Character Analysis: Clarisse!

Warning! Contains major spoilers for books up to Son of Neptune, and (very) minor spoilers for House of Hades!

 Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, is a pretty amazing demigod. When she is introduced in The Lightning Thief, she is nothing but a bully toward Percy. However, throughout the course of the books, she slowly softens up and becomes his ally and sort-of friend, although they still tend to clash. Clarisse is a character who seems rough around the edges, but has many layers which we get to see throughout the course of the book.

The Lightning Thief

In this book, the only layer of Clarisse that we really get to see is her exterior: a malicious daughter of Ares, the war god. She likes to pick on the other campers, and Percy seems to be one of her main targets. When she tries to put Percy's head in the toilet as his "initiation", Clarisse and her cabinmates get doused with a ginormous wave of toilet water. Percy also manages to break Clarisse's spear during Capture the Flag, which infuriates her. These two events show a key point of her personality: how she reacts to losing a fight. If you ever beat Clarisse at anything, she will storm off and conceal her humiliation with angry threats.

The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters displays a different side of Clarisse. The first direct glimpse of her relationship with her father, Ares, takes place on the C.S.S. Birmingham during her Quest for the Golden Fleece. Clarisse is intimidated by her dad. She strives to live up to her father's expectations, and Ares doesn't believe she is doing well enough. This scene is important, because it reveals the motivation for many of Clarisse's actions. Why was Clarisse always so set on winning and being victorious? That's why. Not just for personal glory, but also to live up to the expectations of dear old dad.

The Titan's Curse

Clarisse is absent from Titan's Curse because she is on a top-secret scouting mission, which we later discover is her journey into the Labyrinth.

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Can I just say how much I love the side of Clarisse that we got to see in this book? 

She and Annabeth are actually getting along really well. She comforts Juniper at Grover's trial at the beginning of the book. Then, we find out that Clarisse found Chris Rodriguez after he had gotten out of the Labyrinth, and he had gone crazy. Clarisse tries to nurse him back to health. She calls the Labyrinth evil, and tells Percy to kill Daedalus when he finds him because anyone who could create something so terrible must be evil. It's apparent that Clarisse has strong feelings about both Chris's and her experiences in the Labyrinth, and those feelings influence her vulnerable side to show.

(Note: Thankfully, at the end, Chris is cured by Mr. D.)

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian shows several layers of Clarisse's personality. The spat between the Ares and Apollo cabin and her reluctance to compromise show that she is very stubborn and proud. We also see her comfort and stand up for Silena after Charles Beckendorf's death, which reveals her caring and protective side (which we also saw with her relationship with Chris in BotL). Later in the novel, she avenges Silena's death by violently slaying the drakon that killed her (while wearing NO ARMOR AT ALL). So in other words... don't mess with Clarisse or her friends because she will tear you apart.

The Heroes of Olympus

 After Percy Jackson & the Olympians, we don't really see Clarisse. She makes brief appearances in The Lost Hero and The House of Hades, but not anything beyond that and a few mentions of her in passing.

How will she get along with Frank, her Roman brother?

I've thought about this a lot, actually. Hazel and Nico are on a friendly basis (or at least as friendly that Nico can get with anyone), and Jason and Thalia grew up together for a year or two, then reunited in The Lost Hero. But what about Frank and Clarisse? They are two very different characters. I honestly can't see them clashing with each other; it just doesn't work in my mind. I can see them respecting each other and working really well together in battle.

What role will she play in The Blood of Olympus?

Clarisse almost definitely won't be a main character. I think her time as a main character has passed. However, I'm fairly confident that she'll make at least a brief appearance. In The House of Hades, she was leading demigods in preparation for the Roman attack, so she should be there. I really hope to see her interact somehow with Frank, Percy, and Annabeth. Fingers crossed!

