Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is about a boy who discovers himself to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. Now I spend my time battling monsters and generally trying to stay alive. This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I’ve stolen his lightning bolt – and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.  

Summary 

This book starts off with our main protagonist, Percy Jackson, just being a normal student going to school. If being dyslexic and having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ) is normal. Anyway, so I am just minding my own business, trying not to punch Nancy Bobfit in the face, hanging out with my best friend- Grover, typically normal stuff. When my maths teacher calls me into the room, and I’m attacked by a half bat-like human thing,  whom I vaporize with a pen that transforms into a sword. Definitely not normal !! Turns out nobody remembers my teacher and I thought the whole school was playing this big prank on me whenever I asked anybody about her.  

Things get even stranger when I overhear my best friend, Grover talking to my Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner about me. They mention a bunch of strange names like the kindly ones and how they need to keep me alive until the end of the school year. Now by this point, I am extremely worried, and I just want to go home to my mum’s small apartment. But things didn’t get any better on the way, Grover keeps panicking,  feeling really nervous. Of course, I think it isn’t that big a deal, but boy, I am proved wrong,  fast-forwarding into my story, without giving to much away… 

*deep intake of breath*  

I went to my mum’s apartment I got really mad at smelly Gabe, my stepfather, but I couldn’t be mad for long as me and my mum were going to our favorite beach! When we got there, we did all our favorite stuff, including eating blue food (long story). Now, this is when things got weird; the weather went bad to worst and Grover turned up at our hut.  We were all in the car before I had a chance to figure out what was going on. 

On the way, we were attacked by lightning and that’s not the worst part. Before we knew it there was a Minotaur standing in front of us! We made it to a place where my mum said we would be safe-at the Camp Half-blood. But even when we got there, the Minotaur had my mum and he disappeared before my eyes. I don’t know what happened but I defeated the Minotaur, discovering my reflexes and strength.

From there on I went on my own quest. Turns out, Zeus thinks that I stole his most valuable possession –  the lightning bolt! But I had help from my friends, Grover, who is a satyr, and Annabeth – the daughter of the goddess Athena. From there on, out I was…. no longer just Perseus Jackson- I was Perseus Jackson, Son of the God of the Sea; Poseidon’s son.  My quest is to find the real lightning thief and prevent and three-way war which could possibly result in world war III; so, no pressure... 

Review 

Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief is by far on my favorite’s list. I started reading this book once I had finished the Artemis Fowl series, and I must confess that I am once again in love with it. I would just like to say that this book series is very popular, and I wonder why it took me so long to read it. I love Percy’s character and the whole concept of his greatest weaknesses- which are his disorders, actually proving to being his greatest strengths !!

I would like to add the fact that I have learned more Greek mythology from this one book than I have during the five years of my attending primary school !! How much easier would life be is Rick Riordan taught us mythology or Suzanne Collins taught us history !! 

Coming back to the book, one of my favorite things about it is Calm Half-Blood. I am now expecting to go to Hogwarts in the school year on go to camp Half-Blood in the summer, and no one would suspect a thing! Rick Riordan has described everything so beautifully; it was like I was already there. Just everything about this book is perfect, from the way it has been written to the plot and the characters. I just can’t wait to lay my hands on the next book …..!!

It’s like the whole book was planned from start to finish in a second, and everything fits in place like a jigsaw puzzle. I love it. Again, this adds to one of the major fandoms I’m in. A perfect book,  filled with all the qualities I would look for in a good book.  

“How did you die?” 

“We er… drowned in the bathtub.” 

“All three of you?” 

“It was a big bathtub.” 

One of the other things you can’t help but enjoy in this book is the banter and the weird friendship the trio are bonded by. It’s truly hilarious, especially with Percy being so new to the idea that he is a half-blood. It’s seriously one of those books which you can read over and over again and still laugh at the same line or joke.  

 Percy and his friends encounter many monsters on their way to the underworld and again on their way to Olympus. These monsters are obviously from Greek mythology, including Medusa; who is one of my personal favorites. It’s like a modern twist in the retelling of these stories. And if you know me then I’m a big fan of mixing old and modern, so it’s like this book was made for me. 

I would recommend this book to readers between the ages of 10 and above. This book belongs to the following genres: fantasy, fiction, children’s adventure and young adult. But I would also say that it has a bit of every genre you can imagine. 

In conclusion, I would like to give Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan a five out of five as it was a magical read that will have a place in my heart forever. 

About the Author 

Rick Riordan is a former teacher and full-time author of American origin. He has written numerous books, and series including The Percy Jackson series, The Kan chronicles, and the Magnus Chase series. All fort the younger readers. His first job was teaching at both public and private schools in the  San Francisco Bay area and in Texas. While teaching, Riordan went on to write his famous mystery novel series for adults – Tres Navarre, which brought him many awards. He then started writing the ever so famous Percy Jackson series. Currently, his books have sold millions of copies, and have been sent to more than 37 different countries. Rick Riordan is a full-time writer and presently lives with his wife and two sons in Boston.