About/Summary
After being kicked out of (another) school, Percy Jackson learns that his father is a god, making him a demigod. And Zeus thinks Percy stole his Master bolt. Which means Percy, along with fellow demigod, Annabeth and satyr Grover, are off on a quest to find it and clear his name.
Content/Trigger Warnings
Betrayal
Violence
Mentions of abuse
Temporary Character Death
Children in Danger (so much danger)
Characters
Main characters are Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase. Who are all fantastic.
Sally Jackson is one of the best fictional mothers ever. I love her. Five stars. No notes.
I really enjoyed the interpretations of all the characters from Greek mythology. And the original characters were great.
Writing
The writing is fantastic. It is targeted to middle grade kids, but Rick Riordan doesn't write like they are stupid. I have read some books written for this age range that I felt treated the kids like they were stupid, but this one didn't. It was just really entertaining and well done.
Plot
It is a very basic plot for a kids novel. Main character is suddenly thrown into a magical world and has to go on a quest or something. It is well done, though so I definitely overlook the tropey plot.
Romance
None really. I mean, there are some background relationships mentioned, but there is nothing going on with the main characters. Yet...
How diverse is it?
Well, not very. I think. See, the thing was I was also watching the new show (which is fantastic) while I was reading this, so... I don't remember how most of the characters were described in the book. My brain just pictured the cast of the new show. So... I was a tad confused when Annabeth's blond hair was mentioned. I'm pretty sure the first few times I read this book, I pictured white (or white passing) people for pretty much everyone.
Sexuality wasn't really brought up in this book. Aside from a few straight relationships.
But! And I kind of hate doing this, but, these books get more diverse. I always joked that Rick Riordan tricked Disney to publish this series because it was just a bunch of white, straight people. And then he just started throwing queers and people of color in constantly. And since the books were super popular, Disney couldn't tell him no. It takes a bit for the diversity to show up, but it does happen. And not after the books are published and Rick announces someone was gay on Twitter or something.
Overall Thoughts
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series deserve more attention. The entire series and its sequels are all so fantastic. The Lightning Thief is a great opening to the series. I really never had a complaint about the book. It was fabulously written. The characters are unique and interesting. Plot is great.
I picked up this book years ago cause I always had an interest in mythology and the blurb on the book sounded interesting enough. And I fell in love with the book and the world Rick Riordan created. Any time a new one comes out, I buy it no questions asked.
My kid started reading the books while they were in third grade. And hasn't stopped. Rick Riordan and these books are constantly brought up in conversations we have. And most of the time, it's talking about how Mr. Riordan did things right with his books.
I recommend this book to everyone. If you watched the new show? Read the book. Watched the old shitty movies? Read the books. Like YA books? Read this one. Like mythology? Read this book. You are just standing there and I feel chatty? Let me tell you about this awesome book you should read.
That's all for this one.
I already started reading the second book of the series, but it will be a while before I finish it. Trying to push through a couple other books first.
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