The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

One of the best childrens books I have read, and I read a lot of them. My Grandson brings me all his favorite books to read, and this series of books is the very best !!!!!!!

The setting of the book takes place during the time of Greek Gods, demigods, satyrs and other mythological creatures. The book is about two boys named Percy and Grover. Grover always has a sight on everything, like death. At school one day, Grover had a sight of his teacher killing him with a magical pen. The two boys go on a class field trip with a teacher named Mr. Brunner, who uses a wheel chair. They like their teacher a lot, but Percy decides to vaporize Mr. Brunner while on this field trip. It's at this point when Percy begins to suspect that his life is not what it seems.

I thought the plot outline of the The Lightning Thief was very suspenseful and tense. For Percy Jackson, his life was very tough for him as a kid. He was kicked out of all the schools he attended. He was very troubled. Percy Jackson is a demigod. His dad was named Poseidon, goddess of controlling water. His mother was not a God, she was undetermined. His parents have vanished, in the hands of Hades, goddess of keeping. Percy is on a mission to save his mom from Hades but it takes him a long time because something is in his way.

Another book that The Lightning Thief can connect to is a book called Maximum Ride. There's a connection to the book because Maximum Ride and The Lightning Thief are both about Mythology and Greek Gods and other mythological creatures. The biggest strengths in The Lightning Thief are how the characters are on missions to save certain things. They have special powers that they can use. Another strength is how the book uses Greek gods such as demigods, satyrs and martyrs. A weakness is how the author kind of goes off in another world, like he doesn't always talk about the gods. One last strength is how the book shows the turning point of when Percy overcomes his learning difficulties.

All in all, I think the book was pretty good, and well written. I recommend this book to people who enjoy mythology. This is the type of audience who would read the book. The book also shows how someone with difficulties, such as Percy, turns these difficulties into strengths. The author keeps the same audience throughout the whole book. The genre of the book is mythology because it talks about Greek Gods.

A young man thinks his biggest problems in life are his ADHD and dyslexia, maybe a bully or two, but then he discovers that he's half god.

This very clever book (written primarily for middle school to early highschool students, but rewarding and enjoyable for adults, too) imagines that the Greek gods are still around and still up to their old ways-especially going out and having children with mortals. The writing is very witty; the author had me laughing out loud more than once. The plot is great and never slows down.

Readers are rewarded for knowledge of Greek mythology by having an idea of where the author is going with his story. You can read the beginning of a description and know right away which monster or god it is. Keep in mind, this is a book written for young adults, so don't get too happy when you figure out the Oracle's prediction way before the other characters do. Also, seeing as this is a book about the gods' influence on Earth, don't be suprised by the large amount of deus ex machina in the plot.

My one and only complaint is that I felt the chapter headings contained too many spoilers.

Like many of the books I wind up falling in love with, I stumbled upon The Lightning Thief by accident. I was wandering around Border's and found this gem on a table with signs saying "If you liked Harry Potter, then you might like these..." They were right.

The concept of the famous gods from ancient mythology still existing and following the path of Western Civilization across the world is genious. And the demigod characters who star in this new series are wonderful! I found myself wishing that I was a member of Camp Halfblood and wondering which cabin I'd be a part of myself. (After careful consideration, I decided I'm clearly a child of Athena.)

One other thing that was really exciting for me when reading this novel was the almost complete accuracy surrounding the old Greek myths. I was a Classics minor in college, so I'm a stickler for detail when it comes to getting those stories right. Mr. Riordan REALLY succeeded and that's not something I can honestly say I've ever found before.

Where do I start?
Alright,first of all,there is great character development and great characters.The story is great,almost everything about this series is great.
For those of you who haven't heard,this is about a tween named Percy Jackson.He has been kicked out of five boarding schools already and Percy has just gotten a letter telling him that he won't be invited back to Yancy Academy,the school that he is currently at.
While on a field trip he has a bizarre encounter with a demon who he knows as his pre-algabra teacher.
Through a whole turn of events Percy winds up at Camp Half-Blood,for all the demigods,or offsprings of the Greek gods.Percy finds out that he is the son of Poseidon.Meanwhile,he makes a friend,Annabeth,and finds out that Zeus is holding Percy as his prime suspect for the stealing of his master lightning bolt.
So Percy and his friends go on a quest to seek the theif and give back to Zeus what is rightfully his.
I reccomend this book to fantasy lovers and,actually,anyone who reads.You won't be dissapointed.