Percy Jackson And The Sea Of Monsters

The second book in the series and probably my favourite (so far). There was a lot of character development moving on from the first book, and a few new characters were introduced too. The quest in this one was, in my opinion, a more interesting one and I liked the fact that there were more in-depth interactions with the monsters.

Tyson was definitely my favourite character. As a cyclops, many people (including Annabeth), were wary of him, but in the end, he saved Percy and the others, multiple times. Although he was doubted, people did start to trust him later on in the story, which I really liked because after years of neglect and feeling out of place wherever he went, he finally got to feel like he belonged somewhere. I also thought that his addition was good for Percy because he felt lonely being the only claimed son of Poseidon, but they both gained a friend and a brother through this.

I think that the storyline of Grover being stuck in the lair of Polyphemus was a good one as it introduced many new monsters from Greek mythology, which was very interesting. Such as Annabeth being drawn toward the sirens. Through this more was learnt about Annabeth and her ambitions & flaws. Grover was also seen in more detail when his dedication to his faith was shown as being so strong. This, in a way, is helpful for younger people who aren't quite confident in what they believe, as having someone to look up to, even if fictional, who stands for their strong beliefs, can drive them to keep them, despite what others say.

Percy became a much better character throughout this book. I loved that he went from being quite hostile with Tyson when he found out they were related, to being an exceptional friend. He really became a better person and friend in this book, especially when he and Clarisse came to an agreement about her taking the glory for the quest, rather than him.

I would say that this book is just as good as the last, and maybe even better. So far, Rick Riordan has not disappointed, and I look forward to reading the next books and seeing their progression as the characters become closer and learn more.

★★★★★