Review: The Lightning Thief

A review by Teen Blogger, Stephanie.

I’ve always been inquisitive about the subject of mythology, although I don’t know what exactly intrigued me. Perhaps it was from my childhood hours wasted re-watching the Disney film Hercules, or just the study of gods in general.

I’m not surprised that I would read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, opens a new window by Rick Riordan, as it tells a story about Percy Jackson, a young boy of age twelve, on his quest to catch the lightning thief. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must retrieve the lightning bolt and successfully return it to Zeus while also facing a bunch of mythological enemies determined to stop him. On top of that, he must come to terms with his father whom he has yet to meet, and an Oracle has warned him of a traitor in their midst.

The Lightning Thief

My favourite character is Annabeth Chase as she is a strong female character who happens to be the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Athena. Annabeth’s character is displayed as someone with brilliant strategies and tactics during battle, and who has a plan in almost every situation she’s in (on the battlefield or not) which means that she is as fierce and intelligent as her mother. She is also Percy’s friend, and introduced him to Camp Half-Blood during his first day.

I like this book not only because it is affiliated with the mythology world but also because of Percy Jackson’s narration. Even though Percy Jackson is not first place on my favourite characters list for this book, he is most definitely my second favourite as his character just screams badass (especially for a kid his age). Percy Jackson’s sarcasm and good sense of humour definitely made me continue reading as it might have been boring without his entertaining personality.

Percy displayed courage throughout the book despite being recently introduced into a new world that he never thought was real before. I believe that he developed this courage from his newfound discovery, most specifically his identity (ancestry). Before he came into Camp Half-Blood, he did not know anything about his father, which made him completely oblivious to the whole ‘mythology is real’ thing. As a result, he did not quite understand why bizarre things keep happening and why the closest ones around him seemed like they’re hiding something from him. Also, this is all in addition to being left out and/or bullied by other kids so clearly the result of that would be a kid who clearly does not have the highest self-esteem and who claims himself to be a troubled kid.

So, after he was introduced into Camp Half-Blood and later discovered that he is the son of the god Poseidon; he might have realized that he is not just a troubled kid after all as his learning disabilities of ADHD and dyslexia were one of the indicators that he is one of the most powerful demigods out there. Percy displayed bravery by accepting the quest to find Zeus’s master bolt, and as the story progresses he also learned some stuff about himself and his father which helped him discover his real identity. On top of that, he’s also surrounded by fellow demigod kids who did not really fit into the mortal world just like him.

I would recommend this book to every fantasy-adventure fanatic and for those who are interested in the subject of mythology like me.