{My thoughts} – Percy is a 12 year-old boy that is about to learn that the world he has lived in his entire life, isn’t really as it seems. He has attended school after school and been kicked out of so many for bad behavior. He has been told that his behavior is because of ADHD and Dyslexia, However, that is only a small percentage of the real issues at hand.

Percy is about to learn the hard way that the mythological monsters and the gods he has learned about in his textbooks are real. He is about to learn that they are after him, and that it is their goal for some to help him, and for others to try and destroy him! What is really going on? It’s hard to say cause things are a bit chaotic at first while he tries to find ways to navigate what is quickly becoming his new reality.

Percy has a friend named Grover at school, the only friend he seems to have made. The problem is that Grover is weak and Percy is always left standing up for him and defending him. Percy has a lot to learn about Grover, however, they have a nice bond. At the end of the school term they both get on a bus together and Grover offers to walk home with Percy. That isn’t how the events unfold though – they unfold much differently and eventually they end up meeting up again, just not in the way they would have imagined.

Percy and his mom go on a weekend trip. It is on this trip that his entire world explodes. It is on this trip that he realizes things will never be the same again. It is on this trip that he sees he isn’t just an average human boy. His mom ends up disappearing from thin air after they he, his mom and Grover are attacked. It’s from there that Grover and Percy head to Camp Half-Blood. Once they get there everything changes again. Percy learns what he really is and it isn’t an ordinary human. He also learns which god is his father.

It eventually becomes Percy’s quest to find out who stole Zues’ Lightning Bolt. Percy. Annabeth another camper and Grover go on a quest to solve this mystery. This quest is an adventure of a lifetime and they are tested and tried and forced to overcome so many different obstacles.

I really am glad that a close friend recommended this book to me. It was a fun read and I am looking forward to reading more books in the series in the near future. Percy is a fun character and so are his two friends Grover and Annabeth. I look forward to learning more about them and their stories. I really enjoyed the tie in to the Greek Mythology. I have always had an interest in it, I just don’t always enjoy reading about it. This book made reading about it interesting and entertaining. This is definitely a book that I am going to add to my highly recommended list of books to read. ( )

Sometimes you read a book and it does nothing for you. Perhaps it leaves you feeling cheated because it doesn’t feel original. But then you give the book a second read a couple of years later and you realise that you weren’t fair in your judgement the first time around. That’s how I felt reading The Lightning Thief.

Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid who can’t stick around in any one school long enough as he has a knack for getting into trouble. But when his latest expulsion from Yancy Academy leaves him sad and recovering from the bout of gloominess with his mother on a beach, Rick discovers something unique about himself. The reason why he has trouble reading English, the reason why he is labelled as suffering from ADHD… is because he is a Greek demi-god.

Stuck with a weird revelation about himself, Percy discovers that there are several other demi-gods like him, all children of gods. And Percy is the son of one the Big Three, Poseidon.

With this newfound information Percy is welcomed at Camp Half-Blood but soon discovers that he has to walk out of it, to complete a quest, with his two friends Grover and Annabeth by his side. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen and he blames Poseidon and Hades for it. Percy plans on claiming the bolt from Hades, all the time nurturing a different purpose of visiting Hades altogether. But he must face greater dangers, for what Percy doesn’t know is that he is only a pawn in the game of gods.

I’m glad I gave this book a second read. Keeping aside the obvious copy-&-paste from other better works of fantasy, the element of Greek mythology gives the series something new. And if read from the p.o.v of twelve-year olds, I have no doubt this book would stand high in their list of recommendations.

Recommended to fans of series, adventures and those looking for a twist in the tale in Greek mythology. ( )

A middle grade fantasy with an interesting premise and a likable and snarky first-person narration. The worldbuilding, inspired by Greek mythology, is good, but the whole thing amounts to a simple middle grade adventure, without the depth of worldbuilding and characterization that makes the Harry Potter series so special. Still, if we use such a high bar, all middle grade fantasies are bound to fall short. This is quite enjoyable. ( )

Yes – this was actually my first time reading anything that had to do with the Percy Jackson universe... I'm a little bit slow to this bandwagon.

Ok, in a lot of ways, it wasn't the most original thing I've read, and in other ways it's clearly geared towards younger kids. But what I did really like about it was that it was a lot of fun to read! I've definitely been in a reading slump, and I think this book was exactly what I needed to get me out of it. It was fun, action-packed, and I loved the inclusion of mythology.

I'll do a full review soon! ( )

I'd pegged every plot twist from a mile away -- but that's because I'm a 31 year old woman reading a book meant for the 9-to-12 demo, It will be an ideal gift for our nephew (which is why it was bought), but even Harry Potter was more challenging than this. It's okay. Not greatly written, but fun. ( )