Percy Jackson and the Olympians, series by Rick Riordian

 

The Lightning Thief

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan's Curse

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Last Olympian

These are good, clean, educational, and instructive fun! The books in this series are children's books (as opposed to young adult) so they are written with simpler vocabulary, but they are fabulously funny, teach loads of accurate information about the ancient Greek gods, and engage the reader with the turn of every page.

The hilarious dialogue and commentary is so witty as to keep a reader engaged just for the sake of the wit. While I laughed a lot, I also felt the weight of the problems, and allowed tears to stream unchecked down my face when a traitor-turned-savior is honored at his death (by Percy, in front of the gods).

I admire Riordian's writing style - he is able to relieve tension while maintaining awareness of the dire circumstances. He weaves things through his books forwards and backwards, causing things the reader learned in prior chapters to be remembered and fall into their perfect places later. Riordian is a master puzzle-worker, weaving continuing themes and places through all five books.

I did find a few inaccuracies, for example, all the cars in New York are stopped mid-drive. On one page, three white vans pull away from the curb and drive through the sleeping city without a problem. Three pages later (none of the cars have moved) the streets are too crowded to drive a car through, and the main characters have to take a motor-scooter. There are three or four similar inaccuracies where I just had to suspend my disbelief. On another note: Percy intentionally aggravates many different personages to get their attention, which is fine - that's what had to be done - but almost every time he worries that he's 'gone too far.' It got pretty old to hear that over and over, and of course, it was never true.

The main feeling I have coming out of this series is that I am on the same platform as Hercules. One of my parents could have been a god, and if so, I have the ability to slay a hydra, enter and leave the underworld, and sail through monster-filled seas, along with going on my own quests and battling things Hercules didn't even see. In short, I could be Percy Jackson or one of his friends and save the world. Suddenly average kids are brought to the level of Hercules and the other heros, and they find out they're not-so-average by virtue of their immortal parent. It could apply to anyone, even you!

And why not, when you get to make fabulous friends, (face death at every turn,) save the world, (face death at every turn,) and find your true love?

In addition to all the heroic and supernatural events in the book, Percy simultaneously goes through his mortal life. He faces the challenges of an every-day teenager and learns a lot of valuable life lessons. Even the gods feel pain and shame, long to change the future, and are bound by eternal laws. One of the main take-aways is that we're all just people, in addition to whatever else we are. We exercise more of less authority, have our own strengths and weaknesses, and when we work together and allow change, Great things can happen.