Format: Kindle EditionChange
Price:$6.99
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on August 22, 2016
I knew of the series because of the movies being released and being a big Harry Potter fan, similar genres. When my son and I finished the HP series we went looking for something else. The Percy series really hit the spot. No spoilers for the story, but the book also made my son curious about mythology.
on December 20, 2015
I love the story, which deserves 5 stars, and I will DEFINITELY read the next book. The writing is good, the characters are funny, and even though I was able to guess who the "bad guys" were fairly early on, it was still an engaging read.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is due to several glaring and distracting transcription errors. They occur later in the book, but they definitely threw me out of the flow of the story. One of these is an issue with dialogue and there are a number of places where articles such as "a" and "the" are left out. Not the worst I've ever seen, but for a widely and professionally published book (rather than someone's self-published manuscript) I tend to find these kind of issues unacceptable.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is due to several glaring and distracting transcription errors. They occur later in the book, but they definitely threw me out of the flow of the story. One of these is an issue with dialogue and there are a number of places where articles such as "a" and "the" are left out. Not the worst I've ever seen, but for a widely and professionally published book (rather than someone's self-published manuscript) I tend to find these kind of issues unacceptable.
on March 7, 2015
I totally found myself enjoying this book. This was so much of a blast of a book to read. As I was reading this book, I remember what it was like to be a kid again. This book really made me feel like I was reading for fun again. Percy Jackson and his friends really were just like any other kids, but have all these weird and crazy things happen to them because being kids of Gods, nothing is ever simple.
Percy Jackson doesn’t seem to be having a good day or even a good week when we first meet him. He seems like a kid who has been hallucinating. Only problem is that Percy is not imagining or hallucinating the things he sees. Percy doesn’t realize that what he is seeing is real. This was really well done and well played. He thinks that he is going crazy. I would too if I saw the things that he saw in the book.
Plus he has to deal with his mother, and Grover telling him some pretty crazy things about him being the child of a god. He also finds that Grover is a satyr and has to bring him to a place that houses half-bloods like himself. Nothing is ever easy because every mythological creature is after him and he doesn’t understand why. I thought that the first few chapters were very action packed. Percy and Grover definitely seem to have an adventure with a minotaur and all the craziness indeed. Percy doesn’t really know what to do, but he manages to defeat him. Him and Grover somehow manage to make it to Camp Half Blood.
At Camp Half-Blood, Percy discovers a whole lot of things about who he is related to and not in a good way through a lot of different actions. Plus there a lot of children who are like him, Half-Bloods, Half-God, half-humans. I thought that the other children were interesting and our great. I totally find that Annabeth was a lot of fun (plus she is a NY Yankees fan, so I like her immediately). He finds out through an accident that he is the son of Poseidon. So of course things get more interesting.
Percy gets accused of doing something that he didn’t know. This leads to a crazy quest of course for him. I totally find how fun the quest was for Percy and his friends. The other Gods seem determined not to help him or setting him up for their own nefarious purposes. Some of the Gods want Percy to fail or die. He has decided to take on a hero’s journey which is never easy. I totally love the quest and all the crazy things that he has to experience along with his friends. The aspect of the mythology was great. Plus the use of the God’s themselves was something that I didn’t expect.
Also everyone learns a little bit more about themselves in the process of the quest. I really enjoyed the friendship and the action packed nature of the book. Also the mythology and the mythological monsters were great. I thought that this was so much fun. Plus Percy is a character that I really found to be interesting, real, plus he is thrust into a world where he has to be brave, despite his fears. Plus he meets his challenges in a way that you never expect.
I really enjoyed this book immensely.
Percy Jackson doesn’t seem to be having a good day or even a good week when we first meet him. He seems like a kid who has been hallucinating. Only problem is that Percy is not imagining or hallucinating the things he sees. Percy doesn’t realize that what he is seeing is real. This was really well done and well played. He thinks that he is going crazy. I would too if I saw the things that he saw in the book.
Plus he has to deal with his mother, and Grover telling him some pretty crazy things about him being the child of a god. He also finds that Grover is a satyr and has to bring him to a place that houses half-bloods like himself. Nothing is ever easy because every mythological creature is after him and he doesn’t understand why. I thought that the first few chapters were very action packed. Percy and Grover definitely seem to have an adventure with a minotaur and all the craziness indeed. Percy doesn’t really know what to do, but he manages to defeat him. Him and Grover somehow manage to make it to Camp Half Blood.
