The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

By Rick Riordan

1152 ratings 1555 reviews 1764 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 5 - 8Grades 3 - 8W4.787223

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... 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? 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. Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp. Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
ISBN-13: 9780786838653
ISBN-10: 0786838655
Published on 3/21/2006
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 416

Book Reviews (1486)

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the whole series is awesome and hilarious i even watched the movie the movie was not as good though but i love the series its about the gods of olympus and a ligthning theif and someone who tricks them to think your his friend but achtuly is the theif read more to find out how great it is.

This whole series and the harry potter series are my favorite series in the world!

The Lightning Thief was AMAZING! If you are looking to find a book that will start you off into a whirlwind of mythology, adventure, trials and tribulations, friendship, loyalty, faults, and magic, then this book is perfect >w<! Percy Jackson is a normal kid in middle school when his adventure through gods and camp begins. The book leads the reader through multiple stories and characters that have different and unique personalities that make each one interesting and compelling to learn about. Plus, this book teaches about mythology and even twists some of the myths around to relate to modern times which makes the book even more interesting in order to find some of these myths. In this way, the Lightning thief is an AWESOME book for anyone to read! :)

This book was AWESOME!! This is the book that got me into Rick Riordan's books in the first place. Rick Riordan is now my second favorite author (J.K Rowling is first) and everybody should definitely read his books!

I love the Percy Jackson series in general and this book was the first one of the series. It is full of drama, adventure, friendship, and stories that incorporate Greek mythology perfectly. This book made me wish that the people in it were alive so I could meet them and discuss their interesting lives with them.

This book was AMAZING!!!!!!!! We were reading in my 7th-period core class at school and we were reading and we stopped after every chapter. I always had to read ahead because it was so suspenseful! If you love adventure then you will love this book. Even if you just want a good read, you MUST get this book.

Funny. This series grows up with you! Like Harry Potter this is funny wonderful and has tons of Drama! (yo yo drama lamas) This has many plot twists that end with you hungering for more. Mr. Riordan is a magician with his words and literary devices. This is a must read. 5/5 stars.

I actually read this book multiple times and the rest of the series because it was so good!! This book tied in mythology with its multiple unique characters, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, and others, that make the plot a lot more complex and unique. I also loved the aspect of how much I learned about mythology through this book. This book reflected fantasy genres and the aspect of adventures and trials and tribulations with friends.

This book is about Percy Jackson, a boy who's father is the Greek god Zeus. Percy finds out he is a demigod and goes on an amazing adventure to save the world, including a garden gnome emporium, a casino prison, and falling from a very great height into very cold water. Can he restore the lightning bolt in time?

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