Clarisse by Irencia on deviantART

That's all for now. Have a good week, demigods! :)

Top 10 "Children's" Books That Everyone Should Read

 There's one thing that I've noticed about Percy Jackson & The Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus: they're labeled as children's/middle grade books.

 I mean, sure, they're written for the nine to twelve age range, but how many readers are actually nine to twelve? There are so many people older than that, or maybe even younger than that, who read them. I started reading the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series in fifth grade, when I was ten. I'm much older than that now, and I still love them the same, if not even more. There are people who started reading them in their teenage years, like some of my friends. Actually, some of my friends' parents have read them.

 Percy Jackson may be considered a middle grade/children's series, but that doesn't mean that only children can read them; they can be enjoyed by everyone! This thought has inspired me to make a list. So today, my dear demigods, I am sharing with you a list of ten children's books/series that I believe everyone can enjoy and should read, regardless of your age. :)

10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

This book is a classic, or at least I consider it as one. If you have not read it, shame on you. Go to your library and find this book right now. It's kind of out-there, but that's what defines Roald Dahl's writing. It wouldn't be Roald Dahl without some (or a lot of) craziness mixed in there.

9. Lily B. on the Brink of Cool by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

 Lily B. on the Brink of Cool seems to be labelled as more of a "girl book", if you consider the pink cover and such. However, I didn't really find it to be super-girly. Yes, it is about a girl, but no, there is not a love interest involved. (Thank goodness for that.) It's a fun story about family, boredom, friendship, and deception. I won't say any more, because I might give away the ending.

8. The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer

 Yes, these are written by the guy from Glee. No, there is not any singing involved. I read "The Wishing Spell" in spring of last year and very thoroughly enjoyed it. I must have been reading either some very badly-written books around that time, or just some really depressing books, because I found "The Wishing Spell" to be very refreshing. It's fun and lighthearted, while also having elements of darkness and sadness, but not to the point where it is depressing. The books are centered around Alex and Conner, two twins who find themselves literally falling into the Land of Stories and having to save the day.

7. The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene

This one was kind of a no-brainer for me, because I've been reading these since I was very small. (They make little kid versions too.) The author, Carolyn Keene, is obviously not one person (it took me a while to figure that out) because these books have been around for many, many years. If you're ever looking for a generic mystery novel, Nancy Drew is the way to go.

6. Holes by Louis Sachar

 I read this book over the summer and I fell in love with it. It is easily one of the funniest, and also cleverest, books I have ever read. The main character, Stanley, goes to a camp for "bad kids" as punishment for a crime that he didn't commit. At the camp, they make the delinquents dig holes all day... but why? I guess you'll have to read it to find out. :)

5. Madonna's Five Books for Children

 Yes, these are indeed written by the Madonna you're probably thinking of: the singer. They are a collection of simple stories with beautiful illustrations and universal themes that everybody can relate to or learn from. The books in the collection are as follows: The English Roses, Mr. Peabody's Apples, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, The Adventures of Abdi, and Lotsa de Casha.

4. From the Mixed of Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

 This book is kind of hit or miss: some people like it, some people don't. I would be considered a part of the former. It is about a young girl who decides that she is running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art because her family does not appreciate her enough. She brings her little brother and they face many bumps in the road and much adventure.

3. The BFG by Roald Dahl

 Ah, yes. Roald Dahl once again. Most people have heard of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, which were both books by him which were turned into movies. However, not many people that I've run into have heard of this one, and that's a shame, because it's my favorite of his! Like his other books, it's kind of strange and really silly. You should definitely give it a go.

2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

 Duh.

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan!!!!

 I feel like it was kind of obvious that I was going to end it this way... such a great series. ;)

 What are YOUR thoughts? What would your Top 10 children's books list look like? Do you agree with mine? Disagree? Is there anything you would add or take away? Leave a comment! Also, f you would like to know more about any of the books/series on this list (I didn't really do very good summaries), you can comment on this post, tweet me (@HotSauceValdez), or email me at PJOForever@gmail.com. 

