Independent Novel
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters
Rick Riordan
Widely known for writing the first book of the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series of five books, "The Lightning Thief"
Plot of "The Sea of Monsters"
When the tree at Camp Half Blood gets poisoned and can no longer keep the camp protected from outside threats, Percy must find the Golden Fleece to restore the tree back to health. During his journey, Percy and company has to travel into the Sea of Monsters, where they discover Luke - the demigod of Hermes (the messenger god) - poisoned the tree in hopes of destroying the camp. As new friends fight old ones, Percy defeats the wicked god, Polyphemus, retrieve the Golden Fleece, and save Grover (a satyr). Once the fleece is placed onto the tree, it works its magic and restores Thalia's life, revealing that the foliage was names Thalia's Tree for a reason.
Least Favorite Part
In the beginning of the book, Percy befriends the new gentle giant of his school - Tyson. Watching how he is treated for how he is tormented for being different; strong, but sweet - not putting his natural gifts for bad deeds. Being bullied and picked on is something in no fan of, but there's no denying that it happens in the world. However, Riordan made it all better when readers found out that Tyson is a cyclops, with burley strength, fireproof skin, and can hold his own in a deadly game of dodgeball with killer giants who tried to kill Percy in his own middle school.
Best Character
It's hard not to like Percy as a character; the demigod of Poseidon, close friends with diverse characters, and over coming great obstacles - all I can do with him is relate! I find myself with many groups of friends, most often they don't like one another - although its their opinion, so I can't do much about that, while I also have challenges each day, big and small. And he has a hard time giving up once his eyes are set on a goal - history isn't changed or even altered with quitters, its made different by people who see a problem with the world, and they stop at nothing to get closer to thaier goal of making a better change.
Theme
The main theme of this story is the classic Good vs. Evil, those with the will of defending the innocent and fighting for a cause bigger than themselves, pit against those who want to take something for themselves/their cause and avoid the consequences by justifying themselves as the bigger, badder dog - as both want to see the other defeated and no longer a threat. sometimes being stubborn, even the good guys get aggravated, "'I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!' Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered." (155 Riordan). But sometimes, the battle is internal; when the heroes have a mistake or failure, it's hard to admit it, often times from thinking they were better than their opponent. "That was my mistake" (194 Riordan). Percy, admitting his failures to not only learn from this experience, but to hopefully avenge himself at the same time.