Friday, October 9, 2015

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Read-Along - Book Review - The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Read-Along - Book Review - The Lightning Thief 

Hey Halfbloods! 

So, as a part of our PJO read-alongErika and I have completed the reading of The Lightening Thief, and will now review it :) 



My summary: 
Percy Jackson thinks he’s an ordinary, dyslexic/ADD, trouble kid, with terrible luck. Until one day, he is attacked by his 6th grade pre-algebra teacher. He gradually uncovers his true identity, and the reality of the world - he is the son of Poseidon, the greek god of the sea. In a reality where the greek gods are very real, and where their kids have incredible abilities, Percy, along with his friends Annabeth and Grover, cross the United States to settle a dispute of godly proportions - who stole Zeus’s master bolt. 




You guys have no idea how much I love this book! *_* <3 

It has everything - amazing plot and character development, a great pace, perfect characters, awesome twists and turns, and an outstanding world! 

Okay so now for something a bit more in-depth ;) 

The plot is an amazing progression of events, each one followed by one that is stranger than the previous one. I mean, it’s not everyday you read books including an impromptu photoshoot with a monster, a rigged waterpark, riding in a ‘humane’ *cough*not*cough* zoo transport train, staying stuck in a casino in which time goes by incredibly quickly, getting tied down to a waterbed, and playing with a giant 3-headed dog. 
The thing is, all of these may seem incredibly different from one another, but they all follow one another very smoothly, and each one reveals something different about the various characters. The book creatively weaves greek mythology with modern reality, in a way where you can still accurately learn a lot about greek mythology. Genius, really! 

The characters might just be my favorite part of this novel. They are so thought-out! 

Percy - the typical ‘trouble kid’ in the mortal world, but a hero in the greek world. He’s hilarious, sarcastic, and witty (especially when he shouldn’t be). He doesn’t bow down to things he does not agree to, and really tries his best to help people around him. He’s also incredibly sweet at the right times. He always stood up for the weaker kids in school, which often resulted in him getting bullied. His rebellious side (and dyslexic/unlucky side) got him expelled from more schools than one, but he still tries to do his best. He always turns to doing the greater good, even if it means sacrificing saving his mother.

I don’t say this often, but Perseus Jackson is definitely one of my bookish heroes, and a character that I think anyone can look up to. 

*writing break while I jam out to music* 

Anywho

Annabeth is another amazing character. She’s smart and extremely creative, and knows so much about mythology and monsters that I think it would be hard to not just ask her for information you need rather than opening up a book. She can be secretive, though, giving out little pieces of information about her past at a time. She quickly becomes friends with Percy, helping him through thick and thin. 

Grover is awesome. He’s the best friend pretty much every one needs - he’s hilarious, almost always in a great mood, and does his best with everything. He dreams of getting a searcher’s license to find the missing god, Pan. 

Another reason why I absolutely love this book is the humor. I STILL laugh out loud while reading this, and I know most of the quotes by heart! 
This humor is divided into two parts - the chapter titles, which are genius, and some random quotes throughout the book. Such quotes include;

“ What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades' underwear?”

“She'd also called me brave...unless she was talking to the catfish.”

“Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked.
"It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.
"Hey!" I protested.” 


Braccas meas vescimini!"
I wasn't sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant 'Eat my pants!”


“I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera.
The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!”


“I whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat.”

And that’s just a tiny fraction of my favorite quotes! Also, ones about the poodle, or about Echidna, just get me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! 

All in all, I love everything about this book! It’s fast paced, witty, creative, and very imaginable (due to the fact that it’s woven so well with the modern world!). For me, this is SO highly worth a full 5 feathers! 


Now it’s your turn! What did you think of the first one, especially if it was your first time reading it? How many feathers would you give it? Let me know in the comments! 

Make sure to tune back in tomorrow for our discussion topic - How we (would have) reacted do discovering our halfblood selves! I think it’s going to be interesting ;) 

Remember, it’s not too late to join the read-along! :D 


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2 comments:

  1. Absolutely loved this review! I got to say, there are very few books that can have me laughing from beginning to end like Percy Jackson. This series is truly a masterpiece! I especially loved the quotes you chose ;) Can't wait for tomorrow's discussion! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank ye! Same, I think it can be interesting to see people’s reactions, and to write as if we were writing a chapter of the books! :D

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