Was put off reading this book by the lame cover but its actually quite good - an older readers Percy Jackson. 16 year old Connor is hiding from his ex- best mate in an old boys school in Sydney when he stumbles on a trap door. Opening the door leads to a hidden room with a locked chest inside. While hiding and trying to work out if he can open the chest, a girl rushes in and does so and suddenly he is thrust into a world of living statues, gods and the end of the world scenarios - sound familiar?
Liked how Connor is gay so there's no romantic entanglement between him and the girl Sally (but later some with a "gorgeous boy" at a ball). A couple of twists that I didn't see coming and so I will be reading the second one to see how all the problems Connor faces are resolved. For older students due to language and mature content. ( )