Fourteen year old Jonathan of Florida, an avid reader and fan of the Percy Jackson book series, gives his review of the first title in a new young adult book series.

The Lost Hero is author Rick Riordan’s first book in the Percy Jackson Olympian follow-up series. While the first books used only Greek mythology to help advance the story, this novel uses Roman as well as Greek mythology to keep the story moving. With a new series also come new characters with one of the main characters being a teenage demigod named Jason. He starts out the story waking up on a bus while on a field trip. He has no memory of himself or of his two friends, Piper and Leo, all of whom have a greater destiny than they know. Things start getting interesting when the field trip is interrupted with the attack of the venti, Roman storm spirits, and the arrival of Annabeth, one of the main characters from the original series who has a serious problem: Percy Jackson has gone missing.
I enjoyed how Riordan tied the two stories of each series together and they way they coincided with the mythology they’re based of off. While the story is nicely done, it did get confusing from time to time with so much going on. I did enjoy the switch of point of view from character to character every couple chapters. The story is also told in third person, limiting it from each of the three characters perspectives, which allows more insight into what each character is thinking and feeling. Also, when the switch is made from one character’s point of view to another, the narration changes to the personality of the character. A good element for fans reading the new series was the continuation of the events from the last series and finding out how the prophecy that was given at the end of The Last Olympian comes into play.
I would recommend that if you enjoyed the first series, pick this up and give it a read. The story will keep you hooked and the cliffhanger will keep you guessing and wanting more, a skill Riordan has so masterfully used to keep all his fans reading. I would give this novel 9 out of 10 as the characters are great, but some are a little too “stock,” as you see their types in most novels. Also, even the story good and well thought out, it may have younger readers questioning what is happening. Well, that’s my take on things, but readers can decide for themselves whether or not this new title is up to Riordan’s par.