Kidsmomo

I just finished Rick Riordan’s latest installment in the Heroes of Olympus series, The Mark of Athena, and this is how I feel: tired. But my tiredness will not stop me from telling you about this book! This massive, really heavy, long book!

The book is 603 pages. 603 pages! So you can understand how I might feel just as tired as Annabeth Chase (daughter of Athena) when she was fighting her mother’s ultimate enemy, Arachne. Or as tired as Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, and Piper McClean felt when they almost drowned.

That’s right. You heard me. Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon/Neptune. Drowning. Rick Riordan, you’ve turned my world upside down.

Here’s my take on The Mark of Athena: You should read this book. You MUST read this book. Because you want to know what happens to the demigods in the Prophecy of Seven:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call
To storm or fire, the world must fall
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

Spoiler alert: You don’t find out in this book. Because there’s another book, The House of Hades, coming in Fall 2013! But The Mark of Athena does answer a few things about the prophecy, and you get to know each character a little more. Every time I get to know one character and decide he/she is my favorite, another pops up.

Things I Discovered While Battling the Urge To Sleep Because I Could Not Stop Reading This Book:

• There are a lot of monsters (and therefore, monster battles) when you combine the Greek and Roman worlds. A lot. Prepare yourself. Especially with the handy-dandy glossary at the end of the book!
• Like the other books in this series, each chapter is told from the perspective of a character. This can be good or bad, depending how attached you are to a specific character. See above comment about favoriting a character.
• There’s a lot of romance. This can also be good or bad, depending on how much you care about that sort of thing. FYI: Dating Athena girls is tough, dating Zeus/Jupiter guys is tougher. Having a crush on someone who looks mysteriously like your long-lost love from approximately 80 years ago because you’ve been resurrected — that’s the toughest.
• All monsters are all pretty much self-centered, ego-maniacal drama queens. Most of them also have bad fashion sense and are sadly unaware of the fact.
• Why isn’t Octavian in this book more? The “teddy bear murderer” is so deliciously deranged.
• The Mark of Athena in The Mark of Athena is a little coin that always reappears in Annabeth’s pocket, whereas The Mark of Athena is a giant 603-page book which does not fit in any convenient pocket known to man. Well, maybe a kangaroo’s pocket.
• The demigods are growing up, facing fears and responsibilities — particularly, Annabeth. She’s never been just a sidekick/girlfriend for Percy, but it’s nice to get to know her even more.
• The ending… ouch. Obviously, I won’t spoil it for you here, but it’s going to be another stressful 12 months with the *cliffhanger* at the end of this book. (Get it? Cliffhanger? For those of you who have read the book… wink wink, nudge nudge! For those of you who haven’t — get with the program).

So, have you picked up (with a forklift) The Mark of Athena yet? Leave a comment below or submit a book review — don’t worry, I won’t go all Hera on you and start smiting if you disagree!

— Nancy

Between having to wait until next fall for The House of Hades and next summer for the film adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Nancy’s pretty conflicted with the love/hate relationship she’s got going on with Rick Riordan.

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