In Rick Riordan's novel Lightening Theif he has set up a great combination of theology and mondern fiction. His main character Percy Jackson is a son of one of the three main gods. But he doesn't know it!
Percy Jackson seems to be "trouble magnet." He has never truly fit in at any school or has never had enough time to fit in.
Percy finds himself in terrible danger and with only one place to run to. Though he struggles, Percy makes it to a summer camp where all the kids of the gods' attend to gain safety from the underworld monsters they attract. But percy has been called on an almost impossible mission. He must leave the safety of camp, and return a sacred item to his uncle Zeus god of the sky! This incredible work of fantasy is a must read! I invite avid readers of all ages to pick up Lightening Theif!- it won't let you down. If you enjoy this novel pick up Sea of Monsters, the sequel.

I did not expect this book to be so amazingly good. Alot of people don't like it because it's so much like Harry Potter... and they're completely correct. This book is a whole lot like Harry Potter. For example, Percy=Harry (doesn't know who he is, how powerful he is etc.), Annabeth=Hermione (know-it-all but loyal and brave), Grover=Ron (funny, but loyal), Chiron=Dumbledore (wise trainer person, centaur, whatever), Kronos=Voldemort (bad guy whose fallen but it coming back), and Luke=Quirrel (seemingly harmless and friendly, but turns out to be evil). So yeah. It is a ton like Harry Potter, but it's still awesome! I mean, how many good fantasy books do you know that are told in first person? Plus, it mentions tons of Greek mythology stuff. I, the ultimate Greek/Roman myth freak, even learned something here and there.

I think this book is great because i'm greek and this book has a lot of action. It realy goes by fast. So read this book.

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.