The second book in the series is just as awesome as the first one. There is a lot of action, a lot of funny dialogue, and a lot of clever modern twists on Greek mythology. I got a better sense of the characters' personalities in this book. Annabeth and Clarisse especially seemed like more well-rounded characters. Percy can be a little arrogant, but he's still likable, funny, and relatable.

There were a few times where the characters were saved by the magic of deux ex machina, and Percy still doesn't fully understand that EVERYTHING is a trap, but young readers probably won't be bothered by this.

This book didn't have the same printing issues as the first book. There were no smudged words or ink blobs bleeding through the pages. Like the first book, there were several typos and editing mistakes.

Despite a few flaws, I really enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to the next one.