mmefish 's review for:

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

3.5

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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"He could barely tolerate what she'd said about their mom. It was almost like

Thalia

had handed him a baby and said, Here, this is yours. Carry it. He didn't want to carry it. He didn't want to look at it or claim it. He didn't want to know that he had an unstable mother

who'd gotten rid of him to appease a goddess

."

While the story itself is captivating and interesting to follow, I just cannot stand Piper's "not-like-other-girls"—ness (she hates dresses and make-up, guys! She cuts her hair uneven on purpose!) and obsession with Jason. We get it, she thinks he's super hot. Yeah yeah, being attractive and rich is a burden. Instead of writing her as an interesting character with layers, Riordan shrinks her to a girl who's beautiful and thinks femininity is annoying and/or stupid. Her being Native American does nothing, it's an atribute never given any depth. But you know what though? Jason is so cute and hot...
She also learns to fight out of nowhere and even Hera listens to her. Bruh

Jason's chapters also have an annoying tendency of describing how beautiful Piper is (he prefers her without make-up btw. You won't forget about it cause he will remind you multiple times) and how he wishes they'd kiss, although it's not as frequent.  He's a bit boring but it can be forgiven, his story makes up for it.

I still love Leo, my goofy broken boy. But is he obsessed with pretty girls too? Oh yes he is. This is the curse of "The Lost Hero".

What we could definitely do without is another negatively portraited Asian character. Ethan Nakamura passes the baton to Drew in this one.

All in all, it's okay.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury