Book Review: The Last Olympian

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Every Friday I do a book review, but during the rest of the week I also show what's going on in the rest of my life in Baltimore, or do restaurant or recipe reviews. My rating system is out of 5 stars- rating is important to me! I think it's nice to quantify your reviews. All my past ratings are in the "book reviews section" tab above.

This week I read the final book in the Percy Jackson series. If you're a Harry Potter fan, or you have kids between ~6-14 years old, this series is for you! Seriously, these books would be awesome to read with your kids together- because even as an adult, I really enjoyed them. They aren't quite as compelling as HP (hey, what is), but they are maybe more fun.

Summary from Goodreads: All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of a victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

My Review

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic conclusion to this series- and good endings can be hard to come by. There was a ton of action, as well as tie-ins to previous books (locations, characters, etc)- a technique which has the possibility of seeming contrived, but in this case came across natural and nostalgic.

Percy really is the hero in this book (he actually bathes in the River Styx to become nearly invincible), but there are other stars as well- Annabeth, Tyson, Grover, and Rachel all get their dues. In some ways I wish Percy didn't have to become an uber-super hero to defeat the Titans- that he just could have used his natural talents to outwit them- but maybe that would have seemed more unachievable.

Overall, every loose end seemed to be tied up, and the characters end up just how you want them to be, without it seeming like nothing was sacrificed- characters do die in this book (though death seems a lot less final in this series, as heaven is a sure bet).

It took me awhile to really get into this series, but this book definitely was pure enjoyment, and I'm glad I stuck with it for this excellent conclusion.

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