Sea of Monsters

Sea of monsters

Percy Jackson is a twelve year old boy diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, who has been expelled from several schools. There are some twists & turns along the way, with clues, so an astute reader will have some foreknowledge, but it's a very well done plot. The characters are well drawn & have excellent motivations. There are a half dozen main ones, just enough to keep things interesting, but not enough to get confusing. 

The book starts of with Percy Jackson's last day in a new progressive school, Meriweather College Prep. But for the bullies, the school has not been too bad. At least no monsters have attempted to kill him. Percy hopes that the last day goes without an incident and he can make his way safely back to Half-Blood Hill without being expelled (as he was from all his earlier schools) from this school. But of course something has to go wrong.

The night before, Percy has had a very disturbing dream about his friend, Grover the satyr. Grover, who is on a quest to find the god Pan, seems to be in danger. And Percy finds himself in the thick of trouble when strange things start happening on the last day at the school. A dodge ball game turns into a battle when a group of giant cannibals called Laistrygonians infiltrate the opposite team and attack Percy and his new friend Tyson. Tyson is a huge brute of a teenager who happens to be homeless and on a charity scholarship at Meriweather College Prep. Despite his size, Tyson is very sensitive and breaks down into convulsive sobbing when teased and bullied. However in the fight with the Laistrygonians, Tyson displays some unusual abilities. Despite Tyson's heroics, he and Percy seem destined to be eaten by the cannibals when they are rescued by Annabeth who is the daughter of Athena and a friend of Percy's from Half-Blood Hill.

Percy and Tyson accompany Annabeth to Camp Half-Blood only to find that it too is under attack. The protective barrier around the camp has weakened considerably...