I forgot how enjoyable this was.

4 Stars ( )

This is a great book for middle and early high school students. i really enjoyed reading this book. This is a book about a young boy who finds out that his father is Poseidon the god of the sea. it goes through that idea of learning his identity and an adventure to return Zeus's lighting bolt that had been stolen.

This is another classic young adult fantasy book. The movies are a household name and the show on DIsney + is great too. But, the book itself is a great read and in general I love greek mythology. ( )

Percy Jackson is a 12-year-old boy with dyslexia and ADHD attending a school for at-risk students in New York. Percy's first major clue that something weird is going on happens during a school trip, when one of his teachers turns into some kind of monster, attacks him, and he defends himself with a sword that, seconds before, was a pen belonging to another one of his teachers.

When school wraps up, he goes home and thinks he's about to go on a much-needed trip with his mom when he's attacked yet again and barely makes it to the safety of Camp Half-Blood. There, Percy learns that he's a demigod - his father is one of the Greek gods. As Percy learns more about himself and his abilities, he gets caught up in a conflict between Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades and must somehow find and return Zeus's missing master bolt.

My first exposure to this series was via the 2010 live action movie. I came away from it feeling so-so about the franchise. I didn't remember enough about it to say, one way or another, how similar it was to the original book, although I do at least know that the movie aged the main characters up a few years. The better to introduce potential romantic subplots as soon as possible, I guess.

In this book, Riordan introduces a world where kids like Percy can discover that their dyslexia is actually a sign that they're a demigod and their ADHD helps give them an edge in battle. It's not all great, though - quite a few of the Camp Half-Blood kids have issues with their mortal families. Also, not only are the gods prohibited from directly taking a part in their children's upbringing, but several of them aren't exactly good parent material to begin with. There are many Camp Half-Blood kids who never get a sign from the gods indicating that one of them has claimed them as their child.

I generally enjoyed the way Riordan worked Greek mythology into Percy's world and story. There were times I got a bit impatient - although I could barely remember anything about the movie, it seemed obvious to me who Percy's father was based on the various clues we were given - but I'm also willing to accept that I'm a good bit older than the intended audience for this series. If I had been introduced to this series when I was in the 5th grade, when we spent a period of time learning about Greek gods and mythology, I probably would have gotten a kick out of having the opportunity to figure out a few things here and there in this book using the details I knew.

It did take ages for Percy to show any sign of concern about the part of the prophecy that predicted he'd be betrayed by someone who called him a friend, though.

Overall, this was decent and I'll probably give the next book in the series a try.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

Now, this book has a breathless pace and a pretty thin constitution as far as how it's held together, but it has very relatable, likeable even, characters and ridiculously high entertainment value. The updated portrayals of immortals from Greek myth are a hoot (though Dionysus is played more for laughs than Euripides would countenance), but it all does actually Go Somewhere and Say Something. Without really rising above YA chops, this is fun read. Recommended and now I need the second volume. ( )