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' 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' 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. |
“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”
Comparisons toward the Harry Potter series have always surrounded this book series, but I'm not completely sure why. They are both popular fantasy epic pieces penned for a younger crowd, but there the similarities kind of end. The world Rick Riordan conceived is much different than the wizard and wand wield from Rowling. Enter mythological Gods who have spawned offbreeds of children who now go to a camp and train. Okay, so they go to a group gathering and train together much like Harry and Hogwarts, but really the similarity is small. Besides a few chapters at the camp, most of the book is spent outside it when the main character goes on his seeking journey.
Speaking of which, Percy may have been labeled as a bad apple at school when he gets into trouble, but he handled all these situations better than me. I would have STAYED more irritated at some of the camp situations and other kids and counselors, and he seemed to get over being sent on this unfair task more than I would have. Still, it's an epic kid's adventure so there a little unrealism can be forgiven.
The strongest point was the beginning half, where Percy's humor was addictive. He is a typical middle-school child who gets into trouble, and I enjoyed the simpler misconceptions with his classmates more than some of the heavy quests for some reason. When he describes his teacher and classmates, I laughed aloud more than once. Even if I liked the simpler times a bit more than the far-out fantasy parts, I admire the complexity of the quest situations and creativity.
I won't spoil it in case you haven't read it yet, but whose kid he turns out to be is pretty awesome too. Am curious about more that will come out of that when I continue the series.
The writing style is very young for it's more older child than YA, but I'm crossing fingers it will age itself a little with sequels (like, *ahem*, Harry Potter), but if not it will still work.
Book Quotes:
“It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality.”
Cover Gallery:
 |
 |
 |
 |
Trailer:
Similar Reviews:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
