Review: "The Lost Hero: Heroes of Olympus #1"

The Lost Hero: Heroes of Olympus #1 by Rick Riordan
3 out of 5 stars

Camp Half-Blood is back with a new class, but it's infinitely better than the Saved by the Bell new class lol. I wouldn't say you must read the Percy Jackson books first before this series, but it would definitely help. Plus, they're good books. :) The Lost Hero starts off a new series, but luckily, we get some of our favorite characters back. Jason, Piper, and Leo are the new kids and they've each had their own troubles that have led them to Camp Half-Blood. Jason's are by far the worst, since he can't remember anything about himself or his life, but knows he's involved in something big and bad. The "Lost Hero" of the title refers to both Jason and Mister Percy Jackson, who has gone missing.

The action moves quickly in this book, especially once they reach camp. Hera, the Queen of Gods, has somehow been imprisoned and it's linked to the three new kids. They are given a prophecy and set out on a quest to save the Goddess, along with Piper's dad and Jason's memory and maybe Percy Jackson? There's lots of adventures along the way and a metal dragon. The dragon is so cool, as cool as Mrs O'Leary, the Hell Hound. We also get mean Cyclops, ice Gods, satyrs, long-dead and forgotten Gods & Goddesses like Medea and King Midas, and more.

It's interesting to read about the Greek Gods and myths again, but it does get a little overwhelming at times, especially when they start throwing in the Roman names too. I said this before, but I could definitely use a Greek mythology handbook (besides the glossary in the back) to read along with these series lol. The "Big Bad" at the end felt a little forced to me, but overall I really enjoyed this beginning and am looking forward to reading the next. Especially with the big cliff-hanger at the end. Lucky for me, I just downloaded the 2nd book onto my shiny new Kindle. :)

Review: "Percy Jackson & The Olympians" Series Books 1-5

Percy Jackson & The Olympians Series by Rick Riordan
3.4 out of 5 stars averaged

I read all 5 of these on the OverDrive app on my iPhone. I love that app, especially when I finally run out of books in my to-read pile and don't have any money for new ones lol (probably around August this year)...you can check out books from your library and read them on your phone. My library has quite a good selection, so I was pretty happy with it. Okay, I'm done advertising. :) (Oh and I was not paid or given this app for free or anything!)

I wasn't sure if I would even finish this whole series, especially after the second book. I'm really glad I did though and I might even go buy them eventually so I can have them. The first book, The Lightning Thief, starts out with a pretty good premise. Percy Jackson is a 6th grader with dyslexia and ADHD about to get kicked out of another school for mysterious fights and trouble that no one can explain. Until he is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finds out he is really a demigod: half-human, half-immortal.

That's when things start to get really crazy. His dad is Poseidon, Greek God of the sea. There's a prophecy about Percy that may result in the end of the world. And he has to go on a quest with a satyr (half goat boy) and a daughter of Athena (Goddess of wisdom) to the Underworld to help prevent a war between the Gods. And that's just book 1.

I know a lot of people have compared this series to Harry Potter and while I agree that it "feels" the same in some cases, it is definitely a different story. This would be a great series for younger kids and especially ones who love adventure. I think it would be a great way to get them interested in Greek mythology for sure. Although, I think a companion guide to Greek mythology would have been useful...I had a hard time keeping them all straight and I (used to) know a lot about the Gods and Goddesses.

Consider yourself spoiled for anything past this point if you haven't read these books and still want to! :)

The second book, The Sea of Monsters, just wasn't as great to me and almost turned me off the rest of the series. It didn't seem to have as much story and adventure like the first one. I did love Tyson though, Percy's cyclops half-brother.

The Titan's Curse starts to get a little better and there are some more new characters, including Nico (son of Hades) and Rachel Elizabeth Dare (a human who can see through the "Mist" and later has a much bigger part).

One of the things I really liked about this series is that it, like Harry Potter, grew with its readers. I can see an 8-9 year old kid (especially a boy) reading the first book with his parents and then progressing with each as he gets older. Riordan did a good job of keeping it age appropriate and the humor and relationships grow with the series.

The Battle of the Labyrinth starts off with some vampire cheerleaders, so you know it's going to be good. :) The quest this time takes them into Daedalus' Labyrinth where they run into lots of crazy/fun characters, including the Sphinx, God of the wild Pan and a giant Hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary. There is plenty of action in this one and one of my favorites, which leads us to the last one...

The Last Olympian takes place in New York City and brings the prophecy told way back in book 1 to its end, but maybe not in a way you expect. I really love the cover of this one (that's one problem with reading eBooks, you don't get to enjoy the covers). Mount Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building and Kronos (the bad guy throughout the series) is advancing to take it over. He's also set up a little side project for the Gods in the name of Typhon, a scary dude rumbling across the United States (causing earthquakes, tornadoes and all kinds of destruction). With Mount Olympus unguarded, it's up to the Camp Half-Blood kids to take over and protect it. Lots and lots of action plus a little romance even in the last book.

And in the end, you get a setup for Riordan's next Camp Half-Blood series, Heroes of Olympus. I'm actually pretty excited to continue reading these! :)