My 5th grader loves all of Riordan's novels and has asked me repeatedly to read them so we can discuss them together. I finally finished this series a few weeks ago.
They were as I expected, similar to the Percy Jackson series, which for me translates to adventurous, well written, well-fleshed out characters I can get behind. It's nice when an author sets the bar and can continue it through multiple series.
The fun this about this series is there are old characters I love from Percy Jackson and new characters from New Rome to get to love and enjoy. Clashing Greek heroes with Roman ones was a brilliant move. Brush off your Latin, there's some in there.
The storyline is much the same: kill the monsters, save the world. But to be able to stretch it out over multiple books while keeping the reader engaged is no small feat. Well done, Mr. Riordan.
Only one bone to I have to pick with the author. Did he really need to throw in same-sex attraction? Yes, this is a part of today's society. But, did it need to come up in a Middle Grade/YA novel series? As soon as I read it, I cringed. Not because I have anything against those who are same gender attracted. I have several friends who are. But because as a reader, I disagreed with the nature of the purpose and felt the series could've been completed and the character's motivation explained without going in this direction.
So far, my 5th grader has yet to bring it up. Maybe it sailed over her head. Unfortunately, with her heading to middle school, I'll have to explain the concept to her as I understand from parents with older children that this topic comes up at such a young age.
How have you as a parent dealt with explaining same gender attraction to your children? And at what age?
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