"The fans were so adamant about Annabeth being blonde, and it seems like a tiny detail, but what Rick Riordan does in all his books is that he takes what you think someone is and turns it on its head. The first description of Annabeth you get it through Percy kind of in a haze, noticing that she has blonde curly hair and looks like this princess. So you begin to imagine what you think a blonde princess should be like and then you see who Annabeth really is, which is a badass.