At Camp Half-Blood, Percy discovers a whole lot of things about who he is related to and not in a good way through a lot of different actions. Plus there a lot of children who are like him, Half-Bloods, Half-God, half-humans. I thought that the other children were interesting and our great. I totally find that Annabeth was a lot of fun (plus she is a NY Yankees fan, so I like her immediately). He finds out through an accident that he is the son of Poseidon. So of course things get more interesting.
Percy gets accused of doing something that he didn’t know. This leads to a crazy quest of course for him. I totally find how fun the quest was for Percy and his friends. The other Gods seem determined not to help him or setting him up for their own nefarious purposes. Some of the Gods want Percy to fail or die. He has decided to take on a hero’s journey which is never easy. I totally love the quest and all the crazy things that he has to experience along with his friends. The aspect of the mythology was great. Plus the use of the God’s themselves was something that I didn’t expect.
Also everyone learns a little bit more about themselves in the process of the quest. I really enjoyed the friendship and the action packed nature of the book. Also the mythology and the mythological monsters were great. I thought that this was so much fun. Plus Percy is a character that I really found to be interesting, real, plus he is thrust into a world where he has to be brave, despite his fears. Plus he meets his challenges in a way that you never expect.
I really enjoyed this book immensely.
on November 4, 2012
Rick Riordan has hit on a winning formula in the Percy Jackson series! Lots of adventure aimed directly at the 10-13 year old reluctant reader. The story line and characters are as addictive as Rowling's Harry Potter books, but instead of using wizardry and witchcraft, Riordan empowers his heroes and heroines through the magic of Greek mythology. Tons of monster-fighting, problem-solving, and even a bit of age-appropriate romance thrown in as the characters age along with the target audience. As a reader, a parent, and a middle-school English teacher, I cannot say enough good about Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief! At least a dozen parents have thanked me for introducing this story to their sons, who would not read a book until this one came along, and who have now read and re-read the entire series. I even know of some teenagers (both boys and girls) who had a race to see who could finish the latest book first! Not only are they entertained by these stories, but they are also learning about the root mythology of Western civilization while traveling to all the major landmarks of the U.S.A. (and, in the Heroes of Olympus series, across the Atlantic to Europe as well); when they get on to high school and have to study Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, they are making straight A's without effort! Last year I read the series aloud to my son, who has always been a struggling reader, and now he is re-reading it independently and loving it even more the second time around. DO NOT BE TURNED AWAY BY THE POOR MOVIE ADAPTATION!
on March 16, 2017
My son loves this series. I have struggled to find books to challenge him. He didn't like Harry Potter and other books. He just wanted to read Wimpy Kid books which were not helping his overall reading skills. But he reads these book nonstop. He has finished the first 5 books in this series and he is on the next series. I think the Greek and Roman mythology backdrop really fascinates him. I strongly recommend
on August 16, 2014
Author Rick Riordan found a way to make 6th grade Social Studies interesting by giving Greek mythology a modern update and employing a likeable adolescent hero in this first installment of his Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, The Lightning Thief.
Percy is a dyslexic, ADHD kid who has been kicked out of six schools in the past six years. He’s also a demigod — a half-human, half-God hybrid. Percy’s Mom is a nice lady named Sally Jackson, and his father is one of Olympus’ Big Three — Zeus, Poseidon or Hades. Learning his father’s identity is the first of many quests for Percy.
Riordan taught English and Social Studies and is the father of an ADHD child, all of which he incorporates into the fictional world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Riordan also uses Neil Gaiman’s American Gods formula of putting mythological gods in modern day America, breathing new life into the stuffy, dusty world of centaurs, satyrs, and sea nymphs. The Lightning Thief plays out like an action adventure flick rather than a retelling of Bulfinch’s Mythology.
As Percy travels the country trying to solve the mystery of Zeus’ missing lightning bolt, he battles some major monsters, including Medusa, Echidna, and Chimera (as well as avoiding the allure of Kronos’ hypnotic whisper from the dark depths of a Tartaran pit). Things get a little heavy along the way and some parts of The Lightning Thief might be scary for kids — but isn't that the mark of all great children's literature?
