The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

The House of Hades- Rick Riordan

     This six weeks, I decided to read The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. The House of Hades was first published in 2013. This book is a fantasy book about the Greek and Roman gods, and is also a "spin-off" of Percy Jackson and The Olympians, also by Rick Riordan. In this book, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are trapped in Tartarus, "the god's endless recycling bin for their enemies". Meanwhile, Nico DiAngelo, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Leo Vasquez, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang are aboard a ship that also has the capability to fly. The theme of this book is don't give up hope, because you may surprise yourself! Annabeth and Percy thought that it would be impossible to escape Tartarus but in the end they succeeded and closed The Doors of Death thus preventing monsters from regenerating immediately. 

     This story is told in the third person omniscient point of view. I think that this is a great way to write because you know what the person you are writing about is feeling and thinking, not just what they are saying. This novel takes place in many different places such as: The Apennine Mountains, Tartarus, Venice, and many more. Annabeth and Percy are trying to meet the others (Nico, Piper, Jason, Leo, Hazel, and Frank) on the other side of The Doors of Death, after closing them from the inside.  Rick Riordan switches between every character's point of view. When he is in Annabeth or Percy's point of view, they are in Tartarus finding their way to The Doors of Death, fighting monsters and demons at every step. While he is in Piper, Nico, Jason, Leo, Hazel, or Frank's point of view, they are trying to get to The Doors of Death and close them from the outside. I think that the intended audience is young adults. Rick Riordan has a great vocabulary that is fitting for his audience. He writes with a great style of adventure and mystery with numerous plot twists throughout the book, keeping readers interested. I think that this book falls into the fantasy genre.

     This book affected me by changing my view of the things that I have. I have learned to appreciate what I have and to not complain because I might not always have a safe place to sleep with food and water as was Annabeth and Percy's case in this story. This book is so realistic that it has made me cast some doubt upon whether monsters are things of fairy tales and fiction books or whether they're really real. 

     This book is very engaging and takes you to another world in which monsters exist and there are mysteries around every corner. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a book filled with fantasy and mystery.

Camille Harris

11/6/13

RATING **** 4.5/5