Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

My nine-year old son read the entire Percy Jackson series so intensely last year I knew they had to be good. This series by Rick Riordan sparked an interest in Greek Mythology for him that continues to grow almost a year later. He speaks of moving to Greece to study and making Greek mythology his double major in college (with being a vet). Not sure he's completely clued in on the time frame of the gods and goddesses, but I'll leave that for a later time.

In honor of the movie releasing this weekend, I read the first book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I read it quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it's a book meant for the youth so it's not as long or in-depth as it could be. But the story was quite amazing, unique and well-written. Percy is an out-of-sorts kid who just about any kid (or adult) can relate to, at least in part.

Here's a summary of this first book:
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.

I give this book at 4 stars out of 5 and look forward to seeing the movie this weekend with my boy. And, when he cleans his room and finds the next book in the series, I'll be reading it as well.