بحر الوحوش

 This month you will read a:1 ~ book with a character who does something wild.2 ~ book with a character who does something you've always wanted to do, but haven't.3 ~ book with a character who dares to be different.4 ~ book with a character who defies orders. Percy can pretty much always be counted on to defy orders.  Spoilers for the first book in the series will follow. This is an excellent continuation to the series I have kind of fallen in love with. Sending everyone out on an adventure was a great way for them to all bond, and for the new characters to really come into their own. I thought I was going to miss Camp Halfblood, but we got just enough of it for me to be ready to set off when the plot demanded.  Tyson is wonderful. I liked the way he and Percy's relationship was handled, and how realistic it seemed (well, as realistic as it can seem, given, you know, everything about this series) as well as just his character in general. I was not really expecting him and he turned out to be a pleasant surprise and a nice addition to the cast. On some level, he takes the place of Grover for this book, who is kind of busy handling things elsewhere. I did miss Grover, though I appreciated the glimpses of him and his own problems that we got throughout, as well as the "classical" feel of his problem, which was somehow both a reference to an old story and also hilarious. Tracking down the golden fleece was, of course, not an easy task, and there were quite a few adventures along the way that are better read than described. Watching the crop of demigods have to rely on each other even when they would really rather not was interesting, and Percy starts to learn a bit more about his father and his powers. This is probably the last bright and cheerful (mostly) adventure the group gets before things starting taking a darker turn, and it was a lot of fun to travel around with them.  

*Reread w/daughter*

The Sea of Monsters, much like the first book; is fast paced, witty and engaging. Riordan continues to successfully blend the sense of adventure with action and mythology.

Whilst I personally didn't enjoy this book the same way I enjoyed the first one, i appreciate the development of the characters and the deepening of the bonds between Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson.