PJO #1 The Lightning Thief Review

Nov. 11, 2024

If you are curious as to how I rate books/original terminology, refer to My Rating System Explained

STATS~📑

Vibes: Action packed road trip across the U.S. with sarcastic tweens, with a sprinkle of Greek mythology. A page turner–great to escape everyday life while munching on blue chocolate chip cookies. 

Notable characteristics: Hilarious and self aware first-person POV, “chosen one” trope, domestic violence and other hard topics handled nicely, kind and mature main characters, imaginative twist on Greek mythology.

Things that made me pause: I wasn’t the greatest fan of Annabeth, though I am aware of how beloved she is by the fandom, and one can really make a case for her upbringing shaping her in the way it did! 

Moon Rating: 5/5🌙 (Great middle grade book!)

Overall star rating: 4.5/5⭐ 

SYNOPSYS: 

“Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction — Zeus' master bolt.”-via rickriordan.com

(This brief review includes slight spoilers for plot points! You’ve been warned!)

If you’ve ever been around book lovers in the past 19 years, chances are you’re not surprised by this rating. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is a great book, and I can see why the series had such a chokehold on elementary/middle school kids as I was growing up. Personally, as someone who moved countries and had to adapt to a new language, the book went a little over my head, and even when I was aware of it, I was too much of a Harry Potter fan to pick it up. 

Perhaps I should have! Something that shocked me about this book is how enjoyable it is to read. Riordan’s prose is funny, and I often found myself smiling while reading (though I cried, near the end.) Percy’s voice is unique and shows his values and kindness, something that makes him a lovable and enticing character, especially for a middle-grade audience. Percy is a great role model for kids, from the way he cares for his mother and newfound friends, to how empathetic he is even towards people who either have hurt him or tried to. 

In terms of plot, I was happy to overlook the slight miscalculations readers have found over the years, such as how Percy was able to survive the jump from the St. Louis Arc to the river. The book is so immersive you truly don’t notice, and I am also used to accepting magic is at play, given the nature of the story. Speaking of, I thought the concept of having the Greek Gods as parents for demi-gods (and the awareness that they are often not great parents) is imaginative and quite interesting to think about within the context of the legends. Rick Riordan incorporated the current story with its past incredibly well, and I am excited to see how the story progresses and what myths (and their versions) are brought up.

I liked the friendship between the main trio, I loved Percy’s relationship with his mom, and my favorite part of the book was the ending. [Slight spoiler alert] The conversation with Poseidon, the way Percy stands up to both him and Zeus, and the way he always stands up for his mom… was an absolute delight. I cried happy tears. 

I also really liked how the book handled the issue of domestic abuse and the way it empowered Percy’s mom. I am still amazed at how this is an integral part of the book, along with the experiences of being a misfit, having an absent father, and even disabilities, while maintaining its light-hearted tone and creating a rejuvenating (and action-packed) reading experience. I consider that to be Riordan’s gift, and (as I am writing this also having read some of the next novels–I couldn’t contain myself!) I can say that is a staple of the series so far.

I am aware that a big critique against the series is its “unoriginality,” especially when compared to other series targeted towards similar age ranges, such as Harry Potter. However, I find that everything, everywhere, is always shaped by what came before it; art is no different. Art and the literary canon thrive because someone was inspired to pick up a pen and make an idea their own. That said, while I can see the similarities in having a main trio of characters and a chosen one trope, I think PJO was written with younger kids in mind, or at least in a more approachable way than HP, which feels more mature from the very beginning. None of those approaches are bad! 

I am happy to report I am a daughter of Apollo and have hopped on the PJO bandwagon. We are in for a long adventure… 

As always, thanks for reading! What do you think of the series? Would you like to read it if you never have?

-Much love, Val