Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade, Action Adventure
Rating: G
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Pages: 557 Pages
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 5*
[Goodreads | Amazon]
Synopsis
Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.
Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.
Quotes
"Coach," Jason pleaded, "they may be friendly. Besides we're trespassing in their house."
"Thank you!" said the old man in the bathrobe. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"
"Let's all put our weapons down," Piper said. "Coach, you first."
Hedge clenched his jaw. "Just one thwack?"
"No," Piper said.
"What about a compromise? I'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I'll apologize."
My Thoughts
So at the time I read this book, I hadn't yet read the Percy Jackson series by the same author. I own all five books in that series, but I stopped reading them after the first one. I can't really say why. I picked up this book on the sole strength of how much I love the books in the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.
Can I just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book? I can't really say that this book is better than the original Percy Jackson series as I haven't read them yet, but in my opinion, this book can hold it's own.
I could not stop giggling when I read this book. The humor in this book, just as it was in the Kane Chronicles, just didn't stop. I am not really sure what it is about the Satyr's that makes them so funny, but it just works. Give that satyr a bit of a complex and a megaphone and the hilarity just doesn't stop.
One thing I did appreciate about this book was not only the introduction of new characters, but the fact that each chapter or two was told from a different viewpoint. I find that with these stories, getting the different view points works very well as each character has their own part to play in the story. The best part of this book and in fact this series, is that not only does it get kids excited to read, but it teaches them quite a lot about mythology and in terms that they can understand.
