Hi, loves! 🥰

I saw a video from Reads with Rachel (one of my favorite BookTubers) where she had her son on and interviewed him about his love for reading. It was a coincidence that my friend’s son was staying over, and I had just convinced him to try reading the Percy Jackson graphic novels.

After he read them, I asked if I could ask him a few questions for my blog, and it ended up turning into a full-on interview. 😂

Just a quick note as well: We spoke both in English and in our Native language (Filipino), so some of his answers are translated. I tried to get as close as I could to his original answers with the translations, and even asked if he agreed with my translations!

My questions are in bold text, and his answers are in regular text. If there’s text that’s in parentheses and italicized, those are notes from me as I was editing this.

OH, and spoilers if you haven’t read the original 5 books in the Percy Jackson series!

Here we go!

Please introduce yourself.

I’m Stranger. (I told him not to use his real name. The Guest user in on my laptop is called Stranger, so this is what he picked!)

He wanted to put a skull over his face but I got him to agree to a cat instead. 😂

How old are you? What grade are you in? What are some of your hobbies?

*drinks water* *5 seconds of gulping* I’m 9 years old. I’m about to be in 5th grade. My hobbies are playing sports, playing video games, and eating. I finish everyone’s food.

You did not mention reading. What are your feelings about books and reading?

I don’t normally read books. I read some comics like Messiah and Metamorphosis. You (Aimee) were the one who told me to read the Percy Jackson comics. And I liked it.

What did you like about the Percy Jackson comics? (I asked this question generally, but he went ahead to talk about everything he liked from the individual books, which was adorable. Also this kid’s memory is so much better than mine. 😂)

The Lightning Thief: I really liked it when Percy fought with the Fury Mrs. Dods. It was cool. And I liked it when Percy got his sword. I like swords. No, I like guns. I also liked it when Percy saw all of the gods, including his father. It was like the first time I saw my dad. Except I don’t have powers.

The Sea of Monsters: I liked it when Percy finally got a brother. Tyson was funny.

The Titan’s Curse: The sad part was when Bianca died, and when Nico got mad at Percy. I don’t remember much about The Titan’s Curse. *at this point, he actually goes to reread the end of the comic* I liked the fight with Atlas. It was intense.

Battle of the Labyrinth: I was so happy when I saw Alcatraz. It’s part of the tournament map in the video game I play. (I laughed so hard at this, help!) I liked it when they fought Kampe. They were so many fighting scenes. I loved it when Percy’s aim was so precise that he managed to pierce Geryon’s three hearts at once.

The Last Olympian: Of course, the number one best scene was the fight scene between Camp Half-Blood and Kronos’ Army. The fight between Percy, Annabeth, and Luke (Kronos) was memorable, especially the part where Annabeth remembered that Luke promised her that no one would hurt her, and Luke regained his consciousness. It was funny when the gods danced in Olympus.

Which one did you like best, and which one did you like the least?

I will start off with the best, and that is Battle of the Labyrinth. (I swear I didn’t tell him to say that. 😂) Because of Alcatraz. There were so many creative things about Daedalus, like his identity, his inventions (wings, suits), and even his backstory.

What did you think about the characters? Any favorites or most memorable ones?

Percy, Luke, and Annabeth. Fine, also Grover and Tyson. Percy is my favorite because he’s the main character. I like the Seaweed Brain nickname because it’s kind of funny. I like that he’s so brave in his quests. And even when Nico was mad at him, Percy still protected him. Percy was kind.

It was interesting that the campers were all Dyslexic and had ADHD.

Did you learn anything from reading the comics? What did you feel while you were reading them?

From the story, I learned that we should be brave.

While I was reading, I feel like I was forgetting all of my problems. When I’m mad, I read a book, then I’m happy. I also told my mom this. (He did and it was adorable.)

Did reading the comics make you want to read more?

Kind of. I know that some comics will not be that enjoyable (He was referring to The Sea of Monsters which he slugged through. 😂), but there will be comics that will make me have fun again.

Are you interested in reading books without pictures? Novels?

Yes. Maybe books that are for younger readers first. For now, I think I have to be somewhat invested in the world already before I want to read the books, like Percy Jackson. (I don’t think I’ll get him to read these anytime soon though. Let’s try again next year!)

Any last comments? Anything you want to say before I let you go back to whatever you were doing before I bothered you with these questions? 😂

Bye bye! I recommend that everyone should try to read Percy Jackson.

Despite our 15-year age gap, we probably physically look like we’re about the same age. 😂 Yes, I am super tiny IRL!

Let’s chat!

Do you have any kids in your life who read? What do they read? Alternatively, what books would you recommend to younger readers? 😊