Percy especially. Were that not enough, upon his return, Percy uncovers a family connection that literally makes being the Son of the Sea God a total joke.

Between the attacks on the camp and struggling to accept his newfound relative, Percy receives troubling dreams from his satyr friend, Grover, who while on his journey to find Pan, discovers the fatal secret behind the disappearances of his satyr brethren. Percy, alongside his friend Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and his new family member, set out away from Camp Half-blood and journey into the Sea of Monsters to rescue Grover from the danger of marriage, and to retrieve the one item that could save Thalia’s tree: the legendary Golden Fleece.

Quite a few times while I was reading, I was trying to figure out what would happen next but as always, most of my predictions were proven wrong. Rick Riordan has brought these characters to life and again astounds readers with his ability to intertwine mythological histories with his own original characters and plot line.

And I’ll say it now: this book’s twist ending was just about the greatest thing that could ever happen!

No one who reads this book for the first time will be disappointed. Instead, they’ll do as I did when I finished that epic last sentence of The Sea of Monsters, and immediately start on the third in Percy Jackson’s adventures.