Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One)

By Rick Riordan

Book Overview

The #1 New York Times Bestseller

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series now streaming on Disney+

The paperback edition of the first book in Rick Riordan's thrilling middle grade series, filled with magic, Greek mythology, and plenty of monsters.

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. 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 and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed in 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 betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

With millions of copies and over 10 years spent on the New York Times bestseller list, Percy has also become a movie, a Broadway musical, and now a Disney+ series. He continues to find fans in classrooms and libraries across the world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786838655
• ISBN13: 9780786838653
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.2" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Visionary

Enjoy reading books that I can vision. The only downside to it, it goes into the next book serie, & I dislike those. It forces you to buy the next book because you are into the first chapter when the book ends. What you read was interesting.

The Percy Jackson series was the first series that made me love reading when I was really young

I’ve read and reread this series so many times that I could probably quote it without seeing the book itself lol, this is the first series that made me want to go out and own every single book for my own shelf. This has always been my comfort series, the one that I have to reread every few years or so.

My favorite comfort read

This is the perfect children's series to get people interested in mythology and it has improved with every reread.

Finished my collection

Finally replaced the book that was never returned to me :)

Could not put it down

My 11 year old couldn’t put it down. She loved it and couldn’t wait to start the second one!

I love this book

10000/5

Arrived early

The movie does the book no justice. I read the Percy Jackson books before I saw the movie and I was criticizing the whole movie. This book is so much fun. Easy to follow the characters and is so detailed that it's like you're there. Fun for teens and adults.

I see why kids loved it back in the day.

Very solid. A kids book with all the trappings done right. Nothing particularly spectacular but a great example of everything fun about a kids adventure book. Characters were brought to life well. Grover was written a little weird sometimes but I chalk that up to him being forced into the comic relief for 12 y/o boys role. I like him fine in general, it’s just sometimes he does stuff that feel more like the story/tone needed him to play a role rather than a natural thing his character would do. But that’s really my only complaint.

The Lightning Thief is a book you can’t put down!

Nothing is more exciting than reading about mythology and when that unites with a boy finding out he’s related to one of the gods he’s heard stories about… who knows what will happen next!!!

I wish this book had been published with I was in 6th grade!

This book SHOULD have been published in 2000. WHY, YOU ASK? Because I feel very strongly that I would have loved to read this when I was a youngling and then my friends and I could have argued about our cabins and dreamed about going off on mad adventures with satyrs and demigods. *sigh* I suppose I am the Harry Potter generation and in all fairness, we should leave some of this other goodness to another group of kids. I really did think that this was wonderfully written. The mythology was pretty solid, Percy & Co.'s behavior was true to their age but not supremely annoying. The imagery was great, I really liked the use of cheeseburgers and milkshakes as bribes from gods/monsters. I like Charon and the fact that Percy followed through on his promise to him. I thought the whole thing was fun. Obviously, as a MG novel, this story will not be for everyone. As an adult, I can confirm it was entertaining despite the fact I am 15 years older than the intended audience. I had to get used to the idea that these were sixth graders and be okay with that before delving into the adventure. AND THAT'S OKAY. These are pretty mature sixth-graders. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of mythology, doesn't mind the protagonists being younglings, and is down for a good, fun romp. ALSO. This book is NOT the film. It diverts at just about the point when they leave their first task. Do not expect the same story. Enjoy the differences. THEY ARE MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN THE MOVIE. GODS GET INVOLVED. BAD STUFF IS GOING DOWN. In this vein, the ending was a bit draggy BUT TOTALLY NECESSARY for the continuing series plot. If these books came out when you were an adult and you feel a bit cheated by not being in the proper age group, do yourself a favor and read it anyway. It's a quick read. It's fun. Just do it.

This Book Is The Start Of Everything Beautiful...

A book great for young readers, but anyone can enjoy this. Sucked me in every night until I got to the last book in the series, The Last Olympian. I definitely had my laughs, but the one of the most enjoyable things about this book is the learning about Greek mythology. I recommend 100% to anyone who likes to read or not, I wasn't a big book person, but after I read these I couldn't stop reading and adventuring into other books.

