June: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

[Teresa]

thanks I added them to my to read list : )

[Jennifer W, WT Moderator]

Luann, I haven't read any of those (but I'm familiar with them), I'm wondering are boys reading them, too? I guess I'm looking for a book that stars a female main character that boys are reading, too. I mean, girls love Harry Potter just as much as boys do, can it/does it ever go the other way?

[Luann]

Jennifer W wrote: "Luann, I haven't read any of those (but I'm familiar with them), I'm wondering are boys reading them, too? I guess I'm looking for a book that stars a female main character that boys are reading, t..."

In my experience, definitely not as often. Girls don't seem to mind reading boy books nearly as much as boys mind reading girl books. But not always. It depends a lot on the boy, too. And on the book. I know quite a few boys and even some men who have read & for the most part enjoyed Twilight. I think some of them hear the word "vampire" and decide to check it out. I also have some boys at my school who have read all of the Judy Moody books and one or two who have read all of the Junie B. Jones books. Judy Moody seems to get more boy readers than some of the other "girl" books because there are books with her brother, Stink. A lot of the boys will start with the Stink books and then just keep reading the Judy Moodys as well. We do AR (Accelerated Reader) at my school, and I find that it tends to diminish some of the boy/girl aspect of a book since there is such an emphasis on the reading level of the book.

[Jennifer W, WT Moderator]

That's cool. I do have some guy friends into Twilight. I'm not really expecting an answer, it's just one of those things, that boys don't seem to like books and reading as much as girls do... my brother and I were always readers, but then, we grew up with a librarian for a mom. :)

[KrisT]

Jackie wrote: "I only read the first one the series but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was so creative in how the myths and gods/goddesses were interwoven in the story. I agree you if you're not familiar with ..."

Yes you have to like Grover, he is so endearing. You can just feel him walking in *heavy hooves* because he had failed his first quest. His eating habits were quite funny.

I like Percy of course. Not the braves or brightest or cutest kid but one a mother could love because he is sensitive and smart and brave and cute. :)

Ares was cast well. I got a chuckle out of the Tunnel of Love - not your parents idea of tunnel of love.

[KrisT]

Kathy wrote: "Yeah, it would have been a lot easier to take it it had been one of the mean girls who was the rotten one. Of course, it wouldn't have been the huge betrayal of which the oracle spoke.

I guess..."


Not just betrayal but layers of betrayal when even Poseiden was baffled by who was behind it. I think those layers made it more interesting.

[Michelle]

****possible spoilers****

Somehow, I didn't notice all the similarities to Harry Potter until I read all these comments (after finishing the book). Maybe it's because I had no expectations while I was reading it (I hadn't even heard of it until it was chosen for June). I did catch the reference to HP near the end and found it amusing.

I enjoyed the book a lot...it moved quickly (unlike most of the HP books), was amusing and humorous and action-filled. I used to have a strong interest in mythology, but have forgotten most of it so I enjoyed that aspect of the book. I was able to predict all the outcomes/betrayals, but didn't mind because it all made sense to me. The characters were likable (even Luke until the end), except Smelly Gabe.

I appreciated all the modern referrences (even Hilary Duff!), which were also amusing. I loved that Sally turned Gabe into a statue and then made loads of money off him, classic!

Someday, I think I'll read the rest of the series because it looks like fun, but I can wait.

I'm glad this was the group read and look forward to reading others.

[Tahleen]

I really enjoyed this book! It's been a while since I've read a book that really captured my interest because I wanted to know what would happen next; I'm glad this is a series.

I did see some similarities to HP, but I don't think it's a wannabe. The style of writing is so different that I just see them on completely different playing fields; Rowling's prose was smoother and musical, while Riordan made use of a lot more sarcasm, and I found his writing to be sharper, if that makes sense.

As for reading series that feature boys instead of girls, I've seen a lot of books that feature girls as the main character. Just take a look at any of Tamora Pierce's series; those all feature strong girls who go against the odds to do what they want to do, even if it's in a male-dominated field (like being a knight).

I really loved all the references to the different myths, like the mattress guy haha. I thought that was a really clever way of making it modern, though he gave enough hints to make it obvious once it was revealed. I also found myself laughing out loud a lot, I thought it was really funny!

[Teresa]

Michelle wrote: "****possible spoilers****

Somehow, I didn't notice all the similarities to Harry Potter until I read all these comments (after finishing the book). Maybe it's because I had no expectations whil..."


Don't wait : ) Sea of monsters is not as thick and reads just as fast. It has the references you refer to about Pop culture and there are not as many comparison to HP in the 2nd one. I just started the third one and it is funny too

[Emily]

***spoilers, about halfway through?***

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I read it in a day, which I hardly ever do anymore (curse you summer school!), but homework definitely got pushed aside for this one. It was very well-paced, with the right blend of action and character interplay for me. I'm wondering about how the other books are going to go. I mean, he already slayed Medusa and the Minotaur, are the monsters going to get more and more obscure as the series progresses? I know Riordan gave himself an out, as the monsters can "respawn," but I doubt he'll have him fighting the same baddies again and again. (And can Medusa even come back, since Percy's mom has her head and all?)

As for the Harry Potter similarities, it did occur to me while I was reading that there were some. That said, am I the only one who thinks HP is not the most original book in the world? Most of the similarities I saw were genre tropes: mysterious and powerful absent parent, magic school, cowardly but brave in the end best friend. Just thought I'd throw that out there *ducks in anticipation of rabid HP fan response*

[Luann]

Emily wrote: " That said, am I the only one who thinks HP is not the most original book in the world? Most of the similarities I saw were genre tropes: mysterious and powerful absent parent, magic school, cowardly but brave in the end best friend. Just thought I'd throw that out there *ducks in anticipation of rabid HP fan response*"

I'm with you on that one, Emily!

[Tahleen]

Yeah, it's a pretty standard formula. But what makes it good is the WAY it's written, and both HP and PJ do it fantastically :)

[Susan]

OK, so after setting this book down midway through and not sure if I would finish it, I finally decided, "What the heck...just read the darn thing!" And I was pleasantly surprised. It is funny, contemprary (but ancient), & endearing. I laughed aloud a number of times. So, I'm happy I read something I would have otherwise missed.

AND I take back my earlier comment about HP. It is rather formulaic but it works here.

I hope reading this and the other books in the series can inspire some kids to look deeper into reading mythology on its own merits.

[JG (Introverted Reader)]

After reading this, my 11-year-old cousin dug out her mom's copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I'm sure she knows more about it than I do at this point, and I had a 10th grade English teacher who interpreted the topic of "World Literature" as "Greek & Roman Mythology." But that was a long time ago. :-)

[Jen B]

I know I'm a month late, but I just finished this book yesterday and I absolutely loved it! I definitely did notice a lot of the Harry Potter similarites that people have noted here, but I didn't feel as though it was a complete copy. I loved the numerous Greek mythology tie-ins. I remember being bored out of my mind studying mythology in school (The Oddyssey, The Iliad...), but I guess another 16 years of maturity have made it interesting. I enjoyed looking up the references/myths, and I love the ways in which they are so cleverly woven into the story - like "Mr D" being banished to camp because of his "little problem" with wine, and Smelly Gabe's fate because of Medusa's head.

I'll definitely be reading the rest of these...and I might even be inspired to re-read The Oddyssey.