Book Review + Giveaway: ‘Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes’ by Rick Riordan

Gabrielle Bondi

9 years ago

What better way to celebrate Percy Jackson’s birthday than with a new companion book retelling the tales of Greek’s greatest mythical heroes!

Who cut off Medusa’s head? Who was raised by a she-bear? Who tamed Pegasus? It takes a demigod to know, and Percy Jackson can fill you in on the all the daring deeds of Perseus, Atalanta, Bellerophon, and the rest of the major Greek heroes. Told in the funny, irreverent style readers have come to expect from Percy (“I’ve had some bad experiences in my time, but the heroes I’m going to tell you about were the original old school hard luck cases. They boldly screwed up where no one had screwed up before…”) and enhanced with vibrant artwork by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco, this story collection will become the new must-have classic for Rick Riordan’s legions of devoted fans–and for anyone who needs a hero. So get your flaming spear. Put on your lion skin cape. Polish your shield and make sure you’ve got arrows in your quiver. We’re going back about four thousand years to decapitate monsters, save some kingdoms, shoot a few gods in the butt, raid the Underworld, and steal loot from evil people. Then, for dessert, we’ll die painful tragic deaths. Ready? Sweet. Let’s do this.

As someone who adores the Percy Jackson series, it was nice to revisit Percy in this new book. While it may not be another Percy Jackson story, his presence is strongly felt in Greek Heroes. Told in Percy’s voice, the opening lines had me feeling a little nostalgic for Riordan’s first series. I can’t believe it has already been ten years since Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was first published. What’s amazing is how relevant his character and story still feels today, after a decade of existence.

That’s really what makes Greek Heroes so much fun. It’s very informative, but also entertaining. Percy’s commentary is weaved through, adding the right amount of humor to some of the most darkest stories. Although I was already familiar with some of these heroes’ stories, Riordan, with Percy’s voice, utilizes a storytelling method that makes them feel refreshing.

The book itself is beautiful, with stunning illustrations to accompany vivid storytelling. The book is also pretty heavy, which I know doesn’t really count for anything, but I felt like a little kid again when laying it open on a table and hunching over to read it.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan is now available in stores. It’s a worthy addition to your Rick Riordan collection. Lucky for you, we are giving away a copy as well as a “Percy Pack” limited edition backpack to help carry the book around.

GIVEAWAY

Be back-to-school ready with GREEK HEROES!

One (1) winner receives:

a copy of GREEK HEROES
plus a “Percy Pack” limited edition backpack!

Open to US addresses only. Prizing provided by Disney-Hyperion.

How do you enter to win? Enter your name and email in the Rafflecopter application below. Rafflecopter is an application that randomly selects winners. Once you submit your information, it will ask you to complete some tasks. The tasks include tweeting about the sweepstakes, liking “The Young Folks” on Facebook, etc. Just remember that every time you complete a task, you increase your chance of winning! Come back every day to gain more entries. The contest ends on August 29th at 12:01am EST. Winners will be contacted via email. Good luck!

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We have received books, merchandise and prizing from Disney-Hyperion in exchange for this post.