Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: Hardback 375 pages
Publisher: Miramax Books (June 28, 2005)
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.
This book will forever hold a special place in my heart because it is the first book that Kylie (my 4 year old daughter) and I have read together. We have been reading it at night together before bed and over the past few days whenever we can because she became so obsessed with it! I have heard great things about this series from both my students and fellow bloggers so I couldn’t wait to read them but wasn’t sure when I could. When Kylie asked me to read it to her… problem solved! We will be starting the second one tomorrow night and we can’t wait!
Rick Riordan has done an amazing job with this young guy named Percy and his adventure into mythology. All of the allusion and story-telling within the story keeps you captivated throughout the read. I teach mythology in my classroom and it was so fascinating to see how he worked in all of the stories and even threw in modern twists that make you wonder… is George Washington really the son of Athena?! Percy is sent on his quest and the reader is waiting at the edge of their seat to see what happens next to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. They go cross-country and fight off monsters, gods, and even Smelly Gabe (Percy’s stepdad). Kylie and I were both rooting for Percy and his friends throughout the journey and couldn’t wait to see where Riordan was going to take us next.
I love that the main character has a disability! I read a book when I first started my blog entitled Jerk, California about a boy who has Tourette’s syndrome and it brought to light the fact that there are not many YA books who have your hero suffering from a disability. (The review for Jerk, California can be seen here) I don’t know that suffering is the right word to use, but I think you understand what my point is. As a mom and a teacher, I appreciate that. So many of my students suffer from the same thing that Percy has ADHD and Dyslexia and it is great for them to see that a disability like those cannot hold you back… I mean come on, Percy is the son of … oh wait! I don’t want to spoil it for you!
Check out more about Percy Jackson and the series here.
I also found this video of Rick talking about the series, his favorite characters, and what we can look forward to in the future books. (** It is kinda spoilery just so you know!!)
Happy reading everyone!
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