I enjoyed "The Lightning Thief" but felt there was some room for improvement. I was pleased to see that improvement in this next installment. Part of this may be due to the fact that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover have already been established as characters, so there is no need for the exposition that accompanied the first. However, I also felt there were some more mature themes with this one that, while not completely developed, were handled pretty nicely.
The thing I enjoyed most about this book was the introduction of Tyson and the dynamic between him and Percy. I thought Riordan did a nice job of handling some pretty normal issues for kids, and I thought he did it in a sensitive manner. Though I was initially disappointed with how Percy handled things, I could understand where he was coming from, and I thought he showed a lot of growth. Percy is a fairly self-analytical character, and I think that's a fantastic element to have in any novel, really. It's a good message for young readers to see their hero questioning his own judgment and accepting his own guilt and responsibility.
I also thought that the inclusion of elements of mythology and the explanation of them were handled more deftly in this book than in the previous one. I really love the whole concept of these novels and the idea that Riordan is exposing children to Greek mythology, which is something that doesn't tend to be on the general curriculum these days. He really brings these mythological elements to life in this book, as when Percy visits "C.C.'s" island, or when he encounters Polyphemus.
Ultimately, I think Riordan has done a nice job laying the framework for a big showdown. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.Get more detail about The Sea of Monsters.
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