There are enough backstabbings and betrayals to make The Lightning Thief read more like junior high crime noir than Greek mythology. Riordan keeps the plot twisting and turning right up until the very end — which, of course, leaves the door open for the other four books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
-30-
Percy is a dyslexic, ADHD kid who has been kicked out of six schools in the past six years. He’s also a demigod — a half-human, half-God hybrid. Percy’s Mom is a nice lady named Sally Jackson, and his father is one of Olympus’ Big Three — Zeus, Poseidon or Hades. Learning his father’s identity is the first of many quests for Percy.
Riordan taught English and Social Studies and is the father of an ADHD child, all of which he incorporates into the fictional world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Riordan also uses Neil Gaiman’s American Gods formula of putting mythological gods in modern day America, breathing new life into the stuffy, dusty world of centaurs, satyrs, and sea nymphs. The Lightning Thief plays out like an action adventure flick rather than a retelling of Bulfinch’s Mythology.
As Percy travels the country trying to solve the mystery of Zeus’ missing lightning bolt, he battles some major monsters, including Medusa, Echidna, and Chimera (as well as avoiding the allure of Kronos’ hypnotic whisper from the dark depths of a Tartaran pit). Things get a little heavy along the way and some parts of The Lightning Thief might be scary for kids — but isn't that the mark of all great children's literature?
There are enough backstabbings and betrayals to make The Lightning Thief read more like junior high crime noir than Greek mythology. Riordan keeps the plot twisting and turning right up until the very end — which, of course, leaves the door open for the other four books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
-30-
on October 12, 2013
Riordan's genius in this series shows from his ability to take ancient Greek myths and transpose them into the modern world. The fast pace of this novel (and the fact that the hero is 12) should grab most teens and their parents by the scruff of the neck and drag them along breathlessly to the last page. It sets up the series nicely and does one more key thing: introduces the reader to the concepts of Greek mythology, a series of tall and morbid tales that every western youngster should be familiar with.
Personally, I enjoyed it overall. Some of the ideas are interesting, such as Western Civilization being the life-energy of the gods. Percy is a very likeable character despite his penchant for destroying his schools (and, no, it never is his fault, no matter what his teachers may think). The hallmarks of his character are very positive and while he ends up having to do some rather not-so-good things, his motives are good. His companions are fun, too, with the smart and sassy Annabeth and the seemingly cowardly Grover. This book and the attendant series goes on my shelf of great series to read over and over again (behind Tolkien, Lewis, Lawhead and Peters).
Some more serious Christians will find this book a little disturbing, though likely less so than the Harry Potter series. My word to them is to view it as a parable of selflessness (and Percy is quite selfless while thinking he's being selfish) and a chance to discuss the primary difference between Christianity and the ancient religions that Christianity had to face during its infancy. Discerning readers may even see some interesting parallels of the beliefs of the ancient Greeks as Riordan retells them to modern-day thought processes and opinions.
Personally, I enjoyed it overall. Some of the ideas are interesting, such as Western Civilization being the life-energy of the gods. Percy is a very likeable character despite his penchant for destroying his schools (and, no, it never is his fault, no matter what his teachers may think). The hallmarks of his character are very positive and while he ends up having to do some rather not-so-good things, his motives are good. His companions are fun, too, with the smart and sassy Annabeth and the seemingly cowardly Grover. This book and the attendant series goes on my shelf of great series to read over and over again (behind Tolkien, Lewis, Lawhead and Peters).
Some more serious Christians will find this book a little disturbing, though likely less so than the Harry Potter series. My word to them is to view it as a parable of selflessness (and Percy is quite selfless while thinking he's being selfish) and a chance to discuss the primary difference between Christianity and the ancient religions that Christianity had to face during its infancy. Discerning readers may even see some interesting parallels of the beliefs of the ancient Greeks as Riordan retells them to modern-day thought processes and opinions.
on February 25, 2013
Goodreads Description- 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.
I have to say that when I found out that I had to read this book for a book club I was a little apprehensive. I am not a fan of the fantasy trend in young adult literature and worried that this would end up like some of the other popular teen reads (which will remain unnamed) that it would be filled with star crossed teen love and angst along with the ever popular vampires, shapeshifters, and other popular paranormal creatures. I haven't seen the movie and only had the small book description to go on for the plot introduction. I knew it had rave reviews, but so do all of the other young adult fantasy series that are being published at an astonishing rate. However, despite my true lack of interest, I hesitantly started to read. And guess what...I was hooked! I loved the characters and how the author developed them for the reader by revealing their identities slowly. I really liked the idea of the Greek gods still ruling the earth and spawning children with mortals. It seemed to me like a unique storyline and NOT like the other recent teen novels.
