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

12 year old Percy Jackson has always known he is different - he's been kicked out of several boarding schools, he's dyslexic, and he's never known who his father was. But he is about to find out just how different he is - characters from Greek mythology have entered his life and his best friend Grover is not who Percy thinks he is. Before he knows it, Percy is accused of stealing Zeus's master lightning bolt and has just ten days to find and return it. Percy and his friends Grover and Annabeth embark on a journey to find the lightening bolt that will change all of their lives.

"The Lightning Thief" is a wonderfully creative children's book by Rick Riordan. There are, perhaps inevitably, some similarities to the Harry Potter series - Percy has two close friends, a boy and a girl; he calls himself a half-blood; Annabeth has a baseball hat that makes her invisible when she wears it; only Percy can be the hero of the quest; and the trio even encounters a bunch of spiders. But Riordan is a talented enough writer to make readers forget the Potter comparisons and enjoy the series on its own merits. The concept of Percy battling Greek Gods and Goddesses is a unique one and Riordan does an excellent job of incorporating Greek mythology into the story. Children will no doubt want to know more about mythical characters such as Poseidon, Zeus, Chiron, Charon, Medusa, and more after reading the book. Percy's journey is indeed an epic one and readers will love reading about his dangerous journey across the country. The book is written in the first person from Percy's point of view and Riordan does an excellent job of capturing Percy's voice. The great thing about Percy's character is that while in many ways he is extraordinary because of who his father is and the adventures he has, he is also an ordinary 12 year old boy who struggles in school because of his dyslexia, who is a loyal friend but also gets into fights, and who loves his mother even if he doesn't always obey her. Children of all ages will identify with Percy on some level.

"The Lightning Thief" is the first in the five book "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, a series that looks like it will be a lot of fun.

This series of books (still going) is awesome. It's like the Harry Potter series for today's kids. But don't let that discourage you; I read these books and I'm 18. Anyone with ANY interest in mythology SHOULD READ THIS BOOK SERIES. It's an interesting twist on the idea that the Greek gods still exist today and there is a new danger that threatens them and the whole world. I don't want to give the story away but it is so well written and such an interesting story that you have to read it for yourself. YOU HAVE TO!!!

Rick Riordan is a great author and his book The Lightning Thief is one of my favorite books. Two of my favorite qualities in a story are plot twists and suspense. There are many action scenes in this book and all of it leads up to a major plot twist in the end.

In his characters you see a great amount of pride and confidence in themselves. They all have great courage and want to do what's right for each other. In the setting he picks for this book you see an amazing new world, a hybrid of the modern world and ancient Greece. I like how he can explain how the whole world doesn't know that the Greek Gods exist.

Overall this is a fantastic book and series. I hope many people get the chance to read this book as I have. - Thomas Adamson, 12; Sherwood Middle School

. . . which it pretty unusual for me. Most of time, I don't have all day and night to read a book: I've got work, homework/exams, and (here's the notorious one) the Internet. And when I do have some free time, I still can't finish an entire book in one day. The shortest time of finishing a novel is two daysm and that was with Mikhail Lermontov's "A Hero of our Time" and two others that I can't think of at the moment.

But this book, "The Lightning Thief" from the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, I read just yesterday. And it took me only eight hours to read it straight through! I think it's the first time that's ever happened. What's also surprising to me is the subject matter. I'm not really fascinated with Greek Mythology. Slavic, yes, but Greek, no. So I was a bit puzzled that I was unable to put the book down. Maybe it was Rick Riordan's clever way of giving the myths more modern personalities and appearances. Whatever the reason, I just couldn't put the book down.

Percy Jackson both a hero and an anti-hero. His ADHD and dyslexia are what makes him interesting, and I could almost picture what the boy really looks like. His two friends, Grover and Annabeth, aren't your ordinary sidekicks. Both have had haunted pasts, and they would do anything to make sure that Percy is never hurt nor killed.

Other characters (especially the Greek ones) are worthy of recognition. Aries is a tough one: he's like Bruce Campbell with a sword instead of a chainsaw. Hades will sure scare little kids, but what makes him compelling is that he isn't your ordinary villain: he's got a heart alright. Dionysus sure can be annoying at times, but you know that he's trying to do some good at least. Medusa is one hell of a woman: she can sound innocent while thinking evil thoughts.

The plot twists throughout the novel work and sometimes they don't. I figured out who Percy really was when it cam e to his special powers on a specific element. But the biggest plot twists that are found in the last seventy pages or so are the most unexpected.

The pacing is wild. It goes from New York City to the north side of New York State to St. Louis to Denver and finally to Santa Monica so quickly. And it's a mystery in how you can get so much information about Greek Mythology in that sort of wild flow.

Some parts do tend to drag a bit. The sequences in Camp Half Blood almost bored me, but the pace picked up when something goes wrong in the area.

So, in short, this is one of the greatest children's books of our time. And it's for all ages, not just kids.

A-

This is definitely a must read. I had a lot of fun with it and found looking at the world through Percy was done very well. Things are described as a young boy would see them, which makes for some very interesting descriptions. I especially liked Pery's random thought process and the flow of the writing which complemented the humor in the book. I found my self smiling often and I don't think i ever got annoyed with characters trying too hard to be funny.

On to a few of the disappointing features.

I really enjoy a bit of mystery in the story and with the characters, but I believe that mystery should be built up fairly and smoothly. It seems that one of the author's favorite ways of building up mystery is to start a conversation, then introduce some sort of distraction so that right before something interesting is revealed... its not. Occasionally this is fine, but there are several instances of this in the book (just a little variety please). Though i was happy with the final twist in the end of the book.

Also I really like the greek aspect of the book, but it seems like the author is simply dropping in greek myths here and there to fill plot. I would like to hear more on how things have changed. (it's been several thousand years from the original stories, shouldn't their be new monsters or significant people as well?) I know he name drops a little here and there and for the first book its not really a problem, but i hope that he'll start to come up with a little more original ideas down the road while still maintaining the greek myths and theme.

Overall I'm very excited to continue the series and i would recommend reading the first without hesitation.