Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief Book Review
September 12, 2023
Percy Jackson Lightning Thief Book CoverReviews Book Reviews
September 12, 2023
Percy Jackson Lightning Thief Book CoverReviews Book Reviews
I have started reading this September 13, 2023! I originally read this book when I was in seventh grade, so I was only 12 or 13 when I first read this. That is CRAZY!
At the time, it was the longest book I'd ever read, at 375 pages! I did, however, read 20 books that year! WOW! Small books, mind you. But, I loved reading books then, and now I love reading again!
Well I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I honestly didn’t remember anything that happened in this book, besides the answer to a mystery that was answered near the middle of the book.
I really enjoyed this book! The characters were fun, the integration of the Greek mythology! Obviously, but I found it very easy to understand. If you know the lore and mythology it might help you know what is going to happen before it is going to happen.
The beginning of the book kicked off with a bang, and I think that’s important for this book. It leads to an exciting story. I think the character work here is fine. We truly focus on a few main characters and there are a few side characters. Some are more interesting than others.
The story is part quest fantasy, with Greek mythology built in, as well as a roadtrip story. There are parts that are exciting and suspenseful, but there are also parts that are slow and should’ve been cut. There are also parts that could’ve had more time.
Overall, I really liked this book.
The Lightning Thief is a light-hearted fantasy about a modern 12-year-old boy who learns that his true father is a Greek god, I won’t spoil that for you!
Percy sets out to become a hero by undertaking a quest across the United States to find the entrance to the Underworld and stop a war between the gods. The novel provides a high-interest, humorous introduction to the Greek myths.
It works well if taught in conjunction with mythology, which is a core component of most English state curriculum frameworks. The novel can also be taught at any time after the introduction of Greek mythology, to draw on students’ prior experience as per standard three of the Standards for English Language Arts of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Beware, you're entering the spoiler portion of the review!
I really enjoyed this book, I did. I was invested for the most part, but the story left a little to be desired for me. I like where we’re going at the end.
I think these characters were well developed, however, they were a tad one-note. What we learned about them at the beginning of this book - at the end of the book there wasn’t much growth. Could be pretty slight, but I didn’t see much.
Now that I sit down and write out my scores, I’m very mid on this book. I did enjoy it, but there were parts in this book that needed to be shortened or lengthened to improve the plot. I understand what the plot was supposed to be, it just felt a little convoluted at points.
Nothing too great or too bad here. Easy to read.
Again, nothing too great or too bad. I’m excited to see the world expand in future books. We did cross the country here, and that was explored, but we saw very small sections of the world without much outside perspectives.
This is a book that I will reread as I continue the series, but I will not be seeking to reread this book anytime soon.
Kronos, I’m excited about this. Kronos was like the big bad that was in the deep dark background for the whole story and it looks like this is building into something very exciting for our characters. I am interested to what happens with the story from here.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, the chemistry between these three was great. I really appreciated their teamwork and how they communicated. I think the plot lended to how their powers worked together and how important it was that Percy had companions. GOOD STUFF!
Ares, I think the Ares fetch quest for Ares’ shield was odd, almost. Out of place. But I guess it makes sense for Ares’ character, but it just seemed odd. Like something Ares couldn’t do - but I guess Ares had Percy do that so Percy could make a fool of himself for the gods.
Hades, this was an interesting section of the book. We were leading up to this the whole time and then boom - SWITCH! Now that’s not the problem, the problem I had was how easy it was. And again that is just Hades character. He isn’t a BAD guy really, he’s just the Lord of the Dead and has really bad things tied to him. I just think it was very easy for Percy, Annabeth, and Grover just got to leave. Ah, maybe it was alright. Maybe it’s just mid.
Is this book just mid? A YA fantasy novel? I can see that being a real possibility.
What an exciting introduction to this world, I have questions and I'm excited to see what happens next! Percy is twelve years old, and we are certainly in the mind of a twelve year old. He is a "half-blood".
Percy also talks about how he likes Mr. Brunner, the Latin and Greek culture teacher. He has a negative view about himself because Percy does not do well in school. He tells us that he has ADHD and dyslexia. The chapter ends with Percy "vaporizing" his scary math teacher, Mrs. Dodds. Her eyes turn to burning coals and Mr. Brunner throws Percy a pen that turns into a bronze sword that Percy uses to kill Mrs. Dodds, she is vaporized!
