The Mark of Athena

Rick Riordan's The Mark of Athena is a big, noisy demigod adventure for 10 year olds that opens with a flying warship coming in to land at an enemy camp.

What happens

Annabeth has planned for everything. The goddess Hera wiped her boyfriend Percy's memory and dropped him into the Roman camp, and now she's finally on her way to get him back. There's a white "we come in peace" flag on the mast. There's a plan, a backup plan and a backup plan for the backup plan.

The trouble is, the ship doesn't look very peaceful. It's bronze, it bristles with crossbows and it has a fire-breathing metal dragon on the front. Leo steers it with a keyboard, a dubstep soundboard and a games controller (of course he does).

Within minutes a very cross statue explodes onto the deck and starts shouting about weapons. Then Annabeth spots Percy in the crowd below. What would you do after six months apart? She kisses him and then flips him flat on his back.

That's the feel of it. Riordan's jokes come thick and fast, even when monsters and angry Romans are closing in. You're right inside Annabeth's head, so you get every worry too.

She's nervous that Percy has changed. She's carrying a silver coin from her mother with a message that frightens her. And a scruffy harpy suddenly recites a prophecy about the Mark of Athena at the welcome feast.

Before the day's out, things have gone very badly wrong in the Roman city, and it isn't at all clear who's to blame.

It's worth saying this isn't the place to start. The crew arrive with LOTS of history, and the book expects you to already know who they are and what they've been through. If your reader has loved Percy Jackson, though, they'll be thrilled to see so many old friends all on one ship.

What to read next

If they haven't read The Son of Neptune yet, go there first. It's where Percy wakes up at the Wolf House with no memory except one name, and a pair of snake-haired ladies who refuse to stay dead.