Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - The Lightning Thief

I loved this series as a kid and I'm finally rereading it as an adult for the first time. It's definitely got a couple things that haven't aged well (some fatphobia, some ableism), but all things considered it's not too bad. In my opinion this book holds up and I would still recommend it to anyone interested in the series, with the caveat that it's aimed at middle school kids. We'll see if I still feel that way by the end of the fifth book but my hopes are high!

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suspiciouspinecone's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

This was pretty fun. I do have some minor bones to pick with Riordan's mythology, but whatever. I am also...disturbed by the use of disability. Now, it makes perfectly logical sense for a centaur and sartyr to hide their more animalistic features by feigning disability, but it wasn't disappointing to me. Also making both of Percy's learning disabilities directly related to his half-godhood was unpleasant to me--like Riordan is only viewing disability in terms of how it can progress the story, and not as something that some people just have.

The characters were very fun to watch though, and I'm sure I will fall in love with them over the course of rest of the series.

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cinnamonami's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.0

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lectricefeministe's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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5.0

I can see why this series has such a hold on the Gen-Z crowd. If I had had access to these books when they were being released (I became aware of them when they got big and was a t00-cool-for-school-teen by then), I would have had my brain rewired by them too. This is a fast-paced read, I loved the fact the main character is considered a Bad Kid at school, the dialogue is witty and lovely to read, and I really had a fun time reading it.

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sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

💬: "It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality."

📖Genres: mythology, action, adventure, middle grade

📚Page Count: 396

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 02min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5

Percy Jackson - The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians middle grade series. This book is great, it has adventure, action, and humor! Percy could have sworn that his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him, he survives the ordeal and ends up at a place called Camp Half-Blood. There he learns that he's a demigod, the child of a god, for Percy this explains all the strange things that have happened to him throughout his life. After Percy finds out he's a demigod, the action in the novel kicks it up a notch.

I would give this book 5 stars but there's a bit of fatphobia in here. Whenever a character is mentioned as being fat it's because they're either supposed to be evil or scary or both. It was really off-putting while reading and I couldn't believe I forgot the fatphobia was in there. It's not as blatant as in Harry Potter but it's still there.

This novel is really enjoyable despite the fatphobia. I liked all the action, the twists, and the surprises. This is my third time reading this book and I still had a good time reading this. Overall, this book was a joy to read. I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4.5/5

I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

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