Any Percy Jackson fans out there?

[sanalayla]

Hurricane Sandy landed in my state and I found that I had plenty of time on my hands. After flipping through my Kindle library for a few minutes, I arrived at the conclusion that I didn't have anything on there that I was really interested in reading. Ever since I finished "Cinder", I've been hankering for a book series of that sort, but haven't found anything that satisfied that itch.

My son had just finished up "Mark of Athena" and had been pressuring me to read the sequel to the "Percy Jackson" series for awhile. When I told him that I was at a loss on what to read, he rummaged around until he found all three (massive) books in the series and handed them to me. With absolutely nothing else to do, I armed myself with a flashlight and settled down to read the three books that have been published so far. 

I have to admit that I've been really enjoying them so far. I've finished the first two in the series and am now on "Mark of Athena" (I hate that I'll have to wait a year in between books from now on). The books are fairly cookie cutter and seem to follow the exact same formula every single time, but I can't help but be drawn into the story and I find myself rooting for the characters. I thought the Percy Jackson series (the first one) was a little childish but I read them with my son because I like to know what he's up to in the book world. This series is a little more racy than the first one (the characters are 13-17 and there is a lot of "he kissed her" and "she kissed him" going on) but it still very much reads like a kid's book series. It's been a little odd to do the head-hopping but I can understand why Riordan chose to write it that way. 

Anyone else reading this sequel or has read the original? What are your thoughts on it? 

I'm also thinking about diving into the books series called "Hex Hall" and since I'm fan of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, I thought I'd give his new young adult novel a try. Anyone read those and have any thoughts on them (good or bad)? 

Comments

[theclexfactor.livejournal.com]

My older sister and I have been reading the series for years and we love them. Yeah they are and they read like kids books, but they are very fun, which is what I sometimes want in a book anyway. Plus my sister is a Middle School Language Arts teacher, so she's been recommending a lot of YA books to me, though this and The Hunger Games are books we coincidentally both wanted to read when we suggested them to each other. The Kane Chronicles is another series I like from Rick, though that series has ended with only 3 books. I haven't started reading the third book because I didn't want the series to end. Also one of the things I appreciated, especially with The Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olympus series is that more than half of the main characters are PoC, so that gives the kids in my family a series to read with people that look more like them.

[sanalayla.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried the Kane chronicles because my kid wasn't a fan of that series. He has the first one and I've considered trying it out because it could be that I like it. Is it a trilogy with a proper ending at Book 3? I like that - I hate these series that last 5-7 books and take years to complete.

[theclexfactor.livejournal.com]

Book 3 is the last book of TKC period, so yes it's a trilogy. I'm gonna read it now that I've finished The Mark of Athena.