Genre: YA Fantasy
Published: March 1, 2006 by Disney Hyperion
Series: #1 (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
Length: 377 pages
Source: bought
“Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends — one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena — Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.”
This book was such a fun read! I was hooked on from start to finish because of the adventures and plot twists. I have seen the movie before I read the book (which I don’t normally do) and when I read Lightning Thief, I realized they left out so many details in the movie! If you have seen the movie and have not read the book, I recommend you reading it because there is a lot more to the story! It is told in 1st person point of view of Percy Jackson, the protagonist of this book.
Percy is such a kick ass character. Although he is still a kid, he is so brave and smart. He does not back out from fights and missions which made me admire him more. I also like how he loves and cares about his mother so much! It is so cute seeing Percy protecting his mother from his step father who treats them like they are useless. Another character that I liked in this book is Grover, Percy’s best friend. I think out of all the characters in this book, he is the one who will show a big character development. Grover starts out as being shy, worried, and negative (“I-can’t-do-this-I’m-not-good-enough” kind of negative). But as the story goes on, he breaks out from his shy personality a little bit and starts cracking jokes. I think Grover is what really made this book a fun read. The other protagonist in this book is Annabeth, another demigod whom Percy meets in Camp Half Blood. I love how she is so intelligent and sassy! Although she is still young like Percy, she is so independent and responsible.
Riordan was very descriptive of the places Percy and his friends venture off to which I appreciated. I enjoyed imagining the different settings the story took place which were New York, Las Vegas, Camp Half Blood, and the Underworld to name a few. Overall this book was such a blast. The book was so unpredictable and just filled with adventure. It is easy to get your nose glued in this book so make sure you have a lot of time before you read this.
Little Book Star 
I read The Lightning Thief before seeing the movie and it was annoying to see a bunch of details left out and changed. The second movie did the same thing. I’m glad you had a lot of fun reading this book! The whole series is a great adventure. 🙂
I know! They left a lot of details out and that’s so sad they did the same thing for the second movie. Hopefully they’d stop doing that for the future movies.
SO happy you ended up enjoying this, Leigh! It’s one of my favorite books of all time, and is hands down my favorite MG book. And I also watched the movie before reading the book. xD Percy’s definitely cute, and I also adored Grover and Annabeth. I hope you enjoy the rest of the books, girl. Book four’s my favorite. ^_^
He is, huh? 🙂 I think the guy who played Percy is from a band called Before You Exit? Not sure though. They look alike. I’m so excited to get into the rest of the series! Will probably continue reading it again after I finish Harry Potter this month.
I REALLY need to read this book! I actually liked the movie (probably because I haven’t read this), and everyone seems to adore this series, AND I own it.
I like the sound of Percy (for some reason, I love guys who love their mothers – weird, I know). And descriptions are always a huge plus for me 😀
I think this may be the next series I sink my teeth into!
Same! I really enjoyed the movie, but after reading the book, I realized they left out so many scenes! I love guys who love their mothers too 🙂 it’s such a turn off in general if people are disrespectful to their family members. You should read it asap. It’s so easy to dive into this book.
Bleh, the movie was awful, in my opinion — both the first and second ones 😛 But maybe that’s because I read the book first, and knew how awesome the story was, so I had higher expectations. Anyway, I’m so happy to enjoyed this, Leigh! The whole Percy Jackson series is one of my favorites, right up there with Harry Potter. 😀
Weren’t the characters just soooo awesome?? Percy was definitely brave — and he’s only twelve. Puts people like me to shame, honestly. xD And the characters only develop more and for the better as the series progresses, so you definitely won’t be disappointed! Another thing I loved about the book was the humor. Don’t even get me started on that. Percy has such a witty brain, and the arguments he got into with Annabeth made me snort more than once. I don’t usually like humor in books (mostly because they aren’t that well done, lol), but Riordan nailed it in this series!
Hope you enjoy the rest of the books as much as you enjoyed this one, Leigh. 😀
If I had read this book first, I would definitely been disappointed with the movie as well. That sucks how the second movie left out details, too.
Haha I love the humor in this book! And I’m glad there’s a character development. I would love to see how Percy, Grover, and Annabeth grow throughout the series.
I’ve actually seen the movie of Percy Jackson and thought it was great. I’ve heard a lot of people say how terrible it is compared to the book though. I’d love to give this series a try.
Excellent review! ^_^
The movie was really funny but wow, after I read the book, I realized they took out a lot of details and scenes. You should def. read the book as there’s more to it than what the movie shows.