Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5 stars
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Mythology
Trigger warnings: violence, death
“Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction — Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.” (Summary of the first book, The Lightning Thief)
In response to the announcement for a Disney+ series, and also for nostalgia’s sake, I decided to reread Percy Jackson and the Olympians! It’s been a while since I’ve read any of Rick Riordan’s books and I plan to also reread The Heroes of Olympus and start The Trials of Apollo. I don’t read any middle grade books anymore but this series has such a big place in my heart because it’s the series that got me into reading in the first place! I absolutely adore all the characters and the themes throughout this series (and those after it as well). I decided that I wouldn’t focus much on Riordan’s writing style (since it’s written for middle grade readers) and rather focus on the characters, their development and interactions with one another, and themes present.
Overall, I really enjoyed this series! It isn’t perfect: the pacing is fast, fight scenes are quick, and the plot at some points are there for the sake of adding more Greek mythology elements. But as a middle grade series, PJO does well in creating great characters with good character arcs and development as well as an interesting, yet informative, plot. If I were to consider the writing, I would bring the series down to a 3.5 stars since the writing is something that you can get through quickly and gloss over at times.
But I really love this series for the characters and the themes present. Reading this series a second time brought back a lot of nostalgia and love for characters that I honestly haven’t thought about in a long time. I would do anything for Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase’s happiness I love them a lot and they are such great characters! I also really love Thalia, Grover, and Nico!! Riordan does his best to make the characters multidimensional and diverse, and I give him credit for that effort. I also love how Riordan handled Luke’s character and his backstory as Luke was a very complicated antagonist. I didn’t dislike him as much as I did when I first read it, and I was much more understanding of the circumstances that led him down the path he took (also idk..times have changed..i find villains more interesting now so..). I also really appreciate the moments where characters delve on identity, friendship, family, love, morals, loyalty, and revenge. I think this series explores these themes pretty well for middle grade audiences.
I’m really glad I reread this series as it has brought me some happiness and escape after reading some pretty sad books last month :’) I will now write my thoughts of each of the books in PJO, along with their ratings, but with spoilers!*
*the following are in no way formal reviews of these books. i am mainly rambling sharing my thoughts on the characters and plot, with the occasional screaming/fangirling.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The Lightning Thief
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.25 stars for a Good Time
“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”
I forgot how young Percy and everyone else are when this series starts? Percy is 12 and he’s out there with other kids on a quest and fighting monsters?? When I was 12 I literally did nothing except read books and go to school lmao. I wonder how no adult thought it was weird to see three kids by themselves in the various places they went… But then again, it’s a fantasy series, and anything can happen in a fantasy series. I forgot a lot of things about this book and I can’t believe I forgot how funny Percy is 😭😭😭 He truly is a comedic legend!! Also, Percy sending the Olympians Medusa’s head? At age 12? He never ceases to amaze me.
The plot in this book was pretty good and we were able to learn much about the characters! If you consider it, these characters have A LOT of emotional maturity for their age that it doesn’t really make sense sometimes (but then you remember that this is a middle grade series, so it ends up working). One aspect of this book I liked was how Percy got mad at the gods for making their children fight their battles for them, despite these gods being absent in most of their children’s lives. It’s a very valid thought that is important to not just understanding Luke’s (and other demigods who sided with Kronos) backstory, but making sure the gods aren’t idolized as cool and perfect parents. When you see one of the gods acknowledging their children (like seen with Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse), you tend to forget how most of these gods never give attention to their children (for the sake of letting them choose their own path and that stuff). I think this aspect did well in showing it’s middle grade audience how flawed these gods are and how they aren’t necessarily likeable.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The Sea of Monsters
Rating: ★★★★☆ 3.75 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.”
I really don’t have that many thoughts on this book since it’s my least favorite out of the series. 😕 I feel like this book is like a filler lmao since it’s just ‘yay another quest time to save camp’ and mainly introduces Tyson and helps develop Percy and Annabeth (unless there were some important plot points I forgot about...whoops). Oh, and it brings the Golden Fleece into the equation, which saves a pretty important character at the end, but that’s about it? The overall quest itself was rushed and a little lackluster. Though I did appreciate how Percy grew to accept Tyson as his half-brother! Cute stuff.
The only real thought I have is my reaction to one of the scenes where Annabeth kisses Percy good luck (?I think): “SHE KISSETH….ON HIS CHEEK…..TRUE LOVE.” And that’s about it :’)
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The Titan’s Curse
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.25 stars
“ ‘I can see the stars again, my lady.’ ”
The plot in this book is so much better than the last! I definitely think it’s more action packed and develops well towards the prophecy. It gives way to main new characters: Thalia, Bianca, and the Hunters of Artemis. I enjoyed seeing Thalia’s character develop as well as her relationship with Percy and Annabeth. It was kind of a bummer that we didn’t get that much more of Thalia and her past with Luke and Annabeth before she became a Huntress (but it’s pretty minor since we do see more of her in the other books). I also didn’t really care for Bianca that much since she dies around the middle of the book? And she also kind of abandons Nico :((
Speaking of Nico di Angelo, I would die for him. My precious son!! baby boy
He was so pure and naive and his love for Mythomagic and ahhhhhh I love him so much :(( I just want him to be happy but he was not happy in this book!! It takes forever (basically the next series) for him to be happy ugh.
