Book Title: Percy Jackson & the Olympians/Book One/The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan (http://www.rickriordan.com/)
Pages: 375
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Books
Genre: YA Fantasy/Science Fiction
{Scale Explanation: 1) Meaning awful, 5) Meaning not good, but not bad-equal, 10) Meaning wonderful}
PLOT - 9
CHARACTERS - 8
BEGINNING - 7
ENDING - 8
FLOW - 9
OVERALL - 9
What I liked about this book: This was a very fun read that had me reading it as often as possible to get it read. I really enjoyed the Greek mythology that is a HUGE part of the book. I have dabbled into that aspect of history a bit and so this book became quite entertaining. Especially how it is that the Greek gods all have many children from many different humans creating heroes. I will enjoy reading this book to my son when he gets older and we start on chapter books, as I know he will enjoy it. I also enjoyed the character of Percy a lot, especially how he finds out all of these things about himself in this first book of the series. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
What I disliked about this book: The characters weren't fully developed by the end of the novel, but it is the first book in the series, so I'll leave that to the rest of the books, I am sure the characters will be described more as the series goes on. The beginning was a bit tedious but only for the first chapter. It's very interesting after that. Even though the first chapter has a strange occurance in it, it wasn't as good as the rest of the story.
Who I would recommend this book to: Anyone really, but more specifically, one who likes Greek mythology, adolescents that are troubled only to find out they are destined for greatness, fantasy type novels. This book was targeted for younger teens, probably more like tweens or pre-teens, but as an adult, I still enjoyed it.
What I felt this book was about: Percy Jackson is a troubled 12 year old that lives in New York City. He has been to six different schools in six years. He doesn't fit in anywhere, he has dyslexia and ADHD. He thinks all he is meant for in life is to be a failure. He hates his stepdad, loves his mother like she is a god, and has a really cool best friend that he has only known for a year named Grover who has a muscular disorder in his legs. He goes with his school on a field trip to a history museum in the city when an incredible event happens, but after the event happens, no one acknowledges that the person he supposedly turned into gold dust ever existed, so he goes on about his business, still a little shaken and distraught over the event. He hears his mythology teacher speaking to his friend Grover about him one day and becomes even more suspicious. Throughout the rest of his school year, he does enough bad things to get kicked out of another school, and at the end of the year, Grover says that he has to go on the same train to the Upper Eastside, but Grover acts very suspicious, so Percy ditches him at the train station. He arrives home, his mother takes him on a trip to Montauk (http://www.montaukmonster.com/ <-funny site by the way!) and disaster strikes yet again. He finds his way to Camp Half Blood for the children of the Gods. There, he finds a way to fit in and finds out who his real father was. Then, he sets out on a quest to return the Lightning Bolt back to Zeus because it was stolen. Percy is the suspect, but Zeus allows him to try to find out who took it and bring it back to him. Percy gets to take Grover and Annabeth with him who prove to be worth the effort. They meet various mythical monsters along the way and avert disaster in every chapter it seems. But I won't tell the ending. (Shakes finger at the reader) That's not how I roll! :)
Favorite quotes from the book:
""He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!""
""The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles.""
Thank you for reading! Now go and read it! :)
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