Update After Reading Book 2:

Book 1 is weak but it is so worth plowing through in order to get to the rest of the series. Book 2 is so much better than book 1. If you read book 1 and you are thinking of dropping this series, I would really encourage you to try The Sea of Monsters before calling it quits.

Original Review:

Picked this up because a co-worker said it was their favorite book. And I am genuinely surprised. This shit absolutely slaps.

Amazing world building, likeable characters, easy reading. I'm also really interested to learn and read more. But this book is still a middle-reader.

People seem to compare this to Harry Potter a lot. Percy Jackson has more in common with Captain Underpants than Harry Potter. The dialog is juvenile, the characters truly do not have depth, the pacing is quick and jumpy. And I don't think these are bad things. This is a novel meant for children. But there are middle-readers like Harry Potter that have more depth and maturity to them. Percy Jackson just doesn't have that.

However, I just still had a lot of fun with this and I'm truly invested to find out what happens to Percy.

3-4 stars. I can't really see myself recommending this to adult readers unless the books start maturing along side the main character.