Review: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson #1)

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson)

Rating: PG

Genre: Fiction

Score: ❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 375

Book #1 of the Percy Jackson series

Publisher: Scholastic

Published: January 1, 2005

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse—Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena—Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Review:

PROS:

1. I'll start by saying I probably should have read this book a very long time ago but I never did. I hadn't even heard of Percy Jackson until the movie came out and while I didn't enjoy it, I was happy to find out it paled in comparison to the book so I felt a little better knowing the books still had a chance with me. Which is probably why I avoided reading it for so long. I really wanted to give the book and fair chance and I was a little nervous about not liking them since they're so loved among readers. It's like hating puppies if you don't like Percy Jackson, the pressure was real. But, alas, I finally read this book as part of the Fantasy Favorites Read-A-Thon and well, I have a review for you guys.

2. I knew the humor of Percy Jackson was sarcasm goals but I didn't realize just how amazing the humor was in this book. I literally laughed out loud while reading this book a few times and even spotted some of my favorite quotes that still make me giggle to think about. I adore sarcasm and witty banter in books, I'm pretty sarcastic myself, so I appreciate a good comeback and remark. Percy Jackson is definitely the book for any sarcasm lover, you might even want to take a few notes.

3. I really liked the characters, Percy Jackson being one of my favorites, of course. Even though he was just a kid, he was still pretty determined to save what mattered most and didn't buckle under the enormous pressure of saving the world. If anything, he welcomed the challenges in order to prove himself. Grover was my second favorite since he was a little goofier and prone to being the one who seemed to cause a little more trouble when the time wasn't right. He tried his hardest to protect his friends, though but welcomed the chance to just relax and have fun. Annabeth was also a very hardworking character who was also very feisty and a quick thinker. She was always ready for the fight and kept an eye out for her friends. Overall, I really liked the characters and their traits. Can you tell?

4. The story was exciting and fun and just an all around good time, despite the whole trip to the Underworld and battling monsters that wanted to rip their faces off, of course. It was a fun adventure that the book takes you on and I found myself getting pretty invested in the book pretty early on. There were some pretty cool fight scenes, hideous monsters, magic, superpowers, and a lot of Coke which made me thirsty. The book is full of fun banter and of course a lot of craziness but I really enjoyed it, which makes me one very happy reader!

The reason I didn't give this book a five-star rating was because it did get a little slow at times in between climaxes which is understandable though it didn't keep me focused on a few parts in the book. Will I be continuing with the series? I probably will. I have the second book in the series and I can't stop thinking about that bit of a cliffhanger ending and it will probably drive me mad not knowing what happens next. I'm in no hurry to read the series, though, I have a lot of other books that need to be read but hopefully in the future, I can pick up where I left off and finish the series one day.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review! What was your favorite line in Percy Jackson? There were definitely some great ones. Read on, bookworms! See you in the next chapter!