The book moves at a fast pace because the reading level is more for middle grade students rather than high schoolers but the story was still interesting enough to keep my adult attention. Percy's quest had just the right mix of action that was fully developed rather than just cut off to keep it short. This wasn't a novel that I would criticize and say that I wished it were longer. The author did an excellent job at writing a full novel filled with everything an adult wants in a book that is fit for a 12 year old to read. As a former teacher who knows something about children's literature, it is a wonderful talent if an author can keep the adult and children interested.
The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating was that it seemed to copy the Harry Potter series. The main character, Percy, was comparable to Harry and his two friends, Annabeth and Grover, doubled as Ron and Hermione. I wish he was able to develop the main characters into something more unique.
I would definitely recommend this novel, especially to people like me who are leery of the whole fantasy genre. I am going to go ahead and get the next books in the series from the library to see what Percy and his friends are up to next. 4 stars.
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.
I have to say that when I found out that I had to read this book for a book club I was a little apprehensive. I am not a fan of the fantasy trend in young adult literature and worried that this would end up like some of the other popular teen reads (which will remain unnamed) that it would be filled with star crossed teen love and angst along with the ever popular vampires, shapeshifters, and other popular paranormal creatures. I haven't seen the movie and only had the small book description to go on for the plot introduction. I knew it had rave reviews, but so do all of the other young adult fantasy series that are being published at an astonishing rate. However, despite my true lack of interest, I hesitantly started to read. And guess what...I was hooked! I loved the characters and how the author developed them for the reader by revealing their identities slowly. I really liked the idea of the Greek gods still ruling the earth and spawning children with mortals. It seemed to me like a unique storyline and NOT like the other recent teen novels.
The book moves at a fast pace because the reading level is more for middle grade students rather than high schoolers but the story was still interesting enough to keep my adult attention. Percy's quest had just the right mix of action that was fully developed rather than just cut off to keep it short. This wasn't a novel that I would criticize and say that I wished it were longer. The author did an excellent job at writing a full novel filled with everything an adult wants in a book that is fit for a 12 year old to read. As a former teacher who knows something about children's literature, it is a wonderful talent if an author can keep the adult and children interested.
The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating was that it seemed to copy the Harry Potter series. The main character, Percy, was comparable to Harry and his two friends, Annabeth and Grover, doubled as Ron and Hermione. I wish he was able to develop the main characters into something more unique.
I would definitely recommend this novel, especially to people like me who are leery of the whole fantasy genre. I am going to go ahead and get the next books in the series from the library to see what Percy and his friends are up to next. 4 stars.
on June 4, 2014
I gave this book 4 stars because my students who read it were hooked! I am a teacher, so I can't give it a thumbs up for adults, but my advanced 3rd grade readers (end of the 3rd grade year) read it, both girls and boys. They went on to read the next two books within a couple of weeks. Today, one of those readers thanked me again for introducing him to the Percy Jackson series.
Percy is a boy with a complicated life who discovers that he has a personal connection to the Greek gods...and that those same gods are still active in present times. He goes on a quest to sort this out and has multiple encounters with creatures who want to deter, or even kill him.
As an adult, I felt the plot was interesting and moved along quickly. The references to Greek gods sent me looking for resources to check my memory of greek mythological characters. The level of violence was fairly low, so it was okay for most 3rd graders who might be able to read it. The maturity of the series would make it appropriate for readers through 7th or 8th grade.
Percy is a boy with a complicated life who discovers that he has a personal connection to the Greek gods...and that those same gods are still active in present times. He goes on a quest to sort this out and has multiple encounters with creatures who want to deter, or even kill him.
As an adult, I felt the plot was interesting and moved along quickly. The references to Greek gods sent me looking for resources to check my memory of greek mythological characters. The level of violence was fairly low, so it was okay for most 3rd graders who might be able to read it. The maturity of the series would make it appropriate for readers through 7th or 8th grade.
