OT: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

[deltagal]

Hi all,

I'm wondering where the best place is to get reviews on fiction for children/youth. My son just received as a gift, The LIghtning Thief by Rick Riordan. He is super sensitive about reading books that are good and honorable, so I want to make sure I've done a careful screening of this book before I say "yes" or "no". Of course, all the boys his age at church say it is just AWESOME, which of course provides no help for me ; ) Does anyone have any insight? I'm not familiar with this author or this series The Olympians.

[tiffanieh]

I haven't researched it personally but just from the previews alone we will not be watching this film. We do not watch any of the Harry Potter stuff. The people who did Harry Potter made the Lightening Thief movie. It is about mythical Gods and this boy is a decendent of a God and has all these supernatural powers etc...

Definitely a no for us.

[my3sons]

Funny you ask this - I was just reading about this on Amazon. You may want to take a peek at the other books by Rick Riordan to get a whole picture of his writing style. That may help you make your decision!

In Christ,
Julie

[deltagal]

Thanks Tiffanie and Julie,

The only thing I can really grasp about him is that he is an English teacher with a strong bent toward mythoology. What's confusing to me is people compare him to J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis, which to me are 2 different entities. Riordan seems to be a hugely popular cultural phenomenon....which always makes me wonder. Still unsure....

[holyhart]

Here is a review that I found of the book. I'm sure like Julie said there are more on Amazon.

"The premise of the series is that the Greek gods are not only real, but still around in present day. Some of them have even had children with mortals. The hero of the series is such a child - a demigod, or "half-blood". Percy is an unlikely hero; he's a sarcastic twelve year old with ADHD and dyslexia, being raised by a loving single parent, and attending a boarding school for troubled youth. He doesn't look for trouble, but he has always managed to find it.

The Lightning Thief is the first book of the series. In it, Percy is disturbed by strange events at his school. He remembers fighting a teacher, but no one else even remembers the teacher. Evil monsters are after Percy because he is a half-blood. Percy is reluctant to believe that his missing father is actually a god (Poseidon) , or that his best friend, Grover, is actually a satyr. In this very fast moving book, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth (the daughter of Athena - goddess of wisdom) attend a camp run by Dionyssus. They leave camp for a quest to the underworld on a quest to prevent World War III, and to rescue Percy's mother. Along the way they battle with Ares, who appears as a huge motorcycle dude, Medusa, and the Furies.

Percy has to come to terms with who is he, his abilities, and his relationship with his father. On his journey he gains true friends and faces challenges that show him his weaknesses and strengths. Since he's the son of the sea god, Percy can do some very cool things with water. There is a lot of humor in the book, along with some environmental messages about litter and animal treatment. Percy is an unlikely hero, but he is kind, compassionate, and a true friend, which makes him the best hero of all.

If you are concerned about the religious aspect of the books, the characters do make a distinction between God, capital-G, the creator of the universe, and the Greek gods (lower-case g). And while the gods are portrayed as being powerful, they are also petty, arrogant, and revengeful - just like in the Greek myths. My only complaint with the books is that I could really use a pronunciation guide for names like Hephaestus.

The Lightning Thief was a New York Times Notable Book for 2005 and has been optioned for a film.

The books are recommended for fifth graders and up and the fast pace and action filled scenes are particularly great for reluctant readers. "