The book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is one of those books that most likely read in eighth grade or freshman year. I think one of the reasons it became so popular in schools is because it’s relatively new and it’s a very refreshing book. I have read this book around four or five times and every time I read it, I get another perspective on it, learn something new, or just have a good experience of a fresh breather. This book is such a good example of being a great book fro pretty much all ages. I enjoyed reading at a younger age, and I still enjoy reading it now.
The book is about a kid named Percy Jackson who is kind of like an outsider. He is a half-blood, a half mortal, half god. He gets chased down by monsters that kind of don’t like him and it kinda turns out to be inconvenient most of the time, like it would any time you’re on a school field trip and some teacher actually turns out to have bat wings and is trying to kill you. In literally the first chapter, we manage to get so much information, like his crippled teacher has a powerful sword inside of a fountain pen, Percy kind of has powers related to water, Percy is a half-blood. This book just jumps into this awesome world and manages to scoop up the reader and bring the reader on a crazy ride. I find myself being severely emotionally attached to many of the characters and I also managed to be at the edge of my seat several times during the book.
After the kid defeats a monster in a museum, he is then taken to a special camp for kids who are half-bloods. The camp is known as Camp Half-Blood. This camp allows Percy to learn who his dad is, since his mom is Sally Jackson. The camp also allows him to train in combat and enhance his skills. He then goes on to do a quest and that is basically where the book’s main plot kicks off.
I think this is an awesome book for young kids. I learned a lot about mythology because of this book, and I think that it can be beneficial for children to read it, and if anyone else knows nothing about mythology, they should read the book as well. The book is a well-written book that brings you on one adventure, but has so much put into it. You can always expect an encounter with a crazy monster attacking the kids, or some very interesting dialogue. The author does a really good job at introducing new characters and aspects of them at the perfect time. It brings up background details at the correct timing and it brings in so many different aspects of the same characters.
Some of the main characters include Grover Underwood, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Clarissa La Rue, Luke Castellan, Sally Jackson, Chiron, and Silena Beauregard. Every character has a very clever background and interesting plot.
The first book branched into a larger series, which is extremely understandable. Mythology is a very large concept and there was so much that wasn’t explained in the first book. The first book got many people into the characters that they just constantly wanted to learn more about the characters and the story in general.