Have a great day! :)

A Curse from Khione

Warning! May contain Lost Hero Spoilers! 

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 As I said in a previous post, it's my New Year's Resolution to make a new blog post at LEAST once a week, so I'll definitely try my best to hold myself to that.

 In other news, it was REALLY REALLY COLD yesterday! :o School was cancelled for me because the wind chill was -18 degrees (that's Fahrenheit, by the way). It was also cancelled on Friday because we got about six inches of snow.

 Usually, I'm a fan of cold weather, but it wasn't even safe to go outside of the house because there's a risk of frostbite and hypothermia when temperatures drop that low. I felt like I was in a cage. ;~; (I did go outside anyway, but just for a little bit. Shhh!)

 So in other words, Khione has cursed about half of the country, because my area wasn't the only area having these problems. Apparently there's some kind of "polar vortex" that's stretching further south than it should be, and making some places colder than they should be.

  Really Khione? First Festus, now this?! 

 Wherever you are, dear demigods, stay warm! And enjoy this lovely picture of Piper facing Khione that I found on Tumblr! :) (All credit goes to original artist. Who that is, I am not sure.)

Merry Christmas!

 HO, HO, HO! Hello, half-bloods! 


 Long time, no post. Sorry about that. It will be my New Year's resolution to write at least one post every week!
 Tomorrow is Christmas, which just so happens to be my favorite holiday! In celebration, here is a compilation of some Christmasy PJO/HoO fan-made things! :)

What's Christmas without some Percabeth?

Credit: Amigo12 on deviantART

The Seven going ice skating.

Credit: BlueSeptember on deviantART

Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter Christmas tree ornaments.

Can be purchased for $12.99 (USD) each on Etsy (click here for Camp-Half Blood, and here for Camp Jupiter).

A Percy Jackson-inspired Christmas tree.

Credit: LoganBerry on Pinterest

A series of pure adorableness. 

Credit: nuffedilla on Tumblr

Leo as an elf! :D

Credit: Someone on Tumblr... I couldn't find the original artist! :o

Last but not least, a book tree! :D

Credit: bookstuffreviews on Tumblr

What did I miss at the House of Hades tour?

 Long time, no post... sorry about that...

 Didn't get a chance to go to the House of Hades book tour? Worry not!



This is a full recap of him at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.. I'd imagine that he did the same speech (or whatever you'd like to call it) at all of the events, so this is what you probably missed.

 The video is a good recap of his endeavors as a child, college student, teacher, and writer. It's also a good thing to watch if you're wondering what it's like to get published, because it did take him quite a while. Enjoy!!

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

I'm very happy to be showing you the cover for Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, which will be out sometime in August 2014! :)

 I'm very excited for this epic-looking book. You can find out more about what to expect here. Sadly, that is all I know for now, although it does look very promising. I will keep you posted if anymore information is released! :)

House of Hades: Review & Discussion (SPOILERS INCLUDED)

WARNING! Contains MAJOR House of Hades spoilers! Do not read past this point if you haven't finished the ENTIRE book! 

 Friday evening, I finished The House of Hades. Although it wasn't perfect, it was phenomenal. When I was finished, I wondered, "Now... what am I supposed to do with my life?" My answer? Re-read the Heroes of Olympus again! ;D

 The characters overall in this book were BEYOND incredible. Getting seven points of view was both a gift and a curse. I was really excited for all seven to get their own POVs, because I absolutely LOVE all of the members of the seven. However, when I read them, it kind of seemed crowded. I do see why Uncle Rick had to do it: each member of the seven had a little "on his/her own" scene, where none of the other seven were involved (The exception may be Percy and Annabeth, but one does not simply put in one of their perspectives and not put in the other)... Hazel with the Hecate scene in the beginning, Leo with the Calypso thing, Jason with Nico & Cupid (and the dream), Frank with the poison cows and blessing of Mars, and Piper with her Khoine showdown. Everything got really confusing at some points (maybe I was reading too fast?), BUT I did enjoy seeing how each of the characters reacted to the situations and how they viewed each other. It's kind of like a giant reality TV commentary, except a thousand times better. (One can only take so much of America's Next Top Model.)

