The Lightning Thief-Ryan Cohen

Ryan Cohen
English Period 6
November 20, 2008

The Lightning Thief, written by Rick Riordan, is one of my all-time favorite novels. This book is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.. I discovered this great novel when I was at the library looking for a great book to read. I was looking for an exciting adventure book which was trilling yet also had a sense of humor. I couldn't find anything I was interested in! So I was about to leave the library depressed, but suddenly I tripped and fell on something. I got back up to see what it was and it was a book on the floor. I picked it up and it was a book called The Lightning Thief. I opened it up to the first page, started reading, and it sucked me so fast I couldn't stop myself from reading! This book has everything in it; adventure, humor, fantasy, drama, mystery, peril, and some romance! There are 5 books in this series and I am already almost done reading the fourth! I can't wait for the concluding book, the 5th book, to come out in stores on May 5, 2009! This book is so great; a movie based on it will be released July 2, 2010!

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of Yancy academy . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend Grover Underwood? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself. Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook! He and his mother take a trip to the beach, away from his terrible stepfather when Grover reveals who he is and Percy finds out he is not in the world he thinks he's in. He finds out that he himself is son of a very powerful god. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive. And the bad thing is; he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. On his way to Camp Half-blood, he has an encounter with a Minotaur. His mother, when seized around the neck by the Minotaur, dissolves into gold mist. When he gets to camp his activities director sends him on a quest. His quest is to find and return Zeus's stolen master bolt (which he thinks was stolen by Hades) in ten days-before summer solstice to prevent a war between the gods. His companions are Grover, the satyr, and Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, will have to go to the Underworld (in L.A., where else?) and face a vast amount of enemies determined to stop them. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than just catch a thief: he must come face-to-face with his father, who abandoned him; solve the riddle or the Oracle (which warns him of betrayal by a friend); and unravel a treachery more powerful than gods themselves.

Page 146-
"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."
"Check," Chiron said.
"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."
"Check."
"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."
"That's about right."
I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.
Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.

I chose these quotes from the novel because to me, it is like a checkpoint in the middle of the book. They are also great quotes because they use an easy way to get across a point, and they even have some humor! These quotes are important in the story. They basically summarize the first half of the novel and tell you everything you need to know to understand the second half of the novel. They make you wonder how Percy is going to do all of these things in ten days and draws you into reading the second half of the book.

If I were to rate this novel from 1 thunderbolt through 5 thunderbolts, I would defiantly give The Lightning Thief 5 thunderbolts. I chose thunderbolts because that is what the whole book is about. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, the most powerful weapon in the universe and thinks the main character Percy Jackson is the culprit. Percy has ten days to find and return the master bolt to Zeus or war against Poseidon will begin. To summarize the war, imagine the world in chaos; nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight.

Here are three reasons why you should read this trilling novel:

1. If you like adventure and mystery books, this book is perfect for you. It keeps you attached to it the whole time. Even though this book is 375 pages, it seems like 20 pages. If you are a slow reader, when you read this book you will be amazed how fast you read it.

2. If you are interested in Greek mythology, this book is perfect for you. It has all sorts of Greek gods and creatures that will keep you interested throughout the whole entire book!

3. If you hate or hated your pre-algebra teacher, this book is perfect for you. This book has the main character, Percy Jackson; accidentally vaporize his pre-algebra teacher who turned out to be one of Hade's evil minions (just like all of pre-algebra teachers). In fact, the very first chapter of this novel is called I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher!

There are no warnings you need to know about if you are just a normal kid wanting to read, or actually reading this book because it's fiction and exciting. But.... if you are a half-blood or think you might be a half-blood, that's a different story. If you are in that situation, then DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. But if it's too late and you already opened the book, my advice to you is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie or fib your mom and dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. You don't want what happened to Percy Jackson to happen to you.

Overall, I really liked this novel and I encourage you to read it and even the whole series!!!