i wouldn't say im in the demographic for this novel anymore. it was, however, very fun to revisit these characters even if it felt more complicated than before. i've aged, and they haven't, and it just creates a weird headspace for me. the people i used to read these books with have all walked away from the path we once forged together. grover's fears about this happening when/if annabeth and percy move to new rome are definitely real.

"I'd met so many forgotten historical figures and killed them all." - what a crazy one liner for a middle grade book. 

the humor and dialogue feel quite modern, forced, and generated. not the usual banter and cheeky wit from the original series. this book also had a lot of percy's inner dialogue being focused around heroism and herodom. it got redundant and was quite stagnant to the plot. per the first two series, it's a well established notion that he's a hero. maybe grover or someone who wasn't part of the seven having these thoughts might have been a more powerful message to resolve. 

i liked the reiteration that

annabeth held the sky longer than percy

and showed her immense strength, stamina, and willpower. she is a diva and deserved the praise.

another thing i noticed was the lack of character descriptions. hair, eye, skin, etc was all very carefully avoided to be described with colors or textures. it was "dutch braids/loose hair" without giving it a color. this is a wise move, riordan, and i appreciate the thought and effort about not using the books to create pro-white annabeth material. or at least, not blatantly using the books as continued marketing for a caucasian annabeth. i appreciate the efforts it took to leave out this topic