Teenage Demigods, action, peril, hints of romance, sometimes death, and moms who are a little sleepy

Percy Jackson & the Olympians Series 

First post of 2022! I haven't been reading a ton as I've been transitioning to a new career and I've been hustling - but I think I may have landed and well, it's time to catch up here a bit.

I started reading this series with my daughter Natalie sometime in 2021. We just finished book 4/5. It's her third time reading it so she gets frustrated when I forget how certain characters and events connect, and I sometimes get sleepy and drift off while she's reading to me, which admittedly is very annoying. She insists on reading to me, because she says her familiarity with the characters lends to better "voices" but I'm not a great audio reader and it takes a great deal of concentration for me to follow along. Also in my defense, every chapter introduces new characters and settings as the characters are often traveling to different places and encountering different humans, gods (those are easier to keep track of), demigods, mortals, and other supernatural creatures. 

I like Rick Riordan's straightforward writing style. He writes first person in this series - from Percy's. Percy has kind of a bland personality to me. A little predictable. Natalie disagrees - she thinks he has plenty of spunk. AnnaBeth is like a Wonder Woman - tough, loyal, and little hints of vulnerability that never really fully emerge.  The supporting "cast" have more personality (why is that so often the case?" His chapters are loooong, We try to read a chapter a day, but sometimes we have to settle for half a chapter due to time constraints and that's annoying because ocd people! Riordan has great little bits of humor and sarcasm dispersed throughout his writings, so that saves it from being too melodramatic. 

Rick Riordan transplants Greek and sometimes Roman mythology into modern times and has created multiple series about demigods spawned by various gods and humans and their adventures. Demigods are usually killed by monsters but the ones that survive find their way to Camp Half Blood where they undergo rigorous training and embark on quests to re-balance power and combat evil. 

I've always liked mythology, so it's been fun to find a meeting place in literature that we can both enjoy. Having common experiences in movies and literature as a family is a real connecting point for us.