"Part of their problem was Percy. He fought like a demon, whirling through the defender's ranks in a completely unorthodox style, rolling under their feet, slashing with his sword instead of stabbing like a Roman would, whacking campers with the flat of his blade, and generally causing mass panic."

"Can I ask you something?' you said. 'How did you ever survive that scandal?'She said, 'I refused to be shamed.'How did you do that?' you asked. 'When they came at me, I kept coming,' she said."

"They hate you not because of what you have done but because of who you are; you are different from who they are, and you are occupying the ground they want for themselves."

"Fear is an underrated emotion. And that's why I think it's very dangerous to try and cosset children from it. A healthy scare is as good as as a healthy laugh. In fact, they're two sides of the same coin. There is a desire to shield from the knocks and bumps of reality."