The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Series:  Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Source: Borrowed from sister

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.

 

I love this book. Seriously, everything about it is just amazing. From the characters to the plot to the fact that it revolves around Greek Mythology, this book had me hooked from the first page. I had first read this book before I became a blogger, but decided I wanted to re-read it because I finally purchased the rest of the series and I loved it just as much the second time around and I still found myself engaged in the story even though I already knew what happens.

The storyline in this book is just fantastic. It's full of adventure and action with a lot of friendship and thrown right in. I've always been interested in mythology and this book really captured my attention. The myths that were used in the book just added to the overall excitement of the story for me.  From the Minotaur to chimaera, Rick Riordan really nailed the right amount of suspense, action and information.

I love almost all of the characters as well. Percy is the underdog and I found myself rooting for him to succeed because the kids in middle school and he's thrown into a world where the stories he's been studying turn out to be real instead of just myths and he goes in fighting and he's prepared to die to save what's important to him. Then there's Grover. He's just so funny and awkward and the story just wouldn't be the same without him. Annabeth is one of my favorites as well. She's smart and strong and she doesn't need a man to swoop in and save her. The girl knows how to kick butt and she does.

If you're a fan of mythology and middle grade stories that combine action and adventure with characters who don't give up no matter what, then I definitely think you should give this book a chance. It's a quick read that will have you flipping pages just to find out what happens to Percy and his friends.