Reading Response #3: The Lightning Theif

This week I decided to revisit one of my favorite books, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. It's the first book of a five book series. It's not exactly a series that is at the level we should be reading for this college level class. This week I just needed something a little more simple to pull me away from the exhausting world of school and work. (As you can see from the fact that I'm posting this just before 12am, I've been a little busy.)


These are the two main characters Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.This picture is actually from one of the ads for the movie, but I do not suggested watching it. It's normal for producers to butcher books when

making them into movies, but this

one is REALLY bad. 

The Lightning Thief is a fictional book but still has a large amount of nonfiction references to mythology within the story line. The entire series is focused on one main character, Percy Jackson. Percy is the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. The series is about a group of kids, commonly referred to as "half bloods" meaning that they are all have one human parent and one no-so-human parent (most commonly a Greek god). The first book takes you through the basics with all the characters while Percy and friends try to locate Zues' lightning bolt in order to restore peace between the Gods. They battle many monsters and even take a trip to the under world.



The story gabs you from the beginning with the opening statement.

“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now.  Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. 

Being a half-blood is dangerous.  It’s scary.  Most if the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.”

Throughout the book Riordan keeps this intensity going. You're always wanting to know more. It's the kind of book that you just can't put down. The thing that I love the most is the balance of fantasy, romance and adventure. The character development in the book is done so well that it's very easy to get emotionally invested in the books. He does an amazing job of mixing the world of Greek mythology into modern society.

While reading over this book again I was reminded that it most definitely is geared towards students that are... let's just say not seniors in high school. It's still a great series that I would recommend to almost anyone.