| “ | I...step down. But if you think I'm ever going to forget this, McLean— | ” |
–Drew, talking to Piper after Piper becomes new Counselor of Aphrodite Cabin in The Lost Hero | ||
Drew Tanaka is a Greek demigod, a daughter of Aphrodite, and the former senior counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin at Camp Half-Blood.
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
Drew took over the cabin after Silena died in The Last Olympian. During the campfire to decide who would go on the Quest for Hera, she displayed her ability to charmspeak by convincing the other campers that she should go, being a child of Aphrodite, but also because she has a crush on Jason. Piper uses her own ability to charmspeak to cancel out Drew. It is then that Piper is claimed by Aphrodite, much to the irritation of Drew. After being given a bed at Aphrodite's Cabin, Drew pushes a fellow cabin member named Lacy out of the shower, causing her to cry. Mitchell, another cabin mate, explains that Drew rules the cabin like a dictator and because of her power, no one can challenge her to rule the cabin or stand up to her at all. Drew appears behind him and gives him another week of trash duty for talking bad about her before pointing to the trash on the ground (which she had done herself). Drew also insults Piper several times about her father, saying she must have come from a dumpster. Piper tells them the truth that her father is Tristan McLean, but Drew tells everyone it is a lie. However, she still takes his poster from the wall of hot guys. Drew also is one of the few campers to believe that Silena was a traitor. She felt that she was cursed for not going through with Aphrodite's Rite of Passage, which she also told Piper to do with Jason as a type of initiation.
When Piper returns from her quest, she challenges Drew for head of the cabin. Because Piper has been on more quests than Drew (as Drew claims to have never been on one), she can challenge her. Drew backs down and allows Piper to be the new head, much to everyone's delight.
Personality
Drew always calls people hon, sweetie, or dear, without ever really meaning it. She's the only other charmspeaker at camp besides Piper, so she can charmspeak people into doing what she says. However, she's also a tyrant and has no qualms about charmspeaking others to do what she wants. She despises Silena Beauregard because of her relationship with Charles Beckendorf, and is the only one to still call her a traitor, while everyone else agrees she was a hero. She strongly dislikes Piper and was angered when Aphrodite claimed her. She has also been caught flirting with Jason Grace. She says she thinks quests and wars are a waste of time, despite the fact that she wanted to go on one at the beginning of The Lost Hero, possibly because of her crush on Jason. She enjoys exploiting her abilities and hates those who prove her wrong making all her half-brothers and sisters dislike or become scared of her. She is shallow and conceited, demonstrated by her dislike towards Piper due to her appearance and she is always seen checking how she looks.
Appearance
| “ | Another girl stepped forward—tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster. | ” |
–Piper talking about Drew | ||
Drew is described as a tall, beautiful, Asian girl with dark hair in ringlets, warm brown eyes, plenty of jewelry and perfect makeup. She wears lots of pink eyeliner. Jason also notes that she smells of nutmeg and pine, comparing her to the smell of "Christmas."
Abilities
Aphrodite, Drew's mother
As a child of Aphrodite, she has shown these abilities:
- Charmspeak: allows her to influence others with her opinion, though it is much weaker than her half-sister's, Piper McLean after Piper had grown to use her powers.
- She can attract the opposite gender when she walks by.
- She also has magical control over clothes, makeup, and jewelry like the other Aphrodite kids.
- Minor degree of love magic.
- Fluent in French due to it being the "language of love."
Relationships
Romantic Interests
Jason Grace
Jason Grace her crush and her rival's boyfriend
It is hinted that she might be interested in Jason Grace. When first arriving at camp, she introduces herself and tries very hard to start up a conversation. Later, during the camp fire when Jason was trying to pick people to go on his quest, Drew wanted to go (something she had never taken interest in) and used her charmspeaking powers to get others to agree. However Piper also had charmspeaking powers and convinced everyone to let her go. Jason chose Piper and Drew was furious. She later announced to the whole Aphrodite cabin that she never wanted to go on a quest and that quests are a waste of time, even though Lacy pointed out that she wanted to go to Jason's quest. However, it's unlikely that this relationship will feature again because Piper warned Drew to stay away from Jason, and that Jason is "her's."
Rivalries
Piper McLean
Piper McLean her half sister and rival
Piper and Drew don't get along. Drew was repulsed when she found out that she and Piper were sisters and picks on her constantly at the cabin. For the rite of passage, she tries to get Piper to get Jason to love her and then break his heart (so she can collect the pieces and get Jason to like her), but when Piper refuses she teases her constantly. She may also be jealous of Piper seeing as Piper's dad is a famous movie star. When she learns this, she rips up the poster of Tristan McLean hanging on the wall and punishes anyone that helps Piper. Piper took Drew's place as head counselor of Aphrodite's cabin. Drew often called her Dumpster girl because of her lack of fashion and because Jason likes Piper instead of Drew.
Acquaintances
Leo Valdez
Drew thinks of Leo as being someone she could use. When Drew sees him, the look on her face shows that Drew might consider him slightly valuable, though she thought he smelled bad and his hair needed work. After her 'evaluation', it seems that Leo's appearance is what pushed her to ask Annabeth if they were really worth the trouble saving. Annabeth counter this statement by saying that every demigod was worth rescuing. Drew also looks down on Leo and most likely all children of Hephaestus, simply saying that someone needs to get their hands dirty, but sees charm as a much more important skill.
Annabeth Chase
The head of Athena Cabin seems to be one of the few that can actually somewhat control (or at least tone down) Drew's snarky behavior. She seems to know her place with Annabeth, possibly somewhat respecting her, though once mentioned she didn't like her spoiling her fun when their cabin was trying to set up couples (usually ones that would cause heartbreak and disaster is actually put to pace). Overall, Drew seems to have a hate/respect (though the respect doesn't seem that high) relationship with Annabeth.
Trivia
- She often wears pink eyeliner.
- Despite being the second-oldest member of the Aphrodite Cabin (only being younger than Silena Beauregard), Drew was never mentioned in the original series.
- Drew thinks of Silena Beauregard as a traitor who deserved to die, unlike the rest of the camp who saw her as a hero.
- Both her and Piper McLean have the rare power of charmspeak, as said in The Lost Hero.
- She's never been on a quest, but willingly volunteered to go on a quest with Jason Grace.
- Drew and Lacy appeared in The Serpent's Shadow, the third book of The Kane Chronicles.[2]
- Her last name has not been revealed in The Heroes of Olympus series, but she is referred to as Drew Tanaka in The Kane Chronicles.
- Tanaka is of Japanese origin. Given that Drew has been described as Asian, this could indicate that she is Japanese descended on her father's side.
- After Silena died, Drew became the oldest member of the Aphrodite Cabin.