A Book I'm Reading

#30DaysHathNovember

I recently discovered author, Rick Riordan. He's responsible for writing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series which I'm sure a lot of people have heard about since the first book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was made into a movie. I started out reading the first book in Riordan's series Heroes of Olympus. I knew about the Percy Jackson series but I thought they were separate series and they are, to a point. A lot of the same characters from the first series make appearances or are mentioned in the second as are some events. So, my OCD couldn't stand it and I had to read the first book of the Olympians series and I've set aside the Heroes series until I'm finished. Blah blah. Anyway, they're great books. The Greek and Roman mythology in them are fabulous. Riordan's fantasy world is well-developed if a little Harry Potter'ish. I'm finding that I like the Olympians series better because they are told in the first person from Percy's point of view. The first book in the Heroes series is told in the third person from three different character's points of view. There was a lot of internal dialogue and thought and not enough actual character interaction in my opinion.

Something I really like about Riordan's heroes is that most, if not all, have ADHD, dyslexia, or both. As it's explained, the kids have ADHD because they aren't challenged enough by the human world and they have dyslexia because they inherit the ability to read ancient Greek which makes it hard for them to read regular English. I think that's just a great message to send to kids that have these issues: Don't let it hold you back and maybe these conditions are just a unique way in which you view the world around you. Heroes can have ADHD and dyslexia too.

I also like that though there is a certain amount of violence, what with the heroes having to go off on quests against monsters and so forth, it's totally on par with kids and young adults. Supernatural blood, in Riordan's world, is gold ichor. Some monster, when slain, turn into clay, others gold dust. It's things like that that make Riordan's world fantastical and exciting, but not so scary that tweens couldn't read and enjoy either series.

I have to say that I've really enjoyed setting aside some of the heavier reading I've been doing lately to enjoy more lighthearted and somewhat simpler books and just plain fun books.