 I'll take this review/discussion thingamajig character by character, then just add any extra general comments at the end. :D

 Percy & Annabeth: Sorry guys, but these two count as one. They were together for almost the entire duration of the book, which made me (and I'm sure many other Percabeth fans) very, very happy, although I can't say that I would have liked to be in their situation. The cute Percabeth scenes and dialogues really made me smile.

"College," she gasped. "Could we go there together?"
 "Y-yeah," he agreed, a little more confidently.
 "What would you study, Percy?"
"Dunno," he admitted.
"Marine science," she suggested. "Oceanography?"
"Surfing?" he asked.

 Things like that really tickled my funny bone, especially amid all of the sadness. And when Percy referred to Annabeth as "hot" in a barbarian princess kind of way... <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

 Let us all take a moment to reflect upon Annabeth's cleverness when they came to the Hermes shrine. That entire situation astounded me. I just thought it was really cool! (AND RIPTIDE CAN BE USED AS A PEN! WOOT!)

 I was also very relieved that they found a friend in Bob the Titan, even after he remembered who he was. Percy and Annabeth did a good job of convincing him to do what he thinks is good, and they were fortunate enough for him to pick their side! Little Bob also really made me smile.

 Damasen, the anti-Ares, was a great character. His return in the end to help was somewhat predictable (which is a recurring problem throughout the book, sadly). Percy and Annabeth's visit to his home was the answer to what we were wondering about their clothing on the US cover. (For the record, the fact that P&A look like models on the UK cover still bothers me, especially when they're standing in front of Tartarus himself.) The creepy Death Mist chick, Akhlys, was really depressing. I can't say I liked her all that much. The scene with Nyx was priceless. "You weren't in the brochure!" xD

 A lot of stuff happened in Tartarus, and I could go on forever about it, but I won't. My personal favorite scene was the confrontation with the arai (the creepy Fury-like old grandma curse demons). I swear, I'm not a sadist! I just found it very intriguing. It really made them think about how many monsters they've killed or hurt. My heart pretty much broke when Annabeth thought Percy had abandoned her. </3 Calypso is mean. :(

 One last thing on the adventures in Tartarus: Tartarus himself. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how Tartarus could manifest himself inside of himself. It's kind of hard to understand, and it kind of ruined some things for Percy and Annabeth when he just popped up out of nowhere as they were about to cut the chains!

 Hazel: HAZEL WAS AMAZING IN THIS BOOK. That girl has never ceased to amaze me. If anyone doubted her power before, they aren't now!

 If I had to pick a leader out of the six demigods on the Argo II in House of Hades, Hazel would be my pick. She was the glue that held the group together in the absence of Annabeth and Percy. She's just fabulous.

 I felt kind of bad that she had to do the Mist tricks and work with magic, because that was, after all, one of the many factors that ruined her mother's life. When she did master it however, I couldn't help but be proud of her.

 Piper: Piper had quite a bit of character development in this book as well. Her showdown with Khione was awesome, and I love how she didn't let Khione get under her skin. She found a way to turn the tables, and I think that, in her own way, Piper is just as clever as Annabeth.

 It's also pretty epic how she brought Festus alive with her charmspeak. I'm not quite sure how that really worked, but hats off to her for believing in herself! (I'm beginning to think that belief is a huge theme throughout this series, or at least this installment.) Oh, and she's learning how to sword fight from Hazel. Can I just have more of this friendship?! When I found out that they were becoming friends I kind of freaked out. Little details like this just make my imagination go crazy with ideas about what they could do with each other and how they spend their free time (when they actually have some), and also what they talk about. I hope for a conversation between Piper and Hazel in the future. I don't think that's asking for too much.

