reading percy jackson for the first time – the lightning thief

Title: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan

Release date: July 4th, 2013 (first published June 28th, 2005)

Publisher: Puffin Books

Rating: 5/5

I am very ashamed to say that in my 21 years on this earth, I have never read a single Percy Jackson book. Now, in my defense, I have tried to pick up the Lightning Thief multiple times in audio format but for some reason, I could never get myself to finish it… Maybe it was due to the narration I don’t know. Either way, the other day when I was on a short trip to Germany I decided to pick up a physical copy of this first installment in the Percy Jackson series and boy am I happy I did! Let’s get into all my thoughts on this legendary middle-grade series!

characters

The characters were definitely my favourite part of this book! They kind of reminded me a bit of Harry Potter (which is my all time favourite series so that is the highest praise I could ever give a book), while still obviously being their own characters. 

Percy is such an awesome character! He is very funny and not afraid to take risks if it will better his chances of completing his goals. I also like how he is actually a twelve-year-old kid. While reading the book I fully believe that he is the age he is supposed to be, meaning I don’t feel like he is made more mature and clever than is plausible. The author didn’t try to push personality traits or a vocabulary on him that wouldn’t have fit his character. 

Next we have miss Annabeth Chase. She is AMAZING! Her character is very well developed, which I like! I am not very surprised about the fact that she is very much her own person and doesn’t need Percy to save her, as I don’t usually see that in middle-grade anyway, but it is still nice to acknowledge.  I am beyond excited to see her character develop over the course of the next few books!

Of course we can’t forget about good ol’ Grover. As much as I loved Grover in this book, I do kind of feel like he is a bit more of a side-kick… I really hope we get to see more of his quest to find Pan in the next books. Or something equally exciting for his character. Cause at this point, although I think he is quite a nice contribution to the story, I think he is more of a comic relief / trusty side-kick…

Lastly I would like to touch upon the character of Chiron, the classic mentor in any story arc. I would honestly have liked to see a bit more of him in this first book. In my opinion, he was quite an interesting character who could have been developed a bit more. Although I can see why seeing as this is obviously a story about Percy’s adventures and not about his mentor’s backstory. 

likes

Like I already mentioned earlier, one of my favourite parts of this novel were the characters. I really think they were what made the story come to life. The wit with which they spoke and chemistry they had between each other made me invested in the story.

Apart from the characters I LOVED the mythology aspect! I personally don’t know a whole lot about Greek mythology and the vastness of the subject has always stopped me from delving into it. So I love that I am now getting a manageable introduction on that.

dislikes

There wasn’t much I didn’t like about this book. The only thing I can think of is the fact that it was a bit slow at points. But this is a very minor complaint that I am willing to forgive seeing as it is the first book in a five-book series and Riordan obviously had to built a world and set up a lot of things for further progression in the story. 

quote

Deadlines just aren’t real to me until I’m staring one in the face.

final thoughts

Overall I thought this was a fabulous read. I have been in a middle-grade mood as it is, so this was the perfect book for me right now! I think this would have been a very influential book to me had I read it as a child. Now it was just a very entertaining and well-written read. The next book is already waiting for me so there will be a new review up very soon (hopefully)! 

Please tell me in the comments whether you have read this series and if you liked it! (no spoilers svp)

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