The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #1)

by Rick Riordan

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends–one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena–will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. 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 failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Reviewed by Kelly on

5 of 5 stars

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4½ Stars.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/10/the-lightning-thief-by-rick-riordan.html
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was fantastic. It completely surprised me, delighted me and I simply loved it. It follows the story of Percy Jackson, troubled student who's not only dyslexic, but suffers from attention deficit disorder. In the past six years, he's moved from several different schools and each ending in Percy being asked to leave. He's not intentionally difficult by any means, but strange and unexplained predicaments seem to find him. Percy is a Demigod and the only place the offspring of the Gods can find sanctuary is at Camp Half Blood, and finds himself thrown into a world of mythology. Considering he's only twelve years old, Percy's voice seemed mature beyond his years. He's overwhelmed, needs answers and rightly so. He's not a strong character, but a reliable narrator who's nativity only endeared me further.

Annabeth was troubled. She covered her insecurities with awkward humour which almost always fell flat. Thank goodness for Grover. The Satyr and tin can eating boy who is using the quest to prove his own worth as a protector. He was simply delightful. Although the series falls under the middle grade genre, the Greek mythology was brilliant and it was delivered with humour and sarcasm. It was nothing short of incredible. I'm an instant fan and luckily already have the next two books waiting for me on my bookshelf.

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  • Started reading
  • 27 September, 2014: Finished reading
  • 27 September, 2014: Reviewed