Author: Rick Riordan 

Publisher: Miramax Books

Age Range: 11+

Summary:

Deadalus’ Labyrinth, the place where the Minotaur was held in Greek stories, is where Percy is heading along with Annabeth, Grover and Tyson. In all of Percy’s adventures so far, he at least had an idea where to go but this time, things were different. There is an entrance to the labyrinth in the camp. Meaning Luke and all other enemies can get into camp via the labyrinth. But nobody can navigate the labyrinth without Ariadne’s string. Daedalus has the string and the quartet must get the string from Daedalus because if it falls in Luke’s hands, then its GAME OVER.

Review:

Daedalus’ labyrinth is designed to drive you crazy. If you thought the LA highway system is bad then the labyrinth is a hundred times worse. Sure, you can go from New York to Alaska in a matter of hours but that is if you don't get lost, or eaten by monsters or don't get driven crazy. Personally, I would rather take a plane.

Now imagine you are a demigod and that you are mostly safe while in camp because of the magical barriers. But you find an entrance to the labyrinth in your camp, meaning that the pit between the boulders, or the doorway to the staff kitchen or anything with the delta ( ∆ ) symbol can lead to a possibly never ending maze. A little bit like an underground sewage system but much worse. So if someone manages to not-go-crazy in that maze, they can get into your camp. What would you do in this case? Get some dynamite and try to blow up the entrance. Well, nice thinking but the labyrinth is magical and sealing the entrance is almost impossible.

This is exactly what happens in Camp-Half Blood. They needed to stop Luke from getting Ariadne’s string, the only thing that can navigate the labyrinth. Getting in the labyrinth is like playing chess with a computer; it's like it knows what's your next move. Aside from that, it is also a home to deadly monsters, some minor gods that could cause major trouble and of course, booby traps. Did I mention that you can't track time in the labyrinth? 

Anyway, despite all this the quartet has to get to Daedalus to stop him from giving the string to Luke. They encounter a lot of strange things (like a skeleton of a milkman), people (Geryon, the dude with three chests and Braries, the hundred handed one with…well, hundred hands) and gods (Hera, Hephaestus, Janus). Their plan is to stick together, however, halfway through they end up splitting. Percy and Annabeth continue looking for Daedalus’ workshop while Tyson and Grover go to look for the god, Pan. Tyson and Grover’s journey is not given in detail but Percy and Annabeth encounter a lot. 

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, is also in the Labyrinth. That eleven year old kid has a lot going on. Trying to bring back his sister from the dead, talking with literal ghosts (he also feeds them McDonalds) and some really bad anger issues. The character from The Titan’s Curse, Rachel Dare, also plays quite an important role in the quest. Percy ends up at Ogygia, an island which no man can find twice. Camp Half-Blood’s new sword master, Quintus’ identity is revealed. And the child of Athena makes the final stand.

“You shall delve in the darkness of an endless maze,

The dead, the traitor, the lost one raise

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king’s hand

The child of Athena’s final stand

Destroy with a hero’s final breath

And lose a love to worse than death”

~Avani Endait

Author: Rick Riordan

Publisher: Miramax Books

Age Range: 11+

Summary:

Two new demigods found in the same school. Hunters of Artemis are at Camp-Half blood. Annabeth is missing, Artemis is missing and there is a quest. But it's not for Percy. AGAIN. But Percy ends up being a part of the quest. AGAIN. The hunters of Artemis and Campers must go on a quest to save Artemis and Annabeth. The problem is that the Hunters do not like the company of men, and the idea of going on a quest with two males doesn't sit right. Will the demigods and hunters get along to save the world? AGAIN

Review: 

First-off, I need to talk about how the ending of Sea of Monsters was extremely unexpected. While reading The Lightning Thief I never even thought that Thalia, the girl who turned into a pine tree, would make a comeback. And you know whats even wild? Thalia is the daughter of Zeus so there is a chance that the great prophecy might end up being about her. Ok, now moving to The Titan’s curse.

