the lightning thief

the lightning thief
percy jackson & the olympians #1
rick riordan
ya/middle grades/fantasy
hyperion
published 2005

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper.  And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him.  When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe.  She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea.  Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

My daughter has read these and it's been driving her crazy that I haven't read them yet so we can watch the movies.  I told her I would start reading them this month and ever since the 1st of February she's been asking how much I've read.  While she doesn't love these as much as Harry Potter she sure does love them.

I love Greek mythology.  It's probably one of my favorite things I learned about in school so this series already has a point in its favor just because of the subject matter.  I love how Riordan brings the mythical characters into the real world.  The story moved along quickly and there was always something to keep you biting your nails.

What I didn't like?  The betrayer was too obvious to me.  And I felt like it should have been obvious after what happens in the Underworld, but no one ever saw it until the end.  Kinda lame.

But all in all I thought this was pretty good.  It's no Harry Potter, but it'll do.  ;)