The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

So amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided that I needed to read something a little more lighthearted. While in Nashville, Taylor and I stopped at the Parthenon, which is when I learned Taylor had never seen the movie Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I know it’s not an amazing movie, but I have always enjoyed it. When Taylor asked if I had read the books, he was surprised when I said no. It had always been a plan to read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I never got around to it. Well, I decided to use this time in quarantine to read them, especially since they fit into the lighthearted category, starting with The Lightning Thief.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Percy Jackson is a typical twelve year old boy. Well, typical in that his math teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him and no one remembers this but him. Strange things have always happened to him, but this one takes the cake. But now, at the start of his summer vacation, his friend Grover shows up and tells Percy’s mom, Sally, that it’s time. Sally finally tells Percy that he is a demi-god, and the only safe place for him now is Camp Half-Blood. The trip to the camp itself is almost deadly, resulting in Sally’s capture, but when Percy learns his that his destiny is to return Zeus’s stolen lightening bolt on a cross country trek with Grover, a satyr, and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, Percy finally accepts that he really is not your typical twelve year old boy.

So because I have seen this movie upwards of a million times, I figured I knew what was going to happen. Well, I didn’t. The book and movie are two totally separate entities. Aside from the characters having the same names and the ultimate goal of being returning the lightning bolt and saving Sally, nothing is the same. I am kind of glad for that, because I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get into the book knowing what was going to happen. Of course, I had a hard time remembering that in the book, Percy and Annabeth are twelve, not 15 or 16, but overall, I immensely enjoyed the book.

The plot of the book is really entertaining and fast moving. The beginning when he is in school still is a little frustrating because Percy has no idea what is going on, so we have no idea what is going on, and since it is so different from the movie, I was really frustrated during this section. But once Percy learns his identity, and that he is the son of Poseidon, it becomes less irritating and more intriguing.  

(Source: Giphy)

The characters are great. Once I got into the mindset that they are children that is. You get to meet quite a few minor gods, as well as some major gods at the end. They all seem to really fit with what I remember from my brief studies of Greek gods and goddesses over the years, and I learned a lot of new things too. Of course, I don’t know how much of it is based off of actual Greek myths and what Riordan came up with on his own. But the fact that they are all myths, there is quite a bit of leeway when it comes to saying what gods and goddesses would be like. I like how he explains that Olympus moves as the world moves, and it explains the expansion across the globe. It adds some believability to why Olympus is above the Empire State Building.

(Source: Giphy)

I am really excited to move into the next book. I have only seen that movie once or twice, so I don’t know too much about the plot of what I am about to get into, and I wonder how or if Grover will be in it since he took off to search for Pan at the end of The Lightning Thief. And I am even more excited for move into books three through five since I have no idea what the plots of those books are at all. This was definitely the lighthearted read that I needed at a time like this, and I am glad that the series is kind of long, and the books are quick, because it should be the perfect balance for me, because I know at the end of this, I am going to need to read a thriller.

Rating: 8/10
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Book 1 of 5)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology
Dates Read: March 18-21, 2020