The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan incorporates humor and Roman gods to create one of his best stories yet. In The Son of Neptune, the second installment of the Heroes of Olympus, Riordan manages to appeal to the Percy Jackson fans as well as draw in new readers with the new and old quirky characters. The main characters in this installment are Percy, Hazel, and Frank. Percy, the son of Jupiter, is from the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and he brings in his dry humor as long as a quest to retrieve his missing memories. Hazel, the mysterious daughter of Pluto, brings along her abundant knowledge and intriguing powers. And lastly, there is the third member of the trio, Frank; the quirky, gangly, Chinese-Canadian who is searching for his true powers as well as finding who his godly parent is. Together, they discover that two camps, the Romans and the Greeks, can co-exist in order to overthrow the Titans and Gaia, who is slowly waking up and raising her monster children from Tartarus. Riordan manages to twist Roman gods into a heroic journey of three teenagers who are trying to prevent a second war between the Titans and the gods. Their compelling journey to Alaska keeps readers on edge through the bloody battles and the quest to fulfill the Prophecy of Seven. - Lian C., class of 2012