Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving.
The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world.
Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities.
The series is scheduled to run for five books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books two and three, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read out loud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology.
The Lightning Thief is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Katie McNeill
Well now I will have to read it! I've seen this series all over the net, it seems like everywhere I go they are saying wonderful things about these books. Thanks for the review Mel! Looking forward to reading it. :)
2 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net , which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and to Boston.com. Nice work!
3 - Joshua
I loved this book and I would recomend it to readers worldwide. "The Lightning Thief" is such an inspiring book and it made me jump with excitment every time Percy took a step.
4 - Eston
so far i have been reading this book and it is so good i at the part where he just fell in the hole near the weird dog that turned into a fire breathing thingy.i have been reading this book for weeks now and i love it!! i like grover. hes funny and he likes to eat tin cans. soo i
guess this is what i want to say so well u should read it if u havnt. peace
5 - melody
I love this book! At first I thought it was a boring book but when you finish reading it is so awsome. I loved the other two books and I think there is one missing and please I would love it if it czme in my hands
6 - rick riordan is cool
This book is so awsome im doing a report on it
7 - erica
i finished this book in a day! all throughout school i was reading it, the bus, home and then another 5 hours! its deffinatly one of my favorite books!
8 - SO GOOD
I READ THIS STORY AND IT IS GREAT!!
9 - stefanie
best book in whole wide world couldnt believe it!
10 - batman
where the fuck is book 4
11 - ggrrrrrrrrrr
nice
12 - pampered1
I LOVED THE BOOK! I read it once and then read it again! This book is fantastic i hope rick riordan makes a fifth one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13 - littlelion66
i hope rick riordon comes out with a 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th it will take a wile but it will be great
14 - matt
im reading it right now and its amazing!!!!!
15 - eric
can any 1 give me a summary on book #1
16 - Sam
i love this series right now i am starting the third book and i started reading the series only 6 days ago! i finished the 2nd yesterday and now i am going to do a book report on it it is so good!!!! everyone should read it...it.is.very.good.
17 - alan
wow, what can I say about it....? i love it!
18 - Stanislav
I first saw this book in a book store but I decided not to buy it. Then I saw it in a book order and bought it. I tried to read it every chance I got. Now I have to do a report on it!!!!!!!!!!!
I think EVERYONE should read this.
19 - michaela
AwEsOmE bOoK!!!
20 - ji le
this buk is awsome ull totally think this is awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21 - Aaron
I'm reading the first book right now, it's amazing. I'm at the part where they got out og the Lotus Hotel and killed the water bed guy, what was his name... oh yeah "the stretcher" or "crusty"
22 - annabeth
best book ever!!!!!!!!!!! ok every1 who sees this comment, give it a rating 1-10
(10 is highest)
i rate it a 9 because its a bit to short
23 - keaton
i have the book it is so good and now im doing a book recamendation on it for school its so good. everybody should read it.
24 - Lin-z
this is seriously the best book/series ever!
25 - Caroline
This is honestly one of the best books i've ever read i recomed this to anyone who needs a great book!