Stephy Read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

 

I am impertinent.

 

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.

Stephy's Recommendations While You're Stuck Inside

So, you’re stuck not doing social activities for the foreseeable future. Man, that sucks. I mean, for other people. I spent years avoiding social activities so I’m prepared for this. And for those less prepared, I got a list of random cool things I’m into that I highly recommend checking out.

Read my stuff on AO3. What? Self-promotion is healthy or some shit. Rrrrrrrreeeeeeaaaaaad myyyyyyyy shhhhhhhiiiiiiiiit.

Elementary. For those that don’t know, it is a Sherlock Holmes show with some slight twists on the classic. The main one being Watson is a woman. A beautiful, badass woman that deserves all the praise. Even Sherlock thinks so. It is by far my favorite Sherlock Holmes related thing that isn’t the original books. Available on Hulu.

Schitt’s Creek. This show is simply the best. It focuses on the Rose family, who were once super rich, but then their business manager screwed them over and they lost everything. They end up in Schitt’s Creek, some small town with no culture. Or much of anything really. It is funny, heartwarming, and has one of the best love stories I have ever seen on screen. I also feel this show is appropriate for kids around 11 and above. If you don’t mind them hearing some “bad” language. I’m gonna make Short Round watch it while she’s off school. First five seasons are on Netflix (sixth season is still airing).

The Assasin’s Creed series. These games are not only fun, but they’re also educational! Not even joking. You go through history, playing as different assassins. And the historical stuff that’s mentioned? It’s mostly true. Just take out the assassins and templars, and yep, that’s pretty much what happened. I highly recommend starting at the beginning, but if that’s not feasible, find a video that explains what happens in the games you missed so you don’t miss anything.

Zefrank videos on YouTube. His animal videos are some of the best things I have ever seen.

Scared to Death and Timesuck podcasts. So far I’ve just watched the Scared to Death videos, but I fell in love with them about a minute into the first one. Scared to Death is just Dan Cummins and his wife Lynze talking about spooky and scary things. It is great.

Bedtime Stories on YouTube. This channel covers a variety of stories that range from cryptids, mysterious deaths, conspiracy theories, and hauntings and they’re presented as a visual storybook. It’s almost like this guy is reading a bedtime story (eeeehhh, *nudge nudge* I’m hilarious) to me.



What We Do in the Shadows. A vampire comedy. And that is really all the reason you need to watch both the movie and TV show. Oh, how about Taika Waititi? Oh, you want to know what it’s about? Okay, so a group of vampires are being filmed by a documentary crew. Hilarity. Show is on Hulu. I think the movie is on Amazon Prime, not sure.



The Fraction Hawkeye run. Clint Barton is a mess. He’s a disaster. A dumpster fire. But hey, he has a dog. And a protege that might or might not be better than him. Also, Hawkeye vs. Deadpool is great.

Riodanverse books. These are young adult books but work for everyone if a kid is smart (Short Round started reading them in third grade) or the adult isn’t a douchebag (I read and love them). The books start with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which features a kid, Percy Jackson, dealing with the fact that he is a demigod (a child of a god for those unaware). That set deals with Greek Mythology. Other series that take place in the universe cover other mythologies. I honestly cannot remember what has been covered and what hasn’t as it has become so vast. I remember Egyptian, Norse, Roman… And now there are new writers writing more books that all take place in the same universe. If you watched the Percy Jackson movies, I highly suggest you read the books. They are 6000 times better. If you haven’t watched the movies, I suggest skipping them if you expect them to follow the books.

And that’s ten. Stay tuned cause I might make more recommendations in the future. Okay, I will cause I love talking about cool shit I like.

Everyone stay safe, wash your hands, don’t hoard things and punch anyone that doesn’t respect personal space.