Rick Riordan
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Action & Adventure
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths -> Greek & Roman
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 266
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Wonderfully Creative 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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.
Editorial Review:
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he cant seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worsePercy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percys mom finds out, she knows its time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place hell 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 friendsone a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of AthenaPercy 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.
