Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive.

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.

Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts?

I'm really interested in Greek mythology. I find it really fascinating. I also like really funny books, with a good plot, good twists, good characters, and good writing. Fortunately, The Lightning Thief was all of these things! I've never read a book like it, it was brilliant!


Percy was hilarious! He took the most serious, battling-with-the-gods moments, and made a joke out of them. It made me giggle the way he annoyed the gods with his smart mouth. I thought he was the perfect protagonist, kind, loyal, brave and funny! I loved his friendship with Annabeth and Grover. He and Annabeth's bickering had me laughing. But Percy would do anything for her, and Grover and vice versa. I really liked Annabeth. She annoyed me a bit at first though, I thought she was an irritating know-it-all. But she turned out to be an awesome, independent, headstrong female heroine! And I do love me a strong female heroine. Grover was sort of a Ron Weasley. Completely lovable. A bit annoying at times, but the best friend you could have. I wish he was my friend :( Actually, now that I think about it, Percy, Grover and Annabeth are a bit like Harry Ron and Hermione. You know, three best friends saving the world from evil, with a little bit of romance put in for good measure. I don't think that's a bad thing though, like Riordan-copied-Rowling, I'm just observing.


I have to be honest, it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning. I found it sort of confusing. But after a couple of chapters it started to get exciting, and I was hooked!
Riordan writing style is fantastic. He really makes you believe Percy, Grover and all the rest of the characters are real. The descriptions are perfect too, I could imagine everything like it were happening right in front of me. The action scenes were excellent. Action scenes in a lot books aren't described very well, it's just a load of chaos! - but in The Lightning Thief they were detailed and exciting. Really, I can't praise this book enough!


There's a really shocking twist near the end, I really wasn't expecting that! I liked the ending, and although it doesn't finish on a cliffhanger,but it does set up for the rest of the series, and leaves the reader wanting more. Lots more! I can't wait to read Sea of Monsters, the next book in the Percy Jackson series. Also, has anyone seen the movie? It looks really good! Comments please :)


Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it to fans of fantasy, adventure, and Greek mythology. Everyone should read this book! It's original, funny and absolutely un-putdownable!  

                                                    Rating: 5/5


Source: Library
Pages: 1st May 2008
Age Group: 9+
Official Publication Date: 384
Publisher: Puffin
Author Website: www.rickriordan.com or www.percyjackson.co.uk