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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Book 1)
CCBC Review:
In an original premise, Rick Riordan offers up the difficulties faced by the twenty-first century offspring of Olympic gods. Percy Jackson, twelve-year-old boarding school renegade, is being asked to exit yet another academic institution as the novel opens. He thought he was a regular kid (even if a bit of a trouble-magnet), but his outlook makes a dramatic turn when he discovers that his best friend has hooves, his mother is annihilated by a Minotaur, and he’s the newest inductee to Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for demigods. Percy misses his mother and struggles with the unknown identity of his father—he must be a god, but which one? And why has he been such a deadbeat dad for the past twelve years? Percy must put aside these questions as he sets out on a quest to track down Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt and exonerate himself as the primary suspect. Accompanied by his satyr buddy and a formidable daughter of Athena, Percy travels from Long Island to L.A., battling hostile forces that include Medusa and the god Ares en route. With witty narration, clever plotting, and characters readers will look forward to rejoining in Book 2, this debut is a fantasy standout. ©2005 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 10-14
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Fantasy
Friendship
Humor
Identity
Journeys and Quests
Mythology
Publishers:
Hyperion, Miramax
Publish Year: 2005
Pages: 375
ISBN: 0786856297
CCBC Location: Fiction, Riordan