THE LIGHTNING THIEF (#1 PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS)
BY RICK RIORDAN
PUBLISHED: 2005
AVERAGE RATING: 4.20
377 PAGES
★★★☆☆

Percy Jackson is about to kicked out of boarding school, again. Lately mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus is walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life, and the worst thing is that some of them are angry with him. Zeus’ 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’ stolen property and bring it to Mount Olympus. On the way he has to come to terms with his father who abandoned him, solve the riddle of the Oracle, and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

I bought these books after wanting to read them as a kid, and actually bought them from Ida Elise. I started reading, and my first impression is that it’s a lot like Harry Potter in the way it’s written - because it’s a children’s book. It’s easy to read, and it’s exciting. Here you’ll meet a heroic boy, his friends Grover and Annabeth who joins him on his journey to find Zeus’ lightning bolt.

What I love about these books is the Greek mythology, where we find centaurs, minotaurs, furies, and creatures like Graeae (three old women with one tooth and one eye among them), Chiron (Known for training Hercules), Cerberus (the three-headed giant hound guarding the gates of the Underworld), Wood nymphs(beautiful minor goddess women who lives in the forest), Gorgons (Like Medusa), Charon (a ferryman at the river Styx) and many many more.

The books have lots of action for children, and what I love about these books is that Riordan has given life to the old Greek mythology which has always interested me. Once again we meet a trio of brave children, featuring dark forces and creatures from all parts of the world, magic and heroes. This is the kind of book you read and hope that you'll one day get to be a part of this magnificent adventure yourself.

I think that it may suit children and teens from the age of 8-16, it's easy read books with meaningful morals. I think that they're fun to read, sometimes it's nice to just sit down and read something that isn't that complicated.