Review: Percy Jackson ~ The Lightning Thief

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive.

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.

Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts?

Title: Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians ~ Book 1)
Author: Rick Riordan | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: June 1 2005
Publisher: Disney Hyperion 
Length: 396 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: I love the covers in this series.. quite fitting.
Point of View: 1st person, following Percy

My Rating: 4 Stars

I have been wanting to start this series forever.  Although starting a new series with so many books ahead of you always seems a bit daunting.  My solution to this was to agree to read one new book from the series in between my other books.  This way I am able to spread them out rather than feel the weight of reading each of them back to back.  So, you are probably wondering... was the wait worth it?  Yes.  I am so glad I read this and I am excited to officially be in the Percy Jackson world.

 “My name is Percy Jackson.
I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.
Am I a troubled kid?
Yeah. You could say that.”

I went into The Lightning Thief knowing full well that this series is meant for children.  Even with this being the case I had absolutely no problem following the story and falling in love with the characters.  There is just enough fantasy, action and drama to keep the story exciting from start to finish.  I have suggested this to not only my adult friends but also to the children of my adult friends.  It really is a universal story and age should be of no concern.

“Names have power.”

I have always been a huge lover of Greek Mythology.  This is part of the reason why I can't believe it took me this long to start these.  I loved every single character introduced and found myself smiling each time I had a feeling a new God was going to make an appearance.  It was a lot of fun to see how many I could guess based on what was happening at that time in the book.

 “Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.”

I adored Percy.  He has just the right mix of bravery and self confidence.... with a bit of realistic expectations mixed in.  He always acts first and thinks second which of course can cause some extreme circumstances but even with his bravery and confidence he knows his limits.  He knows he is not a God but that doesn't stop him from speaking his mind around them.  He stands up for his friends and his family.

I also loved his friends.  Grover and Annabeth are both loyal and down right funny.  They both had me laughing several times throughout the book.

“Grover murmured, "Well, Percy, what have we learned today?"
That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?"
No," Grover told me.  "We've learned that your plans really, really bite!”

Like I said I will be gradually working my way through this series, and honestly I have to say I am really excited to see where Percy will take me next.

MORE QUOTES FROM THE LIGHTNING THIEF