The Sea of Monsters
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book #2
By Rick Riordan
ISBN # 9781606860380
Author’s website: http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Annabell

Synopsis:

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don’t stay quiet for long.

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon’s son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

Review:

Percy Jackson returns in the Sea of Monsters in search of the Golden Fleece which can heal the now magical poisoned tree (who used to be a girl) which helps keep Camp Half-Blood safe. The magical boundary keeping the school hidden is weakening every minute and deadly monsters are attempting to infiltrate the camp. Percy and Annabeth set out to locate the Fleece while Grover is still on his quest to find Pan, the Greek god who protects nature. The Fleece is located in the Bermuda Triangle which is also known as the Sea of Monsters. The Oracle sends Clarssie, daughter of Ares to retrieve the Fleece so Percy and Annabeth go along to help (much to Clarssie’s annoyance). But Percy has another reason why he is determined to go with Clarssie: he has been having dreams of Grover being held captive on the island of Sea of Monsters by a Cyclops who is pretty blind. Percy also gets introduced to another Cyclops named Tyson who tags along with them on their journey. Percy must rescue his best friend and bring the Golden Fleece back to the camp before the tree dies and the camp is lost.

Sea of Monsters continues in fast paced writing, wonderfully developed characters, and terrific humor! I loved Tyson; he was so cute and adorable throughout the book. I also really like his link to Percy which was a nice surprise. One of the best parts was the fact that the Cyclops who is holding Grover captive thinks Grover is a girl Cyclops and wants to marry him!

The books in the series help to educate those who don’t know very much about Greek mythology or the Greek gods so you don’t have to read up on them to understand the stories behind the characters as well as their ties to each other. I also like how, like the first one, the book teaches a moral lesson. Friendship, loyalty, truth, right and wrong are all prevalent themes throughout each book.

Favorite Scenes/Parts:

–Percy attacked by monsters when playing dodge ball

–Chariot race between Percy and Clarisse

–New character: Tyson who turns out to be CLOSELY connected to Percy

–Cylops Polypehemus who is practically blind and wants to marry Grover

–Readers learn about the story behind Kronos

–Luke returns as the villain in this book and more is revealed in his connection to what is happening at Camp Half-Blood

–Percy sending an Iris message to the Camp Director

–What happens after the Golden Fleece heals the tree! (Nice twist!)

–Circe who runs a health spa and shows men their true selves then keeps them captive by turning them into guinea pigs because she “thinks they are cuter” than pigs.

Fun quote: “A guy in Greek armor drew his sword and charged, but slipped in a puddle of pina colada.”