This book is also the one that has all the ‘dam’ jokes...I remember thinking it was so funny and it still is but like.. There’s less of an effect now? One of my favorite parts about this scene is how when they got to the Hoover Dam, Grover, Percy, and Thalia spouted out facts about it because of Annabeth :’) It hurt but it was also nice.
This book also screamed Percabeth since both Percy and Annabeth held up the sky!! And they now have matching grey streaks in their hair from it!! This book was also pretty good in terms of Percy’s developing feelings for Annabeth since she is “dead” for most of it :) Nothing beats realizing you love someone once you lose them haha :)
“To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world.”
One last thought about this book is about Percy’s fatal flaw! The fact that Percy’s fatal flaw is his love and loyalty towards his friends and family says so much about his character and how good of a person he is. Percy Jackson is really the only valid male book character and that’s that.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5 stars
“People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed.”
This is my second favorite book of the series! The plot and development in this book is *chef’s kiss*. Compared to HoO, I like the pacing in this series a little more, especially when you consider the “final boss” fight. I like how Kronos rose in this book and how the next (and last book) of the series will cover the demigods as they prepare for and fight in the Final Battle! I also think the character development in this book is one of the best in the series. This book did really well in displaying Percy’s fatal flaw. We see it when he is at Calypso’s island, wanting to stay but realizing he needs to go back for his friends. We see it later when he stays behind to find Grover and Tyson in the Labyrinth. We also see it when he fights that one dude (sorry, I forgot their name) in the Labyrinth to save his friends. Riordan shows exactly how Percy is very self-sacrificing when it comes to his friends as he would do anything to make sure they are okay and safe.
We also see Percy’s relationship with Grover and Tyson develop as we see his trust and loyalty to them in the Labyrinth. I also enjoyed his relationship development with Nico. While Nico ends up leaving Camp Half Blood, his talk and Bianca helped him forgive Percy and move forward (kind of).
The Percabeth in this book?? God tier. The slight angst and jealousy due to Rachel? Their hugs? Annabeth kissing Percy good luck? “I was glad to be with her, but it also kind of hurt, and it hurt when I wasn’t with her, too”??? There were so many good Percabeth moments in this book and it was fundamental to their relationship development and the eventual realization of their feelings for one another (well, mainly Percy’s feelings bc our boy can be dense as hell sometimes)!!! As you can tell, Percabeth owns my heart.
One (slightly more serious) commentary I have is on the Battle of Camp Half Blood. When I look back at it, it’s kind of insane how most of these campers are 12-18 year-olds. They’re literally children fighting and dying in a war to prevent the end of the gods and Western civilization. They are killing monsters, and sometimes even other demigods, and seeing others die around them. It’s pretty damn traumatizing and it’s really horrible how the gods make their children fight wars for them.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The Last Olympian
Rating: ★★★★★ 4.75 stars
“You’re the greatest heroes of this millennium. It doesn’t matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, and we will win.”
My most favorite book of this series! The plot, the characters, the development, the themes are on another level compared to the other books. This book is probably the most well paced one in the series since there are multiple battles that buildup to the Final Battle. I really loved the moments that came before the battle, where we learn about Luke’s past and Percy takes a dip into the River Styx. I was pretty sad when reading about Nico and Percy’s visit to May Castellan since she was driven crazy from trying to take in the Oracle. Luke grew up traumatized by his mother and absent father, and when he learned who his father really is, it made him resentful of the gods. I love how Riordan gave us his backstory because it explained how traumatized and pained Luke was and how it caused him to be disillusioned and influenced by Kronos. Riordan didn’t portray Luke as just an antagonist that just wanted to destroy Olympus; he gave us an antagonist that we could understand and sympathize with. It was so tragic how Luke had to kill himself in the end to defeat Kronos and by the end of the book I was just :(( there is an alternate universe out there where luke is happy :(( please
I also enjoyed how most characters had their time to shine in this book, such as Clarisse, Rachel, Grover, Nico, and the Hunters. It didn’t really feel like some characters were pushed aside to make room for others, since they were all fighting in the war and doing what they could to defeat Kronos.
“The world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive.”
Percabeth in this book was *clenches fist* amazing. Beautiful. Wonderful. Out of this world. Percy thinking about Annabeth when he’s in the River Styx? Percabeth fighting side by side, having each other’s backs? Annabeth taking a knife for Percy when his Achilles spot was about to get hit? Percy rejecting immortality for his friends (and also Annabeth)? 😭😭😭😭 There were many lovely Percabeth moments that showed how much these two cared for each other and would do anything to keep each other safe :’) All in the face of war haha :) Also the underwater kiss is the most legendary scene ever there is nothing else like it!!
Overall, this book was a really great way to end a series and hint at the upcoming one (HoO). The plot, character development, and themes throughout this last book went above and beyond compared to the previous books in the series!
- lian
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