The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”

 The thing about the first two Percy Jackson books is, and this is totally my take on them, that they’re more careless and funny than the ones which come after. I think it might have to do with the fact that in these two the characters are still very young and haven’t yet experienced the most difficult trials that await them; it’s kind of a similar feeling I get from the first three book in other similar middle-grade series such as Harry Potter.

 Having stated that, I can only say I really loved this book. It has the same funny ancient Greek and popular culture clash that made the first one so unique, the same bad puns and rambling internal monologue that is Percy’s mind, and while it manages to maintain the charm of the previous book it also includes new characters and expands the demigods’ world in such an effortless and funny way.

 It turned out to be a very quick read for me this second time around, again I fell in love with the same old character and the new ones, and like all other books on this series it didn’t fail to bring a smile to my face most of the time I was reading.

 I don’t want to say much else, the truth is when I first read this book, back in my high school years I didn’t know much about the plot and it suited me fine, I just didn’t care beyond the fact that it was a sequel and I needed to know what happened to everyone. I hope it’s enough for you too, but if you have read The Lightning Thief and enjoyed it then I guess I don’t need to convince you.

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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, etcetera. The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!”

 I literally don't know where to start, you know how there are some books that just bring a smile to your face whenever you pick them up? Well these Percy Jackson and The Olympians' books are the biggest smile conjurers in my bookshelves. I hold them specially close to my heart.

 Almost everyone knows the story, whether it's because you've watched the movies (which are terrible, I recommend you drop them right now and pick up the books) or you've heard about these books, or like me, you've already read them. But in case you don't, this is basically it: Percy Jackson doesn't do well at school, he has a hard time concentrating and his dyslexia makes reading for him very hard, on top of that his mother is married to a douchebag and they don't have much money. What he doesn't know is that he is really a Half-Blood, as in half greek god, half human. His real father is Poseidon and a lot of things are about to change for him.

“He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!”

 I can't point a single thing and name it what I love the most about these books, sometimes it's the characters or the writing style, sometimes it's the hilarious way in which Riodan merges greek mythology with pop culture and sometimes it's the aesthetic. It has some clichés, and I'll admit the first time I read the summary I thought it looked suspiciously similar to Harry Potter. But it's a diferent experience entirely, even though they deal with similar themes.

 I don't want to spoil anything, I can only say, that I loved these books as when I was little and I love them now, I just can't recommend them enough, if you have kids, if you're a kid, if you were a kid you should read them, you won't regret it.

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