Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief

Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief

Author: Rick Riordan

ISBN: 9780786838653

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Copyright: 2006

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: 12 - 15

Reader’s Annotation: Percy Jackson is just an average boy until he finds out that he is a demigod and charged to return the master bolt to Zeus.

Plot Summary: Percy Jackson always thought there was something wrong with him. After a run in with a mythical monster, he finds out it was alright the entire time. Percy is told by his mother that he is a half-blood: half-human, half-god. They head off to the forest outside of New York where Camp Half-Blood is located. It is a safe haven for half-bloods like Percy. While at the camp, Percy learns more information about himself. His father is Poseidon, the god of the sea.

            When Zeus's master bolt is stolen, Poseidon is blamed. The master bolt allows Zeus to make lightning at will. Zeus tells Poseidon that the master bolt must be returned to Mount Olympus by the summer solstice. If not, Zeus will wage war on Poseidon. The quest is given to Percy as Poseidon’s son. He is joined by his protector Grover and another demi-god Annabeth, the daughter of Athena. The bolt is believed to be in the underworld. The gates located in Los Angeles. The must recover Persephone’s pearls to get back from the underworld. On the way there, they pick up the pearls in St. Louis, Denver, and Las Vegas. The face off against Medusa, defeat a vicious monster at the observation deck of the Gateway Arch, almost lose their memories and drive in an enchanted Vegas casino, and are nearly stretched to death.

            When they finally make it into the underworld, Percy confronts Hades and finds out that not only is Zeus’ master bolt missing, but Hades’ helm of darkness. Hades accuses Percy of stealing them both for a power hungry Poseidon. As they are arguing, the master bolt appears in Percy’s backpack. They make a daring escape and end up on the Santa Monica beach next to Ares, the god of war. Percy gets Ares to tell him the master plan. Ares wanted to create the biggest war of all time by tuning the three most powerful gods against each other. He took the items from a surrogate thief he had steal from Zeus and Hades. Percy and Ares battle it out on the beach. Percy gets a lucky strike and wins the helm of darkness.  Ares curses Percy, and they return the helm of darkness to Hades. But, can they get back home with the master bolt in time for the winter solstice? Who was the original thief?

Critical Evaluation: The Lighting Thief  has received many different awards including the Best Book of 2005 from School Library Journal, Red House Children's Book Award Winner, 2006, Askews Torchlight Award 2006, and the Mark Twain Award. In 2006, the American Library Association made it a Notable Book along with the New York Times. It has also had high praise from many different publishing reviewers. While some might think this is a book that is too young for teen readers, Percy is a relatable character. At the beginning of the book Percy thinks that he has ADHD and dyslexia. Both of these conditions make it hard for someone to read. It turns out in Percy’s case that he is a demigod. But, there are plenty of teens out there that are dealing with the real effects of having ADHD and dyslexia. Having a book that is high adventure and a tad bit easier to read might encourage them to continue the series or find another book that is a bit higher on the difficulty scale. Having a variety of reading levels included into a collection can be a strength.

Author Information: Rick Riordan is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the creator of a new series The 39 Clues. For Rick Riordan (pronounced Ryer'-dan), a bedtime story shared with his oldest son was just the beginning of his journey into the world of children's books.

Already an award-winning author of mysteries for adults, Riordan, a former teacher, was asked by his son Haley to tell him some bedtime stories about the gods and heroes in Greek mythology. "I had taught Greek myths for many years at the middle school level, so I was glad to comply," says Riordan. "When I ran out of myths, (Haley) was disappointed and asked me if I could make up something new with the same characters."

For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. In 2002, Saint Mary's Hall honored him with the school's first Master Teacher Award. Riordan made a "reluctant" decision to leave teaching, a career he thoroughly enjoyed, to write full-time. However, he's keeping his hand in education by conducting lots of author appearances in classrooms across the country, and even some in Europe. "I love teaching," says Riordan. "I love working with kids . . . maybe some day I'll go back to the classroom. I'm not ready to say it'll never happen. But for now, the books are keeping me very busy." Source - http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/rick-riordan

Curriculum Ties: Mythology

Challenge Issues: Violence

Booktalk Ideas: Everything You Thought – Talk about the Greek heroes and legends of old and how they were once real people destined for greatness.