 Finally, I have to wonder... WHERE IS MY PRECIOUS JASPER?! Yes, I ship Jasper now. One TLH re-read is enough to get one to that point. Jeyna just seems so unrealistic at this point, and I love both Piper and Jason and simply want them to be happy. So where were the precious Jasper scenes? We had like, two lines. Grrr.

 Frank: Fai Zhang, how you've grown.

 I'm incredibly proud of Frank. C H A R A C T E R  D E V E L O P M E N T. When he got the blessing of Mars around him (TWICE), I couldn't help but just be super happy for him. AND HE'S PRAETOR NOW WHICH MAKES ME BEYOND HAPPY BECAUSE I LOVE FRANK A LOT AND I THOUGHT THAT HE DIDN'T GET ENOUGH CREDIT IN PREVIOUS BOOKS! :D

 Jason: I missed Jason. We got Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Leo POVs last book, and Frank and Hazel POVs two books ago. It's been three books. I truly missed him. (I may have actually written a post about this at one point...Hmm.)

 Now that I actually got to see inside of that mind of his, I got to appreciate how he's changed since The Lost Hero, and how he's been since his memories have been restored. I was actually astonished to see that he wanted to go completely Greek, but it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside at the same time. Finding out that he chafed under the rules of the Romans excited me, because it actually revealed some of his personality. I may be perceiving this incorrectly, but Jason seems really guarded and unreadable sometimes. I just wanna know him better, know him better, know him better now. (Hehe. Anyone get the reference?)

 However, Jason's combat skills were underwhelming, to say the least. Dear Jason, why must you always become incapacitated so quickly? Dwarves: Upside-down. Khione: Oops, frozen. In the Necromanteion: Can't control the legion, gives up praetorship. Et cetera. He just makes it really hard for me defend him when people point out these things. I love him so much for no apparent reason, and I want to show people that he's not what they think he is, except... Usually, what they think of him is right. Which is sort of depressing for me.

 Nico: Nico seemed to act really strange in this book. I know that he's always been reserved and quiet around people after he figured out his lineage, but he seemed to be sulking around the Argo II for the majority of the book. It made a bit more sense after the scene with Cupid, but his behavior still creeped me out. Nico has mildly scared me since the end of The Titan's Curse. I'm not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with the whole making skeletons pop out of the ground at his will thing. But you know, probably not.

  As I said, Nico was very quiet. Half of the time, I forgot he was there. Until we met Cupid.

 I have to say, the Cupid scene gave me chills. Most of the minor gods in this book were pretty lame, and I didn't really take them seriously: Triptolemus, Sciron (who's technically a demigod but whatever), Favonius.

Not all that impressive. However, Cupid I could take seriously. He was very mysterious and somewhat frustrating. He was making me very anxious. Cupid could be a dangerous enemy...

 So Cupid forced Nico to reveal his secret: he has a crush on Percy. Um... What?

 I have to say, I was not expecting this. Either Rick Riordan just came up with this recently, or Nico has done a really good job of hiding it, because I've never even thought of that being possible. Sure, I've seen fanart, but people draw the weirdest things sometimes (Example #1: Percy/Jason. o_O). It just seems completely out of the blue...

 And to add to that, the only person who knows is Jason! (Did a Nico/Jason ship cross anyone's mind at that point...?) I have the strangest feeling that he's going to spill the beans to someone, and I feel like that person would most likely be Hazel (because she's Nico's sister) or Piper (because she's Jason's girlfriend). This "secret" also builds a golden opportunity for a friendship between Nico and Jason. Secret sharing brings people closer! It seems that Nico pushes away friendship. All the things that Jason said to him are true. He needs to stop running and find a home, and some friends. There are people willing to befriend him.

