The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Novel Facts:

• Published: April 1st, 2006 (Paperback Edition)
• Publisher: Mirimax Books/Puffin Books
• Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Greek Mythology
• Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians
• Pages in Paperback: 375
• Followed By: The Sea of Monsters
• Quote: “If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it for myself.”
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Plot:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Review of the Characters:

Percy– Son of Poseidon, Demigod and our protagonist. Percy was an admirable kid, brave and loyal true and true. He was also brash and stubborn (a lot like Harry Potter) but they were realistic flaws that led him and his friends into realistic problems. Realistic demigod problems anyway. For the first novel, the author did a great job with establishing a distinct voice for Percy, we get a sense of who he is from the very first page. I look forward to seeing more of him throughout the series.

Grover– I really loved Grover, probably because out of all the characters he was the one that grew the most. He learned to face his fears. With a person like Percy its hard to keep up but Grover not only did but supported his friend the entire way through. I absolutely adore how passionate he is about his cause (his life mission is to find the lost god Pan and restore Earth to the way it was before pollution). He was a great balance to Percy and I hope has more appearances.

Annabeth– I love that there is a strong female like Annabeth depicted in children’s literature. She was more than a match for Percy and save the trio from trouble many times. She had a strong presence throughout the novel and I’m so happy with the decision she made at the end of the book. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for this character.

Review of the Story:

I’m a bit biased because I LOVE greek mythology. I’ve always been fascinated with it so give me a book with a thousand allusions to it? Yeah, I’m going to enjoy it. The author did a fantastic job weaving the mythology into the story without overwhelming the character. I never once felt like I was reading a textbook on the subject so he gets points for that. The idea of Camp Halfblood is so fun and original. It also leaves potential for numerous opportunities and that is where the real genius lies in this book. The adventure was entertaining (silly at times) but definitely a fun read.

Review of the Writing: 

I’ve read a lot of young adult novels but this was the only book where I was left feeling like it was too young for me. The fact that a god would leave giant spider robots threw me off, it just didn’t fit the character and seemed like it was added in only to appeal to kids. I mean, it is aimed at middle schoolers but so is Harry Potter and for me The Lightning Thief was missing that element that transcends ages. Besides the juvenile writing though, the author did a great job shaping his story and aligning it with greek mythology. Camp Halfblood was well fleshed out and I’m sure it will star in children’s dreams for years to come.

Rating: 

A fast and entertaining read, The Lightning Thief is an exciting novel that will take you on a wild adventure. If you like children’s novels then I highly recommend this book as it’ll leave you eagerly anticipating the next in the series.

Overall Rating

P.S.– My next read is Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs