Rick Riordan is back with a new series! When I worked in the children’s department, he was in high demand. When I read the description for this book, I was roped in. The new series is called The Trials of Apollo, and the first book is called The Hidden Oracle. If you’re not familiar with Riordan’s work, he likes to focus on Greek mythology. This book centers on the Greek god Apollo. Apollo angered his father Zeus and ended up being sent to Earth and is in the body of a 16 year-old boy named Lester Papadopolous. Zeus punishes Apollo for the role that he played in the battle between the gods in Gaea. Apollo is of course upset about this and is wondering how soon he can get back to god status.

Now Apollo has had this punishment before so he’s waiting for the person, or as they call it in the book, demigod, to assist him to getting back to god status. In times past, what Apollo has had to do is serve the demigod for a year and then the punishment is lifted. The demigod in this case is 12-year-old Meg McCaffrey. Since this story takes place in New York, Apollo knows that he has a friend who lives there who can help him with his problem. It’s none other than Percy Jackson. If you’re familiar with Riordan’s previous work, then you know that Percy Jackson is the main character in the first series that Riordan wrote. The Hidden Oracle takes place in the world of Percy Jackson. Now I only read the first book in the Percy Jackson series, but Riordan did a great job of explaining events that took place in those books to readers who were unaware what was being referred to.

Apollo, Meg and Percy have to go back to Camp Half-Blood to start their journey. Apollo meets some old friends like the centaur Chiron, and some of his children. They’re all shocked to see Apollo in his new form, but they are willing to help Apollo get back to god status. Apollo’s predicament affects them all because weird things have been happening at Camp Half-Blood. Campers have been disappearing and communication has been cut off for the most part. Another issue is that one of Apollo’s powers is being able to tell prophecies, but since he’s human, he can’t. So, since Apollo has no powers his descendants can’t tell prophecies either.

The whole gang bands together to figure out who is behind the disappearances, how to find the hidden oracle that is used to tell prophecies and how to help Apollo get his powers back. A lot of things happen and the ending opens it up for a sequel so readers will have to wait and see what happens with Apollo. I enjoyed this book because even though there was a lot of Greek mythology (that I’m not familiar with), it took place in modern times and there were a lot of pop culture references that I enjoyed. The book was hilarious, and even though Apollo is very arrogant, readers see him mature somewhat as the book goes on and can even root for him. Though some places categorize this book as being for children, I would consider this book being more for young adults.

Have you read any books by Rick Riordan? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

-Kayla

Kayla works at Squirrel Hill as a clerk, so when you come up to the customer services desk you may see her face! When she’s not at the library she enjoys reading, watching TV, and listening to music.