Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

After a year away from Camp Half-Blood, Percy hasn't changed much. He's in another school, and ready to be kicked out. And he even has a new friend, Tyson, a large hairy kid who is big but something of a crybaby, so Percy looks after and befriends him.

When the kids at his new school attempt to kill Percy with a gang of cannibal giants during a game of Dodgeball, Tyson comes to Percy's rescue, killing one of them, and in the process, blowing up the school gymnasium.

But when Annabeth shows up, they run back to camp where they find that someone has poisoned the tree that guards the body of Thalia, daughter of Zeus, nearly killed years ago on her way into the camp with Annabeth, Grover and Luke. Luke has now defected from the side of the Gods into the enemy camp of Kronos the Titan, pitting him in opposition to every halfblood in camp. When Annabeth lets Tyson into the camp with them, they discover that Tyson isn't a human, he's actually a cyclops, who usually work for Hephestus. But they kick out their children until they can take care of themselves, which is why Tyson has been living on the street, only he'll be kicked out of camp unless he's claimed by a God. When Percy asks his Dad for help, Poseidon claims him so that Percy can keep him close by.

He's not a great fit in camp, but he's there when it is revealed that the only cure for Thalia's tree is the golden fleece, which has the power to heal and restore all plant life. But being as Percy has already had his chance for adventure, the adventure and quest goes to Clarisse, a Half Blood daughter of Ares.

At the end of the last book, Grover got his chance to go out and find the God Pan, who has been missing for over 1000 years. Percy has been dreaming about Grover in a wedding dress, and the Cyclops who is pressing marriage on him. But when he dreams that this Cyclops also has the Golden Fleece, it's up to Percy, Annabeth, and his new friend Tyson to somehow find their way to the Sea of Monsters, now located in the Bermuda Triangle, and retrieve the fleece so that the circle of power keeping the camp safe won't fall, and the half-bloods will not be slain by monsters.

To get to the Sea of Monsters, they find themselves boarding a boat called the Princess Andromeda, where Luke is the master, but he is serving Kronos. He has a golden coffin on board where Kronos' body is slowly being regenerated. But when they discover that their mission to retrieve the fleece is nothing more than a trap by Luke, will they abandon their quest? Or will they continue to get back Grover? To get into the Sea, they have to get by Scylla and Charibdis, and they'll need Clarisse's help to do that. But how will they find Grover and get the fleece before the Cyclops twigs to the fact that Grover isn't a female Cyclops wanting to marry him? And once they have the fleece, how do they keep it out of Luke's hands?

This second expedition into the world of the Greek Myths is just as exciting and interesting as the first, except that now, Percy knows he can trust Annabeth. Grover might not be there physically, but his presence in Percy's dreams ensures that he's also not out of mind, even if he's usually out of sight.

The adventure is a mix of action and terror. Percy may not be the world's greatest thinker, but he's loyal, and he keeps discovering new advantages that his parentage gives him, from not needing to breathe underwater (and remaining unsoaked when he falls into a river/stream/ocean) to knowing exactly where he is on the ocean at all times, like a GPS navigation system. He definitely has the chops, bravery included, to be the kind of hero kids like.

I like this series, and I'm sure kids would like it, too. While they might not be as up on the Greek Myths as Percy himself, this is an exciting and empowering world for kids to inhabit, and a damn fun one, to boot. Highly recommended.