Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

T h e  L i g h t n i n g  T h i e f  by Rick Riordan

"In this stunning collectors' edition of The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson’s world is brought to life with eight full-color plates by the series jacket artist John Rocco. The edition comes in an elegant slipcase with a ribbon bookmark, rough edges, and cloth cover—a perfect keepsake for fans of this truly epic series.

After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

This first installment of Rick Riordan's best-selling series is a non-stop thrill-ride and a classic of mythic proportions."

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Next: The Sea of Monsters
Meme: Forget Me Not

Definitely much better than the movie, if you don't already know. I actually saw the movie first before reading the book, and I can honestly say that, while entertaining, the movie does NOT do this book justice. Riordan incorporates Greek mythology in the most excellent way - it serves as a totally engrossing aspect of the novel, and a fundamental one. The idea that Greek gods and goddesses have demigod children currently living in our world, some oblivious to their own power, is ingenious and - get this - somewhat believable. As in, I could actually visualize this tale occurring in our present reality. It's not all that far-fetched.

12-year-old Percy Jackson is one huge barrel of laughs, that kid is. With this novel being told in first person POV, I really got inside Percy's head and feelings. Some of the things he would say... I cracked up a ton throughout the story! I just couldn't help it. Percy's funny without even really trying. And his reactions to the unfolding events within the book were completely genuine and believable. His resentments, determination, and overall courage completely charmed me. The fact that he's willing to take on this ominous quest, however impure his intentions, and constantly defend his friends, caught me instantly. Percy Jackson is the latest addition to my mental list of amazing heroes.

And Percy's aforementioned friends, Grover and Annabeth, are really great additions to the overall cast. The three of these characters together made a pretty fantastic trio. Although Grover is somewhat of a scaredy cat and is pretty shy, he's sweet, and despite his pressing fears, he continually goes out of his way to defend both Percy and Annabeth. And Annabeth is also brave in her own right, and is incredibly smart. Her dislike of  Percy made for some utterly hilarious scenes. Plus, it's kind of obvious that once Annabeth and Percy grow up a little more they'll become a romantic duo - which I'm extremely looking forward to.

Then there's the dangerous quest the three of them set out on. A mysterious someone has stolen an object of importance from a particularly powerful god who is, understandably, very, very distraught by this. As a result of the theft, war is fast-approaching amongst the gods, one which will undoubtedly force them to choose sides. Someone is cleverly pitting the gods against each other, and it's up to Percy to retrieve the missing object, put a stop to the upcoming war, and convince the gods that they are being manipulated. This proves to be a near impossible feat when you take into account the fact that Percy Jackson and his friends are super young, and have to get to the other side of the country - facing many foes in the process - to track down the source of this raging problem, all the while dealing with meddlesome gods, a lying stepfather who could care less about Percy and Percy's mom, who's more interested in acquiring money, ending in a face-off with the intimidating, fearsome King of the Underworld himself.

Full of adventure, puzzling circumstances, encounters with deadly agents of the Underworld, and that feeling of "a race against time," THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a consuming read that captivated the hell out of me, and has left me with an overwhelming thirst for the sequel. I can't wait to dive into THE SEA OF MONSTERS, and watch Percy continue his journey.

See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield. I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool. I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that. . . Well, you get the idea. (2)