Download The Lightning Thief (book 1) by Rick Riordan

Students,
The following list includes books which are associated with Mythology in some form. For extra credit (an extra
daily grade), have your parent sign the permission slip allowing you to read the novel, read the novel in its
entirety, and complete an activity in which you prove to me that you read the book. You might consider a brief
summary and review of the novel in which you rate the book or perhaps you would consider a more creative
presentation of the novel. The only expectation is that you prove your knowledge and understanding of the
novel. Enjoy!
Ms. Wynne
The Lightning Thief (book 1) by Rick Riordan
An adventure-quest with a hip edge. At first glance, Perseus Jackson seems like a loser, but he's really the son of Poseidon and a
mortal woman. As he discovers his heritage, he also loses that mother and falls into mortal danger. The gods are about to go to
war over a lost thunderbolt, so Percy and sidekicks Grover) and Annabeth set out to retrieve it. Many close calls and monsterattacks later, they enter Hades' realm. There's lots of zippy review of Greek myth and legend, and characters like Medusa,
Procrustes, Charon, and the Eumenides get updates. Some of the Labors of Heracles or Odysseus's adventures are recycled, but
nothing seems stale, and the breakneck pace keeps the action from being too predictable. Percy is an ADHD, wise-cracking,
first-person narrator.
The Sea of Monsters (book 2) by Rick Riordan
In this second installment in the series, Percy, Poseidon's 13-year-old demigod son, is desperate to rescue his friend Grover,
captive of the bloodthirsty Cyclops Polyphemus, and to retrieve the healing Golden Fleece. The sheepskin is needed to restore
the protection around Camp Half-Blood, the only safe haven for the children of gods and humans, heroes-in-training in our
modern world. However, the camp has already been compromised and the quest for the Golden Fleece has been awarded to the
bully Clarisse. Encouraged by Hermes, Percy sets off for the Bermuda Triangle anyway with his friend Annabeth and classmate
Tyson, who turns out to be a half-brother and a Cyclops as well. Adventure follows chaotic adventure at a rapid pace.
The Titan’s Curse (book 3) by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is now 14, a bit older and wiser, yet still entangled with the Fates. Friends, monsters, dysfunctional gods, and the
romantic stirrings of all things natural and mythological are encountered. His good friend, if oft-time rival, Annabeth is missing,
as is Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Joined by best buddy Grover-the-goat-boy and an argumentative array of accomplices, Percy
sets off to fulfill, and hopefully foil, the foreboding prophecy of the Oracle. Plagued by ominous dreams, thwarted by hideous
monsters, and challenged by conflicting partnerships, the search party's success hinges on unlikely unity. The droll pitch is teenperfect, as when Apollo heats up the scene by arriving in his fire-red Maserati, wearing jeans, a sleeveless T-shirt, and loafers.
'Wow,' Thalia muttered, 'Apollo is hot.' 'He's the sun god,' I said. 'That's not what I meant.'
The Battle of the Labyrinth (book 4) by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on
campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this latest installment of the blockbuster
series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of
Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronoss army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To
stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrintha sprawling underground world
with stunning surprises at every turn.
Aphrodite’s Blessings by Clemence McLaren
"And I realized with a shock that he was never going to understand. He was a man," laments Atalanta about her overbearing
father. Atalanta, Andromeda, and Psyche--three Greek heroines bound by love, or by the harsh bonds of a patriarchal society? In
these feminist retellings of classic love stories, Clemence McLaren, tells it like it really was for women back in the Greek day-early marriage followed by complete sacrifice to a husband's sometimes selfish will. But these women refuse to accept that fate,
and try instead to somehow get around their father-chosen futures.
Waiting for Odysseus by Clemence McLaren
Odysseus took the long way home from the Trojan War--20 years of wandering and adventuring through the islands of the
Aegean Sea. The story of his voyage is one of the great tales of Western civilization--but meanwhile, what about the women who
loved and yearned for this handsome, crafty hero? Homer has very little to say about how these women felt about being at the
mercy of Odysseus's wanderlust. To even the score, Clemence McLaren offers a backstage perspective of Odysseus's life and
adventures from the voices of the four women who cared most. First, of course, is the spectacularly faithful Penelope. And then
there is the sensuous witch Circe, who turns men into swine and lures Odysseus to stay, only to be caught in the trap of love
herself. The virgin goddess Pallas Athene watches over her favorite with fond amusement, and his ancient nurse Eurycleia
grumbles and hopes through the long years, raising Odysseus's son Telemachus and helping Penelope fend off a bevy of suitors.
