Review: “The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson, Book Two)”~ Rick Riordan 
To date: Percy Jackson has discovered that he is not actually a failure at life, but a son of Poseidon. He also helped avoid a war between the gods by going on a quest across the US and encountering some mythical monsters along the way. Roadtrip + Monsters = WIN.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of the series, once I got past the initial similarity to Harry Potter, and moved right on to the second book.
TxtingMrDarcy Notes Version: Percy has gone back to another private school, and made it through the ENTIRE year before an encounter with some Lastrygonians and a game of exploding dodgeball gets him expelled again. He escapes the situation with the help of Annabeth, his cohort from the first book and a new friend Tyson, who is a “charity case” for the school and homeless.
As the story unfolds, Percy starts having dreams that Grover is in danger- he has been kidnapped by the evil Cyclops Polyphemus (of Odysseus’ lore) and is being held captive on an island in the Sea of Monsters (aka the Bermuda Triangle).
Add to the mix that someone has poisoned Thalia, a girl that was transformed into a tree by her father, Zeus, to protect her from monsters, and she in turn protects Camp Half Blood.
Percy and Annabeth must set out on another quest, this time with the help of Tyson (who is *spoiler!* another son of Poseidon and a Cyclops) to rescue Grover, and retrieve the Golden Fleece, which may be their only chance of saving Camp Half Blood.
There are some run-ins with a partying group of centaurs, a malevolent cruise ship captained by their former fellow student Luke, and more monsters including Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, and Circe (who is now turning men into Guinea pigs, instead of the regular type).
Verdict: This book was an even faster read than the first, and I’m definitely enjoying seeing how Percy’s story unfolds. Will his heroic luck hold out? How will he be able to stop Luke and his dastardly plan? Will he and Annabeth ever… ya know… make out or something?! And what role will the return of a certain someone at the end of the book play in the next books?
Perhaps if I am a very good Brooke this weekend, Army Boy may let me get the next books. Part of me wants to enjoy them slowly, while part wants to speed ahead and finish the series.
For NOW, though, I’m doing a 180 and reading some Margaret Atwood, to remind myself that I can handle adult lit
Txting Mr Darcy 