Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)


Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Release Date: July 2005
Publisher: Disney Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 385
Overall:

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse—Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena—Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
This is Book One in the Percy Jackson series and I absolutely loved it. It created a Secondary World that existed within modern day America, which is partly why I love the Twilight Saga, and more importantly, the Harry Potter series. The entire series is set in a similar fashion to that of Harry Potter with a few exceptions: Percy Jackson is a demi-god; The Greek Gods are very important to the story; Oh and they go to a summer camp.

I loved the characters. Percy couldn’t be more of a hero as he struggles with his identity, his powers and his people skills. He makes many friends along the way including other demi-gods, nature spirits, and creatures of the ocean. He also makes many enemies with his peers, elders…and maybe a god or two. However, his trusty sidekick Grover and best friend Annabeth are there to help keep him in line. Grover believes in him, giving him courage when he needs it while Annabeth brings logic and wisdom to the group, as is her nature. The other characters are represented in fun ways including Medusa and Ares. No one would expect to see the Greek Gods represented in such a way, and it is enjoyable as Rick does it.

The writing is fun and easy to read. It gives you insight into Percy’s head, and though it can be frustrating at times because it is obvious someone else (Annabeth, typically) knows information vital to the story that he hasn’t discovered yet. It also works well with the age that Percy is, especially since the reader can see a few things coming in the future books when he’s older, Percy is portrayed perfectly at the age of twelve.

This was the first book in a long time where I couldn’t wait to pick up the sequel. I read it in a day without any trouble. It was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who likes to read.

Who Might Like This Book:
Harry Potter Lovers
Mythology Lovers



Plot:


Character:


Writing:


Cover:




4 comments:

Unknown said...

Percy Jackson is absolutely brilliant. I love it! Percy's voice is so funny and actually really realistic. Great review.

Cat said...

Adored it. I'm a little under halfway through the 3rd book and I am still loving it.

I agree with everything you said as well. My husband is having trouble with the similarities to HP but I told him to get over it. hahah

Monster of Books said...

Still have yet to finish this, but it looks good & I'm excited for the movie :)

April (BooksandWine) said...

I definitely agree, Percy is a great 12 year old! Plus it's a great way to represent the Greek gods.

Glad to see you enjoyed PJatLT so much can't wait to see what you think of the other books.


“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book." ~ Author Unknown

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails