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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Review by Mr. OC
Move over Harry Potter! There’s a new magical pre-teen hero in town. His name is
Percy Jackson, and he is the protagonist of The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy
Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Riordan is the author of the Tres Navarre
adult mystery series, as well as a collaborator for the interactive 39 Steps series for children.
The Lightning Thief is a fantasy published in 2005 by Hyperion Books, and it comes in at 400
pages in paperback, but similar to Harry Potter, it reads in a flash.
Percy is your typical adolescent hero of the 21st century. Stuck in a different boarding
school every year because he consistently gets expelled, his home life revolves around his
sweet but poor mother, whose husband is the drunk American version of Harry Potter’s Uncle
Vernon. Percy’s father remains a mystery for the first part of the book, but his ease and agility
within water quickly reveal to us that Percy is actually the son of the Greek god of water,
Poseidon. That’s right: Greek gods are alive and well in the 21st century and living at the center
of Western Civilization: the Empire State Building in New York City, where you can find Mt.
Olympus by taking the elevator to the 600th floor. There’s a problem, though, as neither Zeus,
Poseidon, nor Hades (the Big Three) were supposed to have anymore children with mortals
since World War II. Thus Percy’s got a chip on his shoulder. Add to that the fact that someone
has stolen his uncle Zeus’ most prized weapon, his lightning bolt, and that Percy is the prime
suspect, and Percy is off on a quest to clear his name. From Camp Half-Blood, the summer
camp for demigods (heroes) like Percy, where Chaeron the centaur is the head counselor, Percy
sets out for Hades with trusted satyr friend Grover and the pretty and smart daughter of Athena,
Annabeth. Along their episodic quest across the USA, they encounter various monsters,
dangers, and traps, that make for exciting reading before reaching a climax that both entertains
and threatens much more danger and fun in the rest of the series.
The first Percy Jackson story does not compare in tone and plot to the rest of the series.
This is due mainly to the fact that Percy, in discovering a new world he did not know existed,
has to experience a bit too many ‘Harry Potter’ moments: scenes that remind the reader too
much of Harry’s first meeting with Hagrid, his trip to Diagon Alley, or arrival at Hogwarts,
from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling. The comparisons don’t stop there,
especially with the wise teacher (Chaeron v. Dumbledore) and the fact that Percy’s quest is a
threesome, comprised of hero, smart girl (hello, Hermione!), and loyal friend. Despite these
issues, Riordan manages by the end to make The Lightning Thief his own. The book is
enjoyable in its episodic nature, and its constant retooling of popular well- and lesser-known
Greek myths, from Perseus and Medusa to the Odyssey. Whether the reader has an extensive
knowledge of Mythology or has never come across the story of Achilles, it won’t matter:
Riordan gives enough background information to make his allusions both exciting and
interesting. A particularly wonderful scene occurs in Las Vegas, where the island of the LotusEaters from the Odyssey is updated into a casino for kids, where you’d never want to leave,
with endless pools, food, and video games galore. In fact, in today’s video game ridden culture,
the Percy Jackson series stands out as a way to pull young adult readers away from the TV and
into the library. Although later installments in the series add a lot more flavor and depth to both
the characters and the age-old conflict set in motion in book 1, The Lightning Thief is
nonetheless an entertaining entrance into the 21st century world of Greek Mythology, and is
well worth checking out.
This book review would receive 31 or 32 points based on how well it is written.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Review by Mr. OC
Over vacation I read a book called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning
Thief, by Rick Riordan. This is an interesting story about a character named Percy Jackson,
who is a demigod. His father is Poseidon, the water god, and his mother is a human. Percy
also have two friends, Annabeth and Grover, that he meets at Camp Half-Blood, a camp for
demigods. This story has a lot of action.
Once Percy is discovered at his school by Grover and a centaur named Chaeron, he has to
fight his way to Camp Half-Blood through a Minotaur, a famous monster from Greek
Mythology. When monsters are destroied in the story, they don’t die, they just turn to dust.
Percy is accused at camp of stealing Zeus’ thunderbolt, and he goes on a quest to prove he
didn’t do it. Annabeth and Grover go with him on his quest, and they travel through the USA
to Los Angeles from New York. There are many adventures along the way.
Percy Jackson is a cool book, because have Greek Mythology, and it’s told in a way that
is interesting. Also Percy and Annabeth seem to like each other. This book is good for people
who like aventures. There is a movie coming out soon about this book.
This Book Review would receive about 20 out of 32 points.
It is incomplete and poorly done.