A Modern Day Hercules Meets Harry Potter

Greek mythology has moved to the America's largest cities in the world, creating all new heroes, monsters and adventures in the heart of the country. Percy Jackson is just one of those new heroes, a half-blood (half human half god), trying to make his way in the world that he soon finds out is not as normal as he thought. Percy is the modern Hercules, first discovering he is half god after being forced to attend the Half-Blood summer camp when it is too dangerous for him to live in the outside world. Gods exist, and the famous Mount Olympus has taken station right in Percy's backyard: the Empire State Building. Percy quickly discovers he is meant for greatness, forced onto a quest to save the world with Athena's daughter Annabeth, and the comical satyr, Grover. Zeus's famous lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy and his friends must get it back, otherwise the gods will be forced to fight amongst themselves creating a World War III. Thus he travels cross-country, encountering various monsters and famous American monuments, to get to Los Angeles where the entrance to the Underworld currently resides. I enjoyed seeing every new mythological creature or Greek god that showed up, and how they were portrayed in our current modern world. Ares, god of war, is a biker while Medusa who turns anyone who looks at her into stone is a sculptor. Though the situations are dangerous they are also comical, especially if you know the lore behind the creatures. Percy continues to outsmart those around him, but still has faults (such as not seeing what is really going on until it is almost too late). Percy and his friends are a good trio, and their interactions are fun to read. One of the main reasons I hesitated picking up The Lightning Thief, was the huge hype over how wonderful it was. I was worried I would be painfully disappointed, especially since I am a huge Greek mythology enthusiast, and I just wasn't sure this book was going to meet my expectations. Let me cut to the chase and say I LOVED this book! I can't wait to get the next one.

THE LIGHTNING THEIF

This book is a wonderful book....especially if you like weird chapter names and mysterious Greek gods! In this book there is a boy named Percy Jackson. His dad is Posiedon.God of water! He starts to search for his father. You will love this book if you like mishap and may hem! The book is mostly about how his uncle Zeus thinks his nephew Percy Jackson stole his lightning bolt! .....But Percy didn't do it! Another god did! It was the god of messages....HERMES! The things I do like is that you get trapped in the book! Almost like you are witnessing it! This book is what you've been looking for! I guarantee it! By Diamond

Fantastic Thrill Ride

I held off buying THE LIGHTNING THIEF for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but THE LIGHTNING THIEF seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out. This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son. I did read it to him. We FLEW through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives. THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did. Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better. Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales. From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip. He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard. Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving. The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world. Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities. The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not readin

GREAT READ

If you like Harry Potter, you will probably like this book, too. Come to think of it, if you do not like HP, you may still like this book. Recommended reading ages are grades 5-9 but if you're younger and like to read this book may very well be fine . . . and, this book is actually written well enough for adults to enjoy as well. Tale focuses on a 12 year old boy named Percy who isn't getting along with just about everyone in school and soon discovers part of his problems are related to the fact that he's the son of the Greek God, Poseidon, which leads him to a training camp for Half-Bloods/Demigods and then a quest to stop the Zeus and Poseidon from tearing the whole world apart. PROS (1)Told in first person narrative and therefore flows particularly well.; (2) Hip and cutting edge enough, focusing on popular, trendy spots like Las Vegas, at one point, for instance.; (3) Well detailed info on mythology so one could learn a lot without cracking open a mythology book. A lot of the details are woven into the story rather than just told to you.; (4) Some really funny lines or events; (5) Well established relationship with his mortal mother; (6) Some good action scenes that focus on Greek Mythology; and (7) A few surprised even the veterans of fantasy reading won't spot. CONS (1)For adults, if you don't like archetypes and standard story archetypes, you may find this a bit predictable in certain parts. Remember that it's written for young readers.; and (2) Percy tends to fall into a few jams because he doesn't think things through. He's twelve so I suppose he gets some slack for that but then he also does some smart things so judge it as you will.

Wonderful, entertaining read!!!!

OK, so I am an 11 year old girl going on twelve. I don't sound like much of a "major" book reader. I hardly read at all! But, this book caught my eye. Once I opened this up to the first page, I was automatically sucked in! Myths, monsters, elegant gods & goddesses! I absolutly love this book. Readers can relate to the personality of Percy Jackson, or just feel their heart pumping when a monster attacks Percy, or even embrace their inner half blood self! I love this book and highly recommend it. Thanks for reading my review!