Percy comes out and asks his friends and teacher about Mrs. Dodds, no one knows who that is.
I love this! I'm so happy to be reading this, I'm reminded of so much as I'm reading this - being that I've already read it. But as I don't remember much, let's see. I think Percy has something to do with Posidon; at least the weather acting strange does. The tornado and the heat, Posidon. That's my guess. Then Mr. Brunner, is a horse-man.. centaur! Ah that's great. Grover is Percy's protector, Keeper. There is a Mist around the students and staff of Yancy - so they don't remember Mrs. Dobbs.
Percy and Grover are leaving Yancy and they see three old women knitting and one using big shears to cut yarn. Grover is scared.
Just my thoughts so far, I don't think I paid much attention reading this the first time, however clearly Percy's dad is Posidon. And I was wrong, Grover is the centaur, not Mr. Brunner. While Grover, Percy's best friend, is in the bathroom, Percy heads home. Percy takes a cab to mom's apartment in Queens. Percy is greeted by Gabe, also known as Smelly Gabe. Gabe is Percy's stepfather. Gabe is having a poker party. Percy and his mom go to a cabin on the beach at Montauch, where apparently Percy's mom, Sally, and his dad met and conceived Percy. Something is chasing Grover as he arrives and "loses his pants" because he is actually a centaur! Well, maybe not, I think he only has two feet so maybe something else lol.
Grover is a goat, from the waist down a Satyr! SO, we meet Percy's mom and she's dies. This thing chasing them is a Bull but it is pasiphae's son, but we don't want to say the name because names have power here. It gets Sally and squeezes the life out of her and she disintegrates into golden light. Percy eventually stabs the bull with it's own horn and it disintegrates like sand. Grover tells Percy that Mrs. Dodds isn't a myth. Percy is confused as to why nobody has ever told him about that before. Grover is hurt and Percy hit his head, but they're on the porch of the house that Sally told Percy that his father wanted him to go to.
There's the centaur! I was right lol. Mr. Brunner, Chiron, is a centaur. Now, Percy arrives at the Half-Blood camp, meaning Percy is obviously a god's son.. my guess is Posidon. Percy gets the horn of the Minotaur he killed. Annabeth nursed Percy back to health. Oh yeah, Percy is short for Perceus. Mr. D, the Camp Director is actually Dionysus, Zeus' son.
Neat, get to see the cabins for the different Greek gods. Percy is Undetermined so Luke is his counselor at cabin eleven, Hermes. Percy is dragged by Clarisse, Ares daughter. She dragges Percy to the bathroom and then something tuggs at Percy's stomach and water sprays out of the toilet and showers and drenches Clarisse and her friends, Percy is left dry... Posidon's son I seem to believe more and more!
Poseidon. I'd been spelling that wrong the whole time. Anyways, my guess is still, Poseidon is Percy's dad. It hasn't been confirmed, but I beleive so! They returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins. Percy follows the cabin to the mess hall. Percy's father is one of the Olympians. Annabeth's father is a professor at West Point. Her father teaches U.S. History. Year-rounders attract monsters. The borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. Mortals look into the strawberry farm. Back at the 11th cabin, everyone was horsing around, waithing for dinner. Percy doesn't believe in gods. Hermes' is Annabeth's father. It was Percy's first day at Camp Half-Blood.
Well dang that was epic! "My Father?", "Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God"!! WOOOOO! I knew it! WHO SUMMONED THE HELLHOUND?!
Each morning, Percy takes Ancient Greek from Annabeth. Chiron was going to teach Percy archery, but he wasn't good with bow and arrow. Percy might be a child of Hermes. Percy likes camp. Percy had his first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from the 11th cabin gathered in a big circular arena. Luke is the instructor. Percy couldn't find a blade that would fit in his hands. Percy is fighting Luke. Percy is trying the disarming maneuver. Percy was sitting with Grover by the lake. Percy was resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall. Percy asked Grover how his conversation was with Mr. D. Percy might be sent to stable-cleaning duty. Percy asked Grover about the four empty cabins. The three cabins were empty because the children were too powerful, and the 4th cabin was empty because Hera doesn't want to have children with other mortals. Percy is playing capture the flag. Chiron is on border patrol. Percy won capture the flag using his power.
