Review: The Lightning Thief

Title:  The Lightning Thief
Series:  Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1
Author:  Rick Riordan
Publisher:  Disney Hyperion Books
Pages:  377
Format:  Paperback
Source:  Bought

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But 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 betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

My Review:  This is one of my most favorite books of all time.  It's definitely not like the things I normally read which mainly deal with older teens, paranormal aspects, and lots of angst.  This is a surprisingly light and fun read with an entertaining voice and lots of different ideas.

The thing that immediately hooked me was Percy.  He is such an awesome kid with a sense of humor that had me laughing out loud nearly every page.  I loved how down to earth he was and how he never let his power get to his head.  He was always just Percy.  I adored his loyalty to his mom and his friends, even though that loyalty got him into some tight places at times.  I also really loved Annabeth and Grover.  Both of them definitely held their own in this story.  They weren't over shadowed but Percy's awesomeness.  Instead, they proved that they were just as great as he was.

I loved the plot in this book, too.  It was fun seeing Percy discover new things about this world he'd been thrust into.  And every time we got to see Percy fight and use his powers, I just nearly died of his amazingness (Yes, I know that's not a real word.  But it fits.)  I'm a total Percy fan girl.  I just can't help it.

If you're hesitating to read this book because you've heard it's for little kids or you saw the movie and it turned you off to the idea, just throw those thoughts out the window.  This book it absolutely fantastic.   This is one of those books that I will be going back to over and over again, no matter how old I am. 

Five Cards