The Lightning Thief Review

I had to forgo the "In My Mailbox" party this week because, thinking about it last night, I realized I actually have posts planned all this week, and I would be unable to post my review for The Lightning Thief if I didn't do it today. So, sorry friends! You'll have to make do with this instead!

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
Taken from GoodReads.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan follows the unlikely hero, Percy Jackson, as he gets kicked out of another school because he's "unmanageable." Percy isn't your typical hero, suffering from ADHD and dyslexia, finding his temper gets the best of him because he is very misunderstood. After being kicked out of his final school though, a series of events leads to Percy attending Camp Half Blood, a school for demi-gods, of which Percy is one. Half god and half human, he is accompanied by his satyr friend, Grover. When someone steals Zeus' master lightning bolt, Percy is immediately suspected, and he, Grover, and a daughter of Athena, Annabeth, must find the missing bolt within ten days, or a devastating war will break out on Mount Olympus.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I heard a lot of great things about it, but I wasn't sure if I should read it because I thought it looked like a little kid book. Then, I remembered that was exactly how I felt about Harry Potter, and we all know how I feel about HP these days. I was right - to an extent. The Lightning Thief is a very easy read, but it was also one of those books I just couldn't put down. The writing is fluid, and catching, and there is action on every single page. Even written so kids can read it, I could feel Percy's wants and desires. I hated his stepfather. I loved his mother.

Most of all though, I love that Rick Riordan didn't make just another sweet, beautiful little hero. His hero was inherently and understandably flawed. I thought it was refreshing to read about a hero I could actually relate to. His struggles and the way he dealt with them were very real, and very human. Oh yeah, and there's tons of mythology in this book, so it's educational, too! I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone. To kids who cannot read yet - read it to them! Do a good deed! This book is a definite 5 out of 5, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Below, I've posted one of the movie trailers (the best I've seen yet). It looks pretty great, though I'm pretty sure that's Hogwarts in the background, just manipulated to look a smidge different. Methinks the director cut corners ;)