The start of the book itself was out of the ordinary because Grover had found 2 demigods. Finding one was rare, so finding two was very thin on the ground. The problem was that there was also a monster. So Percy, Annabeth and Thalia go to his aid, to avoid possibly killing one of them on the way to camp. But the situation gets bad and Annabeth gets captured by the monster. The Hunters of Artemis come to help but by the then the monster already escaped. Artemis needs to go on her own mission to hunt a monster that could possibly destroy Olympus so the Hunters and the demigods go to camp-half blood. 

Chiron is happy to see the new demigods, Nico and Bianca di Angelo, are safe but Annabeth being captured was bad. Bianca decides to join the Hunters of Artemis (becoming immortal unless she dies in battle, remain a maiden forever and lots of other good things) much to her little brother, Nico’s dismay. 

Not long after, a quest is given to Zoe Nightshade (one of the hunters) to save Artemis. Originally the quest has 3 hunters and 2 campers but even before the quest started the lineup changed to 3 campers and 2 hunters; Bianca, Zoe, Thalia, Grover and Percy. Nico asks Percy to protect his sister and Percy reluctantly agrees. But the quest is not easy. 

There are so many turning points in this book, it is enough to drive someone insane. Lots of things wont make sense at the beginning but things fall in sense towards the end.

Bianca faces the most difficult quest of her life. Zoe’s past comes back to her. The sky is kept back on Atlas’s back. Thalia ends up making a choice that results in a change in the meaning of the great prophecy. Only temporarily though, because things start to get even more confusing after Nico’s true identity is reveled.

“Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail

The Titan’s curse one must withstand

And one shall perish by a parents hand”

~Avani Endait

Author: Rick Riordan

Publisher: Miramax Books

Age Range: 11+

Summary:

Percy Jackson is a middle schooler with ADHD and dyslexia. As if attending boarding school in NYC for “troubled kids” wasn't bad enough, Percy realizes that his life is way more complicated when he accidentally vaporizes his math teacher. Then he is attacked by what seems like a half bull-half man, and then a crazy lady from a weird roadside curio shop, then a lion-sized, fire breathing chihuahua and well the list goes on. And guess what? It gets worse because he is accused of stealing something extremely important.

Review: 

This has to be one of the most ultimate series known to mankind. I’m not even kidding when I say that I have read the entire series more than 5-10 times. It's just so good that it's tough to keep it aside once you start reading. The book, or just the entire series, is the peak definition of how to incorporate mythology with adventure and humor. 

Being in middle school itself is a tough thing, trust me, I’ve been there. But imagine going on a trip to a museum only for your least favorite teacher to turn into a fury and attack you. And after you vaporize her with a pen-turned-into-a-sword given by one of the other teachers, everyone just proceeds to say that the teacher never existed. Yeah, that would be enough to drive anyone crazy. But it just gets crazier when Percy finds out he is the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of Sea. 

Finding out that you are the child of a Greek God and that there are multiple other kids who have Greek Gods as their mom or dad isn't as fun and interesting as it sounds. Percy didn't even believe that Greek Gods exist until he went to Camp Half-blood. There he finds out that his dad is Poseidon and that monsters will not stop at anything to kill him.

Being the son of Poseidon comes with benefits like getting to control water but great power comes with great responsibility. I think in the case of demigods, though, it comes with great trouble. My point is proven when Percy is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt. It might sound childish but its not. A two-foot-long cylinder with god-level-explosives is definitely not something anyone would use in a school play.

And in-order to prove himself as innocent, Percy has to find the bolt before the summer-solstice. Traveling to the Underworld and fighting monsters from Greek mythology is just the tip of the iceberg. The ending is where the entire plot actually sums up and it is such an insane plot-twist, I actually had to keep aside the book for a while and go for a walk to process everything. The cliff-hanger in the end of the book is also something to look forward to.

“You shall go west, and face the god who has turned

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned

You shall be betrayed by the one who calls you a friend

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.”

~Avani Endait