And here we go! Oh I'm pumped for this journey! Let's do this! Grover, Annabeth, and Percy - on a mission to retrieve the Master Bolt for Zeus from Hades in the Underworld to save the world. LET'S GO!
The next morning, Percy was moved to the 3rd cabin. He didn't have to share with anybody. Percy had lessons to do. Percy was having a worst dream. Percy has a quest. The quest was something that was stolen. The master bolt was stolen. Everybody thinks Percy is the thief. Percy has to find the bolt and return it to Zeus. Percy went to the house that had four floors. Eddie, the building super, delivered the worst line of all. The master bolt is hidden in the Underworld.
Also, I'm trying to remember this from seventh grade, and I have absolutely no recollection of what is going to happen. NONE! This is going to be great!
Well that didn't last very long.. Percy was leaving camp. The camp store loaned Percy $100 in mortal money and 20 golden drachmas. Annabeth was bringing Yankee caps that she got on her 20th birthday. She had a long bronze knife in her sleeve. Grover has fake feet. Percy got ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap as a gift from his father. Percy was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cellphone. Chiron said cellphones were traceable by monsters. The bus comes. Percy sees Mrs. Dodds who is getting older but same evil face.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover stop the Mrs. Dodds, but one blows up the bus and calls for reinforcements and the crew runs into the woods!
Stopping.. I'm a few pages into this chapter and wow, this is going to be a great lead in to this Aunty Em being Medusa! And turns out.. it's Medusa! Awesome!
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank. Grover was shivering. Percy was in shock. Annabeth hasn't left Camp Half-Blood since she was seven. Annabeth's parents are Orphans. Aunty Em lets them in. Aunty Em had two sisters and they died. Annabeth's mother is the cursed Athena. Percy found $20 in the cash register. Also, Percy slices Medusa and her head comes off, they cover her head, and Percy sends it to Mount Olymus! HAHA!
Are we going to get a world of dreams situation here?? My assumption is this is Hades trying to take Percy from his dreams, or something. I'm really not sure. I like this though. This is some worldbuilding that I like!
It is nighttime, and Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are going to sleep. They have to look for the great god Pan, who Aunty Em knew. Percy goes into the Underworld to bring back his mother. They barely got out of New York and they have no money. The rich local family's poodle named Gladiola ran away. Grover came across the Gladiola and they struck up a conversation. Grover was rewarded $200 in return.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover spent two days on the Amtrak train to head west. Percy spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field. Their reward money for returning the poodle is enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. Toward the end of their 2nd day on the train, they passed through golden hills. They pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. They had a three-hour layover before departing to Denver. They were going to ride to the top of the Arch with an elevator car. Percy hates confined places. Turns out there was a monster there.. the Mother of Monsters and a 10 foot tall Chimera, fire-breathing beast! Percy loses his sword and jumps.
Also, Riptide, an incredible name for a sword!
YIKES! This is getting pretty scary for Percy. Percy falls 630 feet into the water, and now has powers that keep him dry and anything he touches dry. A messenger for Poseidon is there telling Percy to go to Santa Monica before going to the Underworld. Here we go! News crews and police are at the Arch and are now showing pictures of Percy and they say he is heading West.
Aw, does this feel a bit of "monster of the week?". We're going to get a god a chapter, then a couple other chapters, ah. Maybe I'm in a mood.
In Denver, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover contact Chiron through Iris-messaging, the rainbow goddess who carries messages for the gods. Luke answers and is updated on all that has happened so far. Percy and Luke discuss the possibility of Hades stealing the master bolt during the winter solstice by using his Helm of Darkness. While eating at a diner, Ares, Clarisse’s dad and the god of war, joins the group and asks Percy to retrieve his shield, which he lost in the Tunnel of Love while at a waterpark with his girlfriend. In turn, Ares will disclose information about Percy’s mother and help the three continue west.