As any woman might expect, when the hero finally does return there is emotional baggage to be cleared away before the longedfor happy ending.
Inside the Walls of Troy by Clemence McLaren
McLaren gives us the story of the Trojan War from two points of view. She begins with the divinely beautiful Helen, who
recounts her own history--from her kidnapping at age 12 by Theseus to her marriage to Menelaus to her head-over-heels
encounter with handsome, arrogant Paris. The remainder of the book is narrated by Paris' sister Cassandra, who experiences
painful visions of the future (precipitated by Helen's arrival) but can get no one to believe her. These ancient stories are made as
fresh and vivid as any modern tale by the electrifying characters and sensual details. By the time the tragedy has unfolded, readers
will no longer think of Helen, Penelope, Achilles, and Odysseus as dull entries in a history text but will recognize them as
gripping, fascinating personalities.
Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline Cooney
The dramatic and bloody siege of Troy is one of the oldest and best of human stories, and in Goddess of Yesterday Caroline Cooney
tells it afresh through the eyes of Anaxander, the daughter of the king of a tiny Greek island. As a child she is taken as a hostage
to the island of King Nicander. When she is 13, marauding pirates sack the palace, killing everyone but her. Anaxander frightens
them off by pretending to be the goddess Medusa, with the help of an octopus as a hairdo. When she is rescued by the ships of
King Menalaus, she assumes the identity of a princess, Nicander's daughter, and becomes a royal guest. When Menalaus's cold
and vain wife, Helen, runs off to Troy with her lover, Paris, Anaxander goes along to protect Helen's baby son. Within the walls
of Troy, she is torn with conflicting loyalties as the bronze-clad warriors of Menalaus land their ships on the plains below the city
and war is imminent.
Lost in the Labyrinth by Patrice Kindl
Kindl retells the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur through the perceptive eyes of Xenodice, the younger sister of Ariadne. In
this inventive version, no Athenians are killed by the Minotaur, who is gentle despite his monstrous appearance, unless provoked.
Xenodice loves and tries to protect her human/bull brother, not only from the harshly heroic Theseus, but also from the
schemes of her own family. The author artfully includes many elements of the legend while at the same time creating a fully
realized and original setting. Readers who know the legend will enjoy the parallels and contrasts that occur throughout, but the
strong storytelling lets Xenodice's tale stand on its own, as well.
Quiver by Stephanie Spinner
Atalanta, a skilled archer and a runner, has dedicated her life to Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. She has grown up among
hunters, and is as good or better than many of her male counterparts. When strangers appear and command that she return with
them to her father, the king, she is shocked and dismayed. King Iasus, who abandoned her at birth, now demands that she marry
and produce a son, since he does not have an heir. She balks at this idea, since she has vowed to remain chaste, and poses a
challenge: she will only marry a man who can outrun her in a race; all others must die. To her dismay, many accept the challenge
and fail. However, when Hippomenes enlists the help of Eros and the Golden Apples of Aphrodite, Atalanta cannot force
herself to outrun this man and have him die.
Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner
Quicksilver, as befits its subject–the god Hermes–is lighter and occasionally even silly as the author aims for the appropriate
narrative voice for this multifaceted deity who escorts the dead to the underworld. In the early pages, the trickster aspect of
Hermes's personality dominates as the messenger god runs errands for Zeus, the father he loves, and gets involved in the lives of
the mortals and demigods whom he encounters. At times he seems almost like the wisecracking buddy on a sitcom. But as the
story continues, Hermes's more serious side comes through, and his narration takes on darker tones. Because he is not generally
a central figure in the myths, Spinner's Hermes is something like a tour guide, recounting the actions of others–Persephone and
Demeter, Perseus, Odysseus–and commenting on their foibles, as well as offering insights into their all-too-human behavior.
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__________________________________________ by ___________________________ in English I for
their outside reading extra credit. I am aware that the book is topical to Mythology and related to the second six
weeks academic unit. I also know that my child has not read this novel in or out of school.
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