'Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters'

I mentioned a few posts ago that I had borrowed the book 'The Host' by Stephenie Meyer, and at the same time I borrowed 'Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters'. Well, I got through 'The Host' in no time flat (the first week I had borrowed it - after not really getting into it for the first two or three days), and, finally, I read and finished 'Percy Jackson'. Thank goodness for school holidays.

This 'Percy Jackson' is a continuation of the original story - in that he is fighting against the same people who wish to use him and see him fail in the first novel. However, it is, also, a stand-alone novel enough for anyone who hasn't read the first novel to be able to pick it up and read it seperately and understand what is happening. There are only one or two slight references to the first novel, and anything that needs to be explained is, but not in a boring "This is Quidditch - for the 6th time" manner that you get with 'Harry Potter'. Maybe by the final book in this series it could be like that, but at the moment, it's all good.

The story has you wondering what is going to happen from the moment you open to the chapter listing. This is one of the good things about Rick Riordan's chapter titles - they are written for kids to have a laugh over. You are always wondering what is going to happen in the chapter because of the title. Many times, also, the chapters just keep flowing on, one from the other, with no time gap between. One good thing, though, is that there are plenty of spacings within the chapters, or time gaps, so that when you need to put the book down to do something (like sleep, in my case sometimes), you can read to this minor ending within the chapter, and be able to follow the story easily from there onwards when you come back to it.

The story itself is very easy to follow. You know who most of the bad guys are, from the first novel. You know that Percy will have to come up and face these bad guys over and over, from the end of the first novel, but you aren't always sure how, where, and what with in this novel. Some of the classic moments occur when there are cyclopses about - including Percy's brother. Oops...did I just put a spoiler in? Nah, you would find out soon enough, anyway, if you read the book. Perhaps the most hilarious moment in the book for me was when the centaurs came to the rescue - but I won't go into detail about that, at all, for that would spoil it.

All in all, Rick Riordan has produced another fun, witty, and full of hilarious situations story that any kid would love to read. There are, also, a couple of messages - or more - in the story that kids may or may not pick up on: courage in yourself, as well as in others, as well as being there for others no matter what, are just two of which I can think.

It is worth while reading, and a good veg at the same time. And, once again, you can learn a little about the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece at the same time.

'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief'

This is a book that I've come across recently due to some kids I teach. We post on a blog some ideas that we would like to learn about, and me reading this book (because I had never heard of it) was something the kids were wild for me to try. We (the class) have just started learning about ancient Greece, hence why the students suggested the novel. I decided to put it to the test about a week after the suggestion...

So far, so good. I'm about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through the novel, and am enjoying it. It's aimed at the pre/early-teens audience, but I can understand why the kids were wanting me to read it. It's got a lot of humour in it that can appeal to older readers as well.

The main idea about the story is that Percy is the son of a Greek god. I won't give away whom. It becomes obvious fairly early on in the story, anyway. The really great thing about the novel is that there are a lot of ancient Greek mythology references throughout it. This is something I've never really been able to remember so well - which god or goddess was responsible for what thing in life, and what deeds they had done/performed/achieved. Through this novel, the reader can find out a lot of things about the Greek gods/goddesses and actually remember what they did due to the situations in the novel that Percy is placed - if one is wanting to use the novel as a way of remembering things. Very helpful.

One last thing: Rick Riordan (the author) has done a very good job at honing in on the charcteristics and jargon of kids. Probably due to having children himself, but he does it well, nonetheless.

Anyway, here is a link about the books if you are interested. Enjoy.

UPDATE: I finished the book today. It ended well. I guessed who would be the 'chief' bad guy, as well as who was the minion, and it is well done how the book ends with you knowing that there is a sequel. I mean, I know there are three more books in the series so far. It's just that, the book is written for a sequel to easily occur - for the author to be able to write.

Anyway, it is a good read. Enjoyable. Nothing mindbending. And, it does teach you well for the Greek gods and goddesses.