21 books. Five series. Nearly four months. This morning I completed reading Rick Riordan’s books.
The first two series were rereads for me:
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians
- The Heroes of Olympus
Both feature Percy Jackson as a main character . . . and every body loves Percy.
For those not familiar: these are young adult books set in the modern world where the Greek gods still exist. The stories follow demigods – children of a god and a human – as they embark on quests way too dangerous for their age. They are funny, emotional, heroic, and relentlessly entertaining.
These books are a part of my childhood and early adulthood . . . and given my recent obsession, they are now just part of my regular adulthood.
For the first time I read the rest of Riordan’s books:
- The Kane Chronicle (a trilogy with the Egyptian gods)
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norsk mythology with amazing representation)
- The Trials of Apollo (back in the Greek pantheon)
While my heart is with the early books, I enjoyed all of them and I especially enjoyed how Riordan added more diverse representation over time. For example, Alex Fierro in the Magnus Chase book is a trans and gender-fluid character and the main love interest. In 2017, Riordan won the Stonewall Children’s Award for “exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience” because of the character Alex Fierro.
Here’s part of his acceptance speech:
As important as it is to offer authentic voices and empower authors and role models from within LGBTQ community, it’s also important that LGBTQ kids see themselves reflected and valued in the larger world of mass media, including my books. I know this because my non-heteronormative readers tell me so. They actively lobby to see characters like themselves in my books. They like the universe I’ve created. They want to be part of it. They deserve that opportunity. It’s important that I, as a mainstream author, say, “I see you. You matter. Your life experience may not be like mine, but it is no less valid and no less real. I will do whatever I can to understand and accurately include you in my stories, in my world. I will not erase you.”
In the final series, the Trials of Apollo, our main character — the fallen-to-mortal-form-previous-god-Apollo is an openly bisexual character. And queer representation is prevalent throughout all the books. It’s not perfect. Rick Riordan is a straight, white, cis man. But especially with the harm J.K. Rowling has done to the queer and trans community that I am still grappling with, it’s comforting to see a major, influential children’s author listening to his readership and trying to do better.
This is how he closes his speech:
To you, I pledge myself to do better – to apologize when I screw up, to learn from my mistakes, to be there for LGBTQ youth and make sure they know that in my books, they are included. They matter. I am going to stop talking now, but I promise you I won’t stop listening.
Those words make me want to cry. This is what allyship looks like to me.
It’s a heavy thing to finish 21 books and start to lift myself from Percy Jackson mania. I’ll have to get a tattoo or something.
With Love,
Natalie