An absolutely wonderful new series! Who cares if some say that this series is meant for 12-year-old boys? Rubbish! The Percy Jackson series is one that ALL ages can enjoy and my only regret is that I didn't get the chance to read this series earlier. 
 Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. 
 With titles like "Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death", "I Become Supreme Lord of the bathroom" and "We Get Advice from A Poodle", you just know you're going to be in for a real treat. Admittedly, I found reading this book after having watched the movie a little disappointing in that I sort of knew what was going to happen already. This book held little surprises for me, but I did find the book to be much, much better and I wished they had kept things exactly how it was written instead of adapting it, because it's SO MUCH better in the book. As a fan of Greek mythology, this book really plays on that love and I was so happy every time I knew which God was coming up next or which legend the book was talking about. For those who aren't fans or don't know much about Greek mythology, fret not, this book simplifies the numerous Gods and legends for you, making it interesting and fun and NEVER to the point of "dumb-ing down". 
 The action is amazingly cool and fun but if you're expecting romance, this installment doesn't have it. But I mean, how can it? They're twelve-year-olds! But the friendship between Percy, Annabeth and Grover is wonderfully written and one does feel the camaraderie between the three of them. The humor is surprisingly well-written and is actually funny and I can't wait to read the next installment.