The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1)
by Rick Riordan
by Rick Riordan
Pages: 576
From Goodreads.com: Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?
Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.
Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.
Join new and old friends from Camp Half-Blood in this thrilling first audio book in The Heroes of Olympus series.
My Thoughts: Ok, first of all… I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to. Rick Riordan is freaking making bank on these novels. Kids eat them up like candy. He completely deserves it though. I love that he is making Greek mythology fun again and popular in mainstream MG culture. I remember learning about Greek mythology in 5th grade. My teacher just happened to be amazing and made it so interesting for us. He’s doing that for students now. My class is actually begging me to bring in non-fiction reference books about the gods. Wow!
The Lost Hero is a companion series to Percy Jackson. It will work on it’s own, but it is much better and easier to understand if you’ve already read the PJ series. It has some of the same characters, though the main focus is on a different group of demigod heroes. The three main characters, Jason, Piper, and Leo were completely lovable, but realistically flawed at the same time. They are three seemingly average kids who get thrown into a pretty unbelievable situation. Another thing I love that Riordan does, is he creates main characters who aren’t perfect, even after their transformations into demigod. He doesn’t take a middle class kid who makes straight As and transforms him. He uses the “troublemakers” of society. I think for that reason, students who wouldn’t normally be interested in reading this gigantic book (the hardcover is over 550 pages) are so captivated by the storyline that they can’t put it down.
Admittedly and embarrassingly, this book took me 2 weeks to read. I picked it up right in a super-hectic time (hello first week of grad school!). It really isn’t a difficult or dragging read, though, so don’t judge it because of me. If you’re a fan of MG fantasy, or just a fun read, this is a great book.