The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) in MCLS Reading Challenge

Sep 30, 2016 Anne Brown rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2016-mcls-reading-challenge

Its very clear that this was written for middle grade boys, but was an entertaining enough action adventure/coming of age story. I haven't thought about Greek mythology in years, but apparently know enough to follow all of the characters the children meet on their adventure and in most cases figure out who they were before Percy did. I thought that the use of several locations was quite clever, and I liked the idea that Mount Olympus moves depending on where the power of Western Civilization is. ...more

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Oct 29, 2013 Patricia rated it really liked it

One of the clearest memories I have of elementary school is my 6th grade teacher reading the story of Persephone, Demeter and Hades to the class from Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. The Greek gods captivated me from the start. After that day in class, I scoured the library for every book even remotely hinting of Greek mythology, so you can imagine my delight when I picked up The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The gods, alive and well in Manhattan? Monsters and godlings among us? A dangerous quest? One of the clearest memories I have of elementary school is my 6th grade teacher reading the story of Persephone, Demeter and Hades to the class from Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. The Greek gods captivated me from the start. After that day in class, I scoured the library for every book even remotely hinting of Greek mythology, so you can imagine my delight when I picked up The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The gods, alive and well in Manhattan? Monsters and godlings among us? A dangerous quest? Oh yeah!

Percy Jackson isn’t like other kids, a thought that becomes fact when, in the first chapter, he turns his evil Math teacher to dust with a ballpoint-pen-turned-sword. His life goes from bad to worse when he’s sent home from boarding school with an invitation not to return next year. Living with his stepfather, Smelly Gabe, is even worse than boarding school, but life gets even more complicated when Percy and his mother are attacked by The Minotaur while fleeing to the safety of Camp Half Blood, a training ground for demi-gods. Percy soon learns that his real father is the god Poseidon, and he is potentially one of the most powerful “heroes” to come along in years. But all is not well on Mt. Olympus. Someone has stolen Zeus’ thunderbolt, a most powerful weapon, and all fingers point to Percy. To prove his innocence, Percy, along with Daughter-of-Athena Annabeth and a satyr named Grover, embarks on a dangerous quest to the Underworld, where he learns a thing or two about friendship, trust and self-worth.

Action abounds from the first pages of this book. Great characters, great story, superb writing. My only quibble comes from the feeling I kept getting that I was reading a Harry Potter book. We have a boy who never fit in, finding out he has remarkable powers, teaming up with a smart, sassy girl who has equally strong powers and a less talented but very amusing third boy — all sent off on a quest to recover something very powerful that, if in the wrong hands, could mean the end of the world. Throw into the mix a mysterious, powerful, and dangerous evil thing that everyone thought was dead and we have…..Sorceror’s Stone, anyone? Even the typeface used for the chapter headings was the same as in the HP books.

Despite the similarities to HP, The Lightning Thief was a fabulous read, and I can’t see any kid putting it down. Read the first chapter to a class and I guarantee they’ll be in the library looking for this one. ...more

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Feb 22, 2014 John Parungao rated it really liked it

Classical Mythology with a modern spin. Fans of Buffy will love the action/adventure of this story. It also appealed to me because it reminded me of some of the issues of Wonder Woman I've read over the years.

It's a great introduction to the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, because it uses Percy as the eyes of the reader and draws you through him into a fantastic world of classical gods and monsters. A great way to introduce kids to classical mythology. ...more

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Aug 03, 2010 Cathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: teens-fantasy, teens-vampires-and-other-beasts, teens-audio

Glad I finally picked this up. It was a neat way to learn about some of the gods and goddesses without being too "educational". :) Nice story with some interesting plot twists. I may be convinced to read the next one.
Percy is a likable kinda guy and a good team player, realizing that he couldn't do things alone. The characters are interestingly flawed and multi-dimensional... by no means completely deep, but quite interesting. ...more

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Feb 02, 2014 Abby rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2024, books-i-own

I wanted to reread these, because I watched the Disney+ show, and it reminded me how much I love this series. Also, I didn't keep up with it, so there are new stories for me to explore! I love the modernized mythology Riordan is a master at his angle! ...more

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