Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

47 reviews

foxo_cube's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a really fun read. I was never a big one for YA series growing up, but some friends of mine recently(ish) insisted I just HAD to read the Percy Jackson books, so I bought the series when I was able to.

Even if I didn't have the whole series on my bookshelf, I'd have wanted to get hold of the second book, because I enjoyed this one more than I'd expected to!

The way that Riordan incorporates modern elements into Greek myth and vice versa is really funny and nicely done. The story is told from Percy's perspective and feels convincingly like a confused, slightly angsty 12 year old. His friends, Annabeth and Grover, fulfil the role of Brains and Comic Relief without it being grating. I'm really fond of Grover and his occasional goatiness.

The twists in the story are good and it overall makes for an enjoyable adventure.

The bit at the end with Luke's betrayal and connection with Kronos felt a little tacked-on, but it does give the story much more opening to continue. The bit at the end where Percy's mum uses Medusa's head to dispose of Gabe, however? Impeccable. The Medusa's head seemed like a Chekov's gun that wasn't going to be fired, but it was fired perfectly.

One criticism I think is worth mentioning is that there's a tendency for antagonistic characters to be ugly (and often, but not always, fat). It's a common trope but I'm not a fan of that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment

Minor: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

avagrossman's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

i have never in my life finished a book so quickly.

read this book. now. especially if you have dyslexia or adhd.
i strongly believe you won’t have any negative emotions towards you’re adhd or dyslexia when you finish this book. 

being dyslexic myself this series took the anger and resentment i felt towards that part of myself, chucked it into tarturs, and switched it with something that made me feel special. because i would get to go the camp half blood and all though who took it upon themselves to pick on me wouldn’t.

the characters only get better and better the further you go into the world of rick riordan, so much so you wish you were friends with  all of them.

maybe minus luke and octavian lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Bullying

Moderate: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

sevenari's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I never got around to reading this book and the rest of the series when I was younger, so I wasn't sure if I would still enjoy it as an adult. However, it was a really fun and enjoyable read! Percy is a great character and even though this was meant for kids his narration was still really witty and comical to me. Annabeth and Grover were also super loveable and endearing. I feel like a majority of the adults in this book suck but I feel like that's a given in these types of stories. Even though the plot is pretty predictable, I think that may be a given due to the type of book it is. It's really the characters, the humor, and the writing that really stood out to me!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, and Death of parent

em_davies7019's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, War, Child death, and Death of parent

dorleness's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical content, Murder, War, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Car accident

cassidymccarthy's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

I am glad middle grade has improved since 2005. The consistent use of "crippled" throughout the book to signify people of non normative movement or people with disfigurements was disgusting. The use of the term "half-blood" which is, at least in Canada, a massively racist term and is hard to get over reading a lot. Also, it felt like another rendition of harry potter, young boy with troubled childhood befriends nerdy girl and insightful but clumsy boy to go on formulaic adventure with. 

Overall, was not about this.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

ninaevan's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So excited to be revisiting  this series! It’s definitely holding up so far. 

My scoring: 
5 | =everyone in the world must read this book 
4.75 | =between 4.5 and 5
4.5 | =dessert island book
4.25 | =between 4 and 4.5
4 | =great, solid, reccomendable book
3.75 | =may not be a 4, but I had a good time 
3.5 | = rough patches but not bad
3.25 | =between 3 and 3.5
3 | =meh
2 | =not good
1 | =bad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Bullying and Car accident

immago8's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, Torture, and Vomit

gayghostprince's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Murder, Death, and Car accident

Moderate: War, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Infidelity

allison_lennon's review

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, and Car accident