After defeating Kronos, sending Gaea back to sleep, and surviving the mess that was Apollo’s stint as a mortal, Percy is back facing his hardest challenge yet: College Applications. Finding out that he needs three godly recommendation letters in order to get in to New Rome University, even the Savior of Olympus has hit his limit dealing with godly shenanigans. But if he wants to join his girlfriend and finally move on to college, he’ll have to suck it up and help Ganymede find his missing chalice before some unwitting mortal or dastardly villain gets ahold of it and its power to grant immortality.
As a long time PJO fan, I absolutely loved this book. It took me back to middle school when I first read the Lightning Thief with its witty sarcasm and simultaneously fantastical yet oddly relatable story. Percy’s frustration with college admissions definitely reminded me of my own senior year struggles, and the absurd nature of the quest and many of his godly encounters had me laughing more than I’d like to admit. Any fan of the original series (or any of the follow up series, to be honest) will love this installment to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians.