Who Cares?: ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ stands the test of time

Rick Riordan’s hit book series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is currently in the process of being adapted into a new Disney+ television series. I never thought we, Riordan fans, would be graced with a show. I always assumed the tragic movies were all we would get. 

So with the cast of the upcoming “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series officially announced, I had the perfect excuse to reread the series. When I enter a reading slump, I often consider returning to childhood favorites to try and get myself back in the habit of reading slowly without pushing myself with difficult language and complicated symbolism. 

However, revisiting nostalgic classics comes with its own problems. I tend to romanticize my childhood books, choosing to remember them as faultless, page-turning masterworks. When in reality, they are often far from that. Every once in a while I pick up my yellowing copies of the “Harry Potter” series, expecting to experience the same joy I felt when I first immersed myself in the wizarding world in second grade. I was obsessed to such a degree that I was eventually banned from bringing the novels to school as they would distract me from my other work. Still, I find myself done with the series after “Chamber of Secrets.” The reason is a mix of boredom and the devastating reminder of J.K. Rowling’s villain arc. So as much as I try to preserve my childhood glee associated with “Harry Potter,” it is now undeniable to me that the books are simply not the best.

Therefore, I was slightly terrified to even touch my “Percy Jackson” collection. I held such fantastic memories of the books that I was worried that rereading might sully the perfect image I held in my mind. Much to my delight, the books are just as good as I remembered — or maybe even better than I thought. Especially now that I’m able to compare the series to better books than Heather Vogel Frederick’s “The Mother-Daughter Book Club” series. Now, those are books that I am actually too scared to even entertain the idea of revisiting.

I have very few, actual memories of the “Book Club” series besides it inspiring my love of Jane Austen and some random side-villain named Stinkerbelle. However, I plan to continue the rest of my life believing they were literary masterpieces and hope to never be proven wrong. On my deathbed, I will remember Stinkerbelle as the singlemost significant foe ever introduced to the world. 

It is with rereads that the faults of the novels begin to reveal themselves between seemingly perfect lines. Whether due to boring characters or inconsistent plot details, books can quickly fall from their pedestal: Did Fred and/or George really never question why they never met a Peter Pettigrew that their little brother seemed to hang out with every night? 

Although, I will admit that after actually learning about Greek and Roman mythology and reading poems like Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” Riordan’s mentions of the gods’ crimes concerned me more than they did when I was nine and pretended to be sick so I could read the recently released “Mark of Athena” (Sorry, mom! It was important!). For example, during my rereading, Apollo’s appearances reminded me less of the sweet romance between Will and Nico and more of the story of Daphne — a story in which Apollo chases a woman for so long, her only way to escape from his advances is by metamorphosing from a young, free woman to an olive tree. This story is not even close to the worst godly crimes. It of course makes sense not to go into detail in a children’s book, but knowing more of the story certainly makes me understand Luke better. 

Still, the five books of “Percy Jackson’’ kept me involved, both mentally and emotionally, throughout it all. I fell back in love with the characters and the camp. Without ever getting too difficult to handle, the books include important topics for all ages including learning differences and grief. The series also included some of the first LGBTQIA+ identities I ever encountered in children’s literature and remains prevalent to this day with over 180 million copies sold. The series is not just a good read, but its impact cannot be denied either. 

At the end of the day, the most important thing to remember regarding “Percy Jackson” is that Leo Valdez is the greatest character of all time (excluding Stinkerbelle, of course).

Kimberly Aguirre is a rising sophomore dissecting the most off-base entertainment news in her column, “Who Cares?”