After initial reluctance, Percy and his friends head to the waterpark. Percy discovers that Ares was dating Aphrodite, the goddess of love, despite Aphrodite’s marriage to Hephaestus, the blacksmith. Hephaestus is aware of his wife’s affair and always tries to embarrass her and Ares. While Grover stands guard, Percy and Annabeth are caught in a trap that was set by Hephaestus to catch his wife and Ares together. A camera emerges and spotlights shine down on Percy and Annabeth. A loudspeaker voice announces the beginning of a countdown until the broadcast goes live to Mount Olympus. Annabeth is concerned about looking like a fool before the gods until thousands of metal spiders emerge and begin to swarm toward them. Annabeth is paralyzed with terror. Percy moves her back to the boat and uses his connection with water to move the boat along and fight off the spiders. Before the boat crashes, the two of them jump and Grover grabs them by flying with his shoes and carries them to safety before dropping them along the way. They survive the fall and Percy vows to confront Ares on this assignment.
Okay good, I was very confused and very concerned with what was happening. ALthough, one day left isn't that much time!
While on the taxi ride to Santa Monica, Percy tries to explain his dream of the pit, but Annabeth reassures him that Hades has the master bolt and there is nothing else to fear. At the beach, Percy submerges into the water and is greeted by Nereid, the spirit of the sea. Nereid gives Percy three pearls and tells him to trust his heart on when to use them. She reminds him that if something belongs to the sea, it will eventually return. Percy meets with Annabeth and Grover on land and they search for the entrance to the Underworld.
Down an alley, a group of boys start a fight, so the three flee into a waterbed store. They are welcomed by a salesclerk who calls himself Crusty. He prompts them to lie down and relax. When Annabeth and Grover take him up on it, ropes suddenly trap them to the beds. Crusty reveals himself to be Procrustes, the Stretcher, and attempts to attack Percy. However, Percy distracts Crusty by pretending he is interested in the waterbed. He persuades Crusty to demonstrate, which allows him the opportunity to trap Crusty with the ropes and use Riptide on him. Percy frees Annabeth and Grover from being stretched. Percy sees a flyer on a bulletin board for the DOA Recording Studio showing the exact address for the Underworld entrance.
So play fetch with a dog and you go to the Underworld?
Annabeth, Percy, and Grover arrive at the recording studio, and meet a security guard named Charon who asks them to pay for their entrance. Percy gives him some drachmas he stole from Crusty’s office before they left. Charon is not happy with the amount and will not allow them to enter. After Charon recognizes Percy is a godling, Percy hands him a bag full of drachmas and says that he will put in a good word with Hades about giving Charon a proper raise. Charon agrees and the group departs toward one of three entrances with metal detectors and security cameras.
Before passing through the security line, the three are stopped by Cerberus, a three-headed security Rottweiler. Percy tries to distract him with a bedpost he took from Crusty’s, but Cerberus is not interested in “the stick.” Annabeth pulls out a ball she took from the waterpark and commands Cerberus to sit. Percy and Grover are able to sneak past the dog while Annabeth distracts him. She tosses him the ball and catches up with Grover and Percy. They set off the metal detectors with their magical items and run to escape the security guards.
Ares gave Percy the Master Bolt. WHAT?! Percy, Annabeth, and Grover escape using the three pearls.
Annabeth, Percy, and Grover arrive at the recording studio, and meet a security guard named Charon who asks them to pay for their entrance. Percy gives him some drachmas he stole from Crusty’s office before they left. Charon is not happy with the amount and will not allow them to enter. After Charon recognizes Percy is a godling, Percy hands him a bag full of drachmas and says that he will put in a good word with Hades about giving Charon a proper raise. Charon agrees and the group departs toward one of three entrances with metal detectors and security cameras.
Before passing through the security line, the three are stopped by Cerberus, a three-headed security Rottweiler. Percy tries to distract him with a bedpost he took from Crusty’s, but Cerberus is not interested in “the stick.” Annabeth pulls out a ball she took from the waterpark and commands Cerberus to sit. Percy and Grover are able to sneak past the dog while Annabeth distracts him. She tosses him the ball and catches up with Grover and Percy. They set off the metal detectors with their magical items and run to escape the security guards.
I have thoughts.. I LOVE THIS!
On the shore, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover confront Ares about stealing the master bolt and the Helm of Darkness. Ares admits that while he did not personally steal them, since gods cannot steal each other’s symbols of power, he did have someone else take it. Ares wants war, so he framed Percy as the culprit in order to achieve a three-way war against Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. He explains that magic similar to that in Riptide, the sword, was used on the backpack, so that the bolt would appear in the backpack once Percy entered the Underworld. Since Percy still has the master bolt, Ares says he will have to kill Percy so that it cannot be returned to Zeus.
