The Sea of Monsters
by Rick Riordan
In the second Percy Jackson book, Percy sails to the Sea of Monsters to save a friend and rescue camp. Fast, funny, and adventure-filled. Read the full description
Best for: Fans continuing Percy Jackson
The Sea of Monsters is #57 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 63 out of 100.
The Sea of Monsters: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Sea of Monsters’s reading interest has run from #42 to #98 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Sea of Monsters was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 437 times in the past 12 months, peaking in January 2026 with 63 (73% above its monthly average of 36). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 8% on the three months before. 74% of the adds were “want to read”, 4% “currently reading” and 22% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 212,215 times in the past 12 months, peaking in December 2025 with 70,971 views. The latest three months were up 56% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Sea of Monsters.
Adaptations
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters (film), 2013
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
What the data says about The Sea of Monsters
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 36 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. January 2026 was its busiest month (63 adds), about 3.7 times its quietest, May 2026 (17).
- A book people finish. Only 74% of its shelf adds are “want to read”, against 86% across the Top 100, so more of its activity comes from readers logging books they have read or are reading.
- Attention and shelf adds move together. Months with more Wikipedia views for The Sea of Monsters were also months with more shelf adds (correlation 0.57), which suggests the same events, such as new editions, adaptations or social media, drive both.
- Ratings above the list’s middle. Its Open Library average of 4.46 from 190 ratings is 0.34 higher than the middle book on the list (4.12).
- Against its genre. It had 30% fewer shelf adds than the average Young adult book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.4% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #80 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2005 (21 years ago), it is older than 48% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Sea of Monsters on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #57 | 63 |
Is The Sea of Monsters rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Sea of Monsters ranks #112 this week, #103 this month, and #124 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Sea of Monsters made the Top 100
The Sea of Monsters made the list mainly on momentum (+21.3 points) and reader love (+19.8 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0.7). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Sea of Monsters
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Sea of Monsters open right now than 15% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Young adult books
It is #6 of the 13 Young adult books on this month’s list.
About The Sea of Monsters
In the second Percy Jackson book, Percy sails to the Sea of Monsters to save a friend and rescue camp. Fast, funny, and adventure-filled.
Why it’s here: It keeps pace with the series that draws new young readers.
Best for: Fans continuing Percy Jackson
At a glance
- First published
- 2006-04-01
- Genre
- Young adult
- Also described as
- adventure fiction, young adult fiction, fantasy
- Series
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians, book 2
- Length
- about 282 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 12 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 84 on Open Library
- Setting
- Bermuda Triangle, New York, New Jersey
- Characters listed
- Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Friendship
- Family
- A quest
What reading it is like
A fast, funny adventure continuing Percy's story.
At about 282 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 6 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Second Percy Jackson book. Read The Lightning Thief first.
The premise
Percy learns that camp is under threat and sails to the Sea of Monsters, a dangerous stretch of ocean, to find a magical fleece and save a friend.
What you’ll get
- Fast myth-fueled adventure
- Humor and heart
- A strong second book
You might skip it if you have not read the first book.
More in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series on the Top 100: The Lightning Thief
Pairs well with: The Lightning Thief · Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #56 and #58
Questions about The Sea of Monsters
What rank is The Sea of Monsters on the Top 100 books?
The Sea of Monsters is #57 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 63 out of 100.
Is The Sea of Monsters rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Sea of Monsters ranks #112 this week, #103 this month, and #124 over the past year.
Why is The Sea of Monsters on the Top 100?
The Sea of Monsters made the list mainly on momentum (+21.3 points) and reader love (+19.8 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0.7).
How many people are reading The Sea of Monsters right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 151 readers currently reading The Sea of Monsters, 1,551 who want to read it and 544 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Sea of Monsters had over the past year?
437 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak January 2026, 63); latest three months down 8% on the prior three; 212,215 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (up 56% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters (2013). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Sea of Monsters best for?
Fans continuing Percy Jackson.
Ask a question about The Sea of Monsters
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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