It’s Percy Jackson time again!
After getting his first letter from Ganymede for retrieving his chalice, Percy has to get his second letter of recommendation from Hecate, the goddess of magic. Hecate’s challenge for Percy is for him to watch her pets for a week while she is traveling to different Halloween celebrations around the world (being the goddess of magic and all, she expects the mortals to worship her). Seems simple, right? The only problem is a tank full of electric eels, a hellhound that can shadow-travel, an exceptionally stinky polecat skilled at potions, and a strawberry milkshake.
I didn’t know I needed Percy as a narrator again until I read this book. I finished approximately the final three-fourths of this book in a couple of hours one night because I physically couldn’t set the book down. Percy is maybe the most hilarious narrator I’ve experienced and he thinks and says some of the weirdest things. While this might be primarily because of his ADHD brain, I couldn’t stop laughing. Let me give you an example of some of Percy’s advice: “Kids, always remember to shadow-travel responsibly. If you overdo it, that post-shadow hangover is a KILLER.”
If you need something light, have read a Percy Jackson book at any point in your life, or just need a mental break, I would 100% recommend this book (though even if none of these things apply to you, I would still 100% recommend this book). Rick Riordan is probably one of the most creative and funny authors I’ve read, and I always thoroughly enjoy his books. Of all of them, the Percy Jackson novels would have to be my favorite.
I enjoyed seeing Percy, Annabeth, and Grover working together again because, in my mind, nothing will be as good as the original trio. Percy also gets to have Mr. Brunner as a teacher again, at least for one class, a throwback to the very first Percy Jackson book, The Lightning Thief (if you know, you know), which was fun to see. There are also a couple of references to Percy and Annabeth’s time on Circe’s Island in Sea of Monsters, which will excite many older fans of the books.
Without giving too much away, I can confidently say that this book was an amazing return to Percy’s world because you see him interact with both new and older characters, have dinner with Annabeth, Grover, Juniper, Sally, and Paul, and maybe, just maybe, defeat an army of ghosts whom he might or might not have raised from a graveyard.
You’ll have to find out whether or not Percy is good at pet-sitting and if Hecate recommends him for “things,” but I know anyone who picks up this book will enjoy it at least a little bit and smile, if not laugh out loud. I am a strong believer that middle-grade fiction and fantasy are for everyone, no matter their age. I will keep reading these books for as long as Rick Riordan continues to write them because, for me, returning to Percy Jackson is reminiscent of my childhood. We could definitely all use a little bit of that magic we experienced as kids.
5/5 stars. I couldn’t imagine giving Percy Jackson and the Wrath of the Triple Goddess anything less.