The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

This is book 1 in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. I AM IN LOVE. I couldn’t put this darn book down! There is a movie coming out which drew my attention to the book. I’m a read-before-watch kind of girl so the hubster picked this up one day while Christmas shopping. He flew through it in less than 24 hours and I too have done the same. Granted, it’s a short and easy read, but I really REALLY didn’t want to stop reading last night and go to sleep.

So you have Percy Jackson, misunderstood youth. He has been in 6 schools in as many years and trouble seems to follow him. And of course, he is diagnosed with ADHD an dyslexia. After getting kicked out of his 6^th school, he heads home for the summer with his mom and awful stepdad. He and mom go on a mini vacay to the beach. This is when some major trouble starts. Percy is saved by heading for the hills – Half-Blood Hill to be exact. This, it turns out, is a sort-of camp for Demigods – children that have been borne to (Greek) gods and goddesses. Here they learn the truth behind the myths, history, the Greek language and vital battle skills. The camp also offers them shelter from monsters that exist in the real world.

Percy discovers he is the son of Poseidon, god of the seas and earthquakes. He is drawn to, can breathe in and is healed by water. Someone has stolen Zeus’ thunderbolt and it is decided that Percy will go on a quest to return it so Zeus doesn’t declare WWIII. He is accompanied by his new friends, Grover – a satyr, and Annabeth – daughter of Athena. This quest takes them across the country to Hades (the entrance is in LA) and face-to-face with several gods and finally back to Mt Olympus (the 600^th floor of the Empire State building).

This is a funny book. The characters are easy to love. And what a fantastic way to learn Greek mythology… Or is it really a myth?? The movie comes out February 10, 2010… Again, can I buy my tickets yet?