Date Finished: April 7, 2010
Summary: Percy Jackson has just found out that he is the son of a Greek god. After an important item has been stolen from Mt. Olympus, he and his friends, Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, are on a quest to retrieve the missing items. However, monsters are attracted to the smell of Half-Bloods or Demigods, even worse, the trio may have to go to Hades to complete their quest and save the world from the brink of a world war.
Likes: The novel has a certain charm and wit that one wouldn't expect from a middle grade children's novel. Even though it was a middle grade novel, I found myself enjoying it. I'm not "in love" with it, but I want to read the next novels in the series which is ultimately what matters right? I love that the author tied in the Greek "myth" with reality and explained it in a way that actually makes sense and doesn't come off as cliched or contrived, at least for a middle grade novel. I enjoyed the wit of the characters and the writing itself. It didn't read like a middle grade novel in my opinion. I'm sure I would have enjoyed this a lot more as a sixth grader learning about the Greek gods.
Dislikes: I know I'm clearly too old to be reading these novels. I know this would have been a series that I would have adored as a kid, had I been exposed to them at the time. As an adult, I still enjoyed it, but there were some parts that were a little juvenile to me, though I can't point them out. That is no fault to the writer, just that I'm not in the intended age range.
Overall: I enjoyed this book series. I'm interested in seeing how Percy grows up and matures during the years in the next three books. Gosh, if only I had found these books earlier. I'm ashamed to say that the Hercules theme came to mind when I read about Mount Olympus...lol.
