The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2) by Rick Riordan * * * *

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The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)
I think I found this book more interesting than the previous one for some reason. Maybe because there were less explanations needed.
I also watched the movie, the review for that I'll post on my general reviews page.

I talked about the world in my review of the previous book. This time it gets a bit more expanded, but not a lot. The story is mostly a modern version of the Odyssey, with some modern twists and Percy's friends added in. I did love the modern changes this time as much as I did previously. The whole story seemed to pick up its stride. One thing I have to mention that I loved a lot was the Ironclad. It's a piece of history that I love, and even did a presentation on in high school. I was excited about mentally travelling on it.

Percy was slowly coming to his own. He's only thirteen still, but feels more confident, and more of a leader. He had matured during his previous adventure.

Annabeth was a more prominent character in this story. She was more in the background in the previous book, but she worked more closely with Percy this time. They needed some time to get to know each other, which is very realistic. Her knowledge and quick thinking were more memorable. I hope this will go along this vein in the future.

Tyson was a new character that we got to know. Without spoiling who he was, I liked his character. He was a bit simple, but sweet. At first I felt that he was just a neat plot device, but thinking more about it, I realised that he played a role in Percy's character growth, and a bit in Annabeth's as well.

Clarisse made a return in the story. In the previous books she was a bit of the classic school bully. This time, however, she was a lot more likable, and stepped out of her two dimensions.

Overall, great sequel, which is hard to do. The story sweeps you along, and you forget that this was supposedly for kids. So, sorry, but I have to go. I have book 3 to start...

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