Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

 

I spent an entire day reading this book and while I have not announced a TBR list I am taking part in Read the Olympics which officially started on Sunday 14th June.  . It was very relaxing and I started the next book straight away.  This is a series that I have read once before.  These books are aimed at much younger readers but the sequel series, Heroes of Olympus is amazing and I think this set of books need much more love than they currently get.  

The book is based on the premise that the Greek gods are not only still alive but procreating and Percy is the son of one of the gods.  During this book \Percy not only finds out his true parentage and why his Dad hadn’t been around and on top of all of that he gets sent on a quest with another demi-god who he has just met.  

Percy Jackson and the Lighning Theif

Percy is a character who when you first meet him comes across as a child who has been told that he is a ‘troubled’ child, and as he has been told so many times he believes it.  He does state that he has been in a new school every year since he started something always seems to happen to him.  As the story develops we learn more about Percy and his uncertainty on how to feel about his father.  

I really like Grover’s character and while he clearly respects Percy as a friend he still lectures him about the impact humans have been having on the environment.  We also meet Annabeth who seems to put a lot of import on the traditional relationships between the gods and this initially comes across in her interactions with Percy.  It is lovely to have a female character who is instantly valued for her intelligence and wisdom.   

While I usually dislike books written in first person this one is done really well.  It instantly drags you in and makes you want to keep reading.  The pace of the books is almost perfect and there are items which are foreshadowed which help to raise the tension.  

One of the themes in this book is perseverance.  The characters face a number of different challenges throughout their journey west,  and each time they could have turned back and let the world be battered by a war between the different gods. But they continued and the characters understandably become closer and start to trust each other because of what they have faced. 

Another theme in this book is familial love. Percy’s mum, Sally, does everything she can to keep her son with her and safe for as long as possible.  Not only did she not tell him who his father was she married a man who was not someone she loved, but someone who could help to protect her vulnerable son.  Sally is also Percy’s main motivation to continue on his quest.  This familial love is directly opposed to Percy’s relationship with his father, and Annabeth’s complex family relationships.  

In places this book makes me feels sad,  there are a large number people who can relate to growing up in two separate households, and the challenges that this can cause of your parents each having different expectations which is clear in the book with Anabeth’s challenges.  The ending makes me want to pick up the second book and I already have. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I will give this book a good 4 stars out of five.  This is most likely due to me not being the target audience for the book.  

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