"Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus #2)" by Rick Riordan

521 pages

Percy Jackson is confused. He just woke up from a deep sleep, and he doesn't know much more than his name. He's been told that he's a demigod, and somehow he knows how to fight, but he's all alone and doesn't know where he is. Somehow he makes it to Camp Jupiter, a Roman camp for half-bloods. He has the vague sense that he was at a camp like this before, but something seems off about Camp Jupiter. While there, he meets Frank, a klutz who doesn't even know which god is his dad, and Frank's best friend Hazel, the daughter of Pluto. Hazel's supposed to be dead, but she's been given another chance to make up for a huge mistake she made in the past. This mistake was part of the awakening of Gaea (Mother Earth, if you will), who wants to destroy the Greek and Roman gods alike. Now Percy, Frank, and Hazel have to work together to defeat Gaea's giant before he and the rest of Gaea's army get strong enough to take down the gods.

I couldn't get enough of the Percy Jackson series and it looks like The Heroes of Olympus books are going to be just as good. I love the idea--uniting the Greek and Roman demigods against a common enemy--and the way that it introduces new characters while letting us know what's going on with the old Percy Jackson characters. As an individual story, "Son of Neptune" is one of Riordan's best, in my opinion. The pacing is perfect--quick enough to be exciting but not so fast that it's hard to follow. It's full of that goofy, often cheesy humor of Riordan's and I love it. The characters are charismatic but also flawed, and therefore easy to relate to. I can hardly wait for the next book in this series to come out! Please write quickly, Mr. Riordan!