 Leo: Leo was wondrous, as always. His humor is always in the right place, and that's one of the things I love him for. I had to admire how he handled those dwarfs (aka epicly) and how he sent them after the Romans. xD

 Now, I know the thing that I'm sure all of you want to talk about is the Calypso thing. I have to say, when Khione said that he was going somewhere that he could never leave, I instantly thought of Ogygia. When he crash-landed on Calypso's table, I was first of all relieved that he survived, and secondly very angry at Calypso. I just don't like her after this. She was basically screaming her head off at him for something that wasn't even his fault. (I hate people like that.) In addition to that, she was very quick to judge him on appearance. "A SCRAWNY, GREASY KID JUST LANDED ON MY TABLE! CURSE YOU, ZEUS!" 

 One could argue that she has the right to be angry, because the gods didn't set her free (by the way, what's up with that?), but could she at least have a shred of humanity (yes, I know she's a Titan, not a human, but still...) and help the dude up? If someone fell from the sky onto my table, I'd be more concerned about the health and safety of whoever fell than I would about my table, regardless of how he or she LOOKED. My best friend described Calypso as "acting like a spoiled brat that got cut off from her daddy's money".

 Oh, blah blah blah, they fell in love. I have to admit that Calypso wearing jeans and a t-shirt to help Leo out was somewhat cute, but I still don't like their "relationship", but that's just me. :P

 I was kind of annoyed at that point that I was reading the book on my Kindle, because it will break if I throw it at the wall, and I really wanted to throw it against the wall when Leo swore on the River Styx to come back for Calypso. LEO. WHY? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH? D: My poor Leo. :( If he doesn't find Ogygia again... I don't even want to think about that. He has to find it! He will find it. He will always find it. (OUAT, anyone?)

 Assorted Thoughts: Hazel's and Pasiphae's Mist manipulation confuzzled me. I wasn't sure what was real and what was a product of their minds, but I suppose that's the point of the Mist. I also wasn't quite sure how the whole "hey-Piper-brought-Festus-back-to-life-with-charmspeak-alone" thing. I suppose that I'm like Leo in that respect. That kind of magic just doesn't make sense... There's no reasoning behind it. But hey, if it works... it works!

 I also thought there was a huge buildup to a death of one of the Seven or Nico at the end when they had to close the Doors, and it never happened. That was rather anti-climactic in my opinion, but I'm still relieved that none of them died. However, this probably means that someone is almost definitely going to die in the next book. When you have seven to eight main characters, at least one, if not two of them, is most likely going to die. It really wouldn't be realistic at all if all of them made it out of The Blood of Olympus unscathed. 

 CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT COACH HEDGE?!? He married Mellie?! When did this happen?!? AND THEY'RE HAVING A KID??? haotaowipetiai;otwhawtji!!! This is one of the cutest couples ever. I just love them. <3

 I was a little bit baffled at a few things, which were probably just mistakes that Rick made and the editor didn't catch. (Patrick probably would have caught them. :P) It said something about Tristan McLean's secretary "Jessica"... I think that was supposed to be Jane. Also, Rachel called Octavian the son of Apollo (which he isn't), and Octavian didn't correct her. Maybe he didn't want to humiliate himself, or maybe it was just a mistake. He strikes me as the "correct-someone-to-avoid-needing-an-actual-good-comeback" type.

 Finally, I think it's important to address the lack of a real cliffhanger, or even a tiny one. With The Mark of Athena, everyone was dying to know what happened to Percy and Annabeth after the fall, and I was right there with them. However, with The House of Hades, we don't have anything nearly as bad as that. Perhaps Mr. Trolldan wishes to make up for the last ending, or maybe he figures that a cliffhanger isn't necessary to keep people reading, since the next book is the last book and we may as well finish out the series. There are plenty of unanswered questions, which will hopefully be answered for us in The Blood of Olympus. Let the waiting begin once again...

 P.S. Feel free to leave a comment, send an email (PJOForever@gmail.com), or tweet us (@HotSauceValdez)! I love to hear your opinions on this. :)