Percy and Ares make a deal that they will fight and if Percy wins, he will return the bolt and be free from Ares; however, if he loses, Ares can take the bolt and transform Percy into anything Ares wishes. The two engage in battle but are interrupted by mortals who recognize Percy as the boy from the news. Ares fires at the mortals while Percy uses the waves against him and stabs him in the heel. As Ares prepares to implement his next attack, a strange force stops him and he lowers his sword in defeat. He tells Percy to watch out because he’s made a new enemy, then disappears in a bright light.
The Furies appear next and take the Helm of Darkness to return to Hades after they acknowledge that Percy did not steal it. As they fly away, Percy joins Grover and Annabeth and they briefly ponder who or what stopped Ares from continuing the fight. The three decide the fastest way to get to New York to return the bolt is by flying in an airplane, despite Percy’s fear of Zeus’s wrath.
Alright, I'm loving this.
In Manhattan, Percy separates from Annabeth and Grover so he can return the master bolt to Zeus while Annabeth and Grover go back to Camp Half-Blood to tell Chiron everything that has happened. At Olympus, Percy delivers the master bolt to Zeus and Poseidon and discloses details of his quest. He tells them about the fight with Ares as well as the unease he encountered while at the entrance of Tartarus. Zeus dismisses Percy’s concerns and spares his life since he returned the bolt. Poseidon reassures Percy that he claims him as his son and tells Percy that he will have a decision to make regarding a delivered package when he returns home. At this time, Percy also learns that his mother was returned home after Hades received his Helm.
Back home, Percy reunites with his mother and Smelly Gabe. Smelly Gabe blames him for his destroyed car and says he is not welcome there. He raises his hand to hit Sally when she tries to defend Percy. Sally and Percy retreat upstairs to his bedroom where Percy finds the package containing Medusa’s head. He suggests that Sally use the head against Smelly Gabe. Percy decides to leave for Camp Half-Blood and says goodbye to his mother.
HOLY SMOKES! LUKE?!
Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and is welcomed with praise and celebratory gifts. In a letter, his mother tells him that Smelly Gabe mysteriously disappeared and she has received a nice commission on her sculpture. She used the money to buy a new apartment, enroll at NYU, and hold a spot at a private school in New York for him. With that information, Percy realizes he has to decide if he wants to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round or return home during the school year. Later that evening, Grover says goodbye to Annabeth and Percy as he departs on his search for Pan.
To clear his head and decide what to do in the fall, Percy begins sword training. He sees Luke fighting dummies with a new sword named Backbiter, a two-sided sword that can kill mortal and creature. The two boys sit by a tree to talk and Percy gets the impression that Luke is getting ready to say goodbye. Suddenly, Luke snaps his fingers and a scorpion the size of Percy’s hand appears from the pit. Luke points out that these scorpions can jump fifteen feet and the stinger can slice through clothes to kill someone in sixty seconds.
During their conversation, Percy realizes that Luke is the missing piece from his prophesy: the betrayal of a friend. Luke felt deceived by the gods for sending him on a pity quest—one that had already been previously fulfilled by Hercules. He was frustrated with the gods for repeating the same quests when there was so much more out there, so he began to listen to urgings from Kronos and stole the bolt and the helm during the winter solstice. When caught by Ares, Luke convinced him that hiding the items would result in a war between the gods. At this point, Luke admits to summoning the hellhound to attack Percy in order to instill fear in the camp and propel Percy’s quest. He also admits that part of his plan failed when Percy gave the gifted shoes to Grover. The shoes were cursed and were supposed to drag Percy and the bolt into Tartarus.
Luke declares that Kronos will rise and that the Olympians will be overthrown. Then he disappears while Percy tries to fight off the scorpion. Percy slices the scorpion but not before he is stung with poison. Although Percy tries to heal himself with the creek water, he is saved by Chiron’s magical nectar. He then tells Annabeth and Chiron about Luke’s deception and vows to take revenge. However, Chiron redirects Percy by pointing out that he will get his justice when the time is right. Annabeth has reconciled with her family and they arrive to take her home. Percy decides to go home as well and plans to fight Luke next summer.
Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is Mid?