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A review by tintinmd
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I'd heard of this book here and there but it didn't catch my attention as a kid. But the past few years, I started looking forward to reading this book since there's this thing that a lot of people who liked the Percy Jackson series turned out to be queer😅 Also, a friend of mine is a big Percy Jackson fan.
Also note, I've marked this book as medium-paced but honestly, I feel this book was more slow-paced for me. That's also because I spent a lot of time looking up words and characters mentioned since I'm new to Greek mythology.
This book scared me a lot!ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
How is this a middle grade book?!
But then, maybe middle
graders look at things differently.Monsters at every other step! I lost a lot of sleep over those monsters, especially Echidna. But thankfully, things aren't scary on the return journey.
Also, this book felt queer coded right in the first para! But after that I lost track coz so scary!ðŸ˜
Percy can be so funny! Love the way he describes things. Eases the tension.Grover and Annabeth are such sweethearts!🥺 And I liked the bit where Percy meets Hades. Hades' ranting somehow makes him more human?/relatable/less terrifying. Also the decision Annabeth makes of contacting her dad, giving things a chance - that was heartwarming.
I think once I get over the fear this book caused me, I'll be able to appreciate more. Percy is a protagonist who has ADHD and dyslexia and I think this is the first time I'm reading a book that has these explicitly mentioned and incorporated in the narrative. I don't know if they're good descriptions but from what limited knowledge I have, they seemed to be so. I'll try to check on the quality of these descriptions.
Other than all this, I was slightly disappointed that I could identify elements of a middle grade story centering a young hero. Kept finding parallels with Harry Potter. But maybe that's okay.
I kinda wish I'd read this as a middle grader, would I be less scared then? Anyways, I'll take some time before I read the next book in this series, and I hope I'm not as scared then😅
Also note, I've marked this book as medium-paced but honestly, I feel this book was more slow-paced for me. That's also because I spent a lot of time looking up words and characters mentioned since I'm new to Greek mythology.
This book scared me a lot!ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
How is this a middle grade book?!
But then, maybe middle
graders look at things differently.
Also, this book felt queer coded right in the first para! But after that I lost track coz so scary!ðŸ˜
Percy can be so funny! Love the way he describes things. Eases the tension.
I think once I get over the fear this book caused me, I'll be able to appreciate more. Percy is a protagonist who has ADHD and dyslexia and I think this is the first time I'm reading a book that has these explicitly mentioned and incorporated in the narrative. I don't know if they're good descriptions but from what limited knowledge I have, they seemed to be so. I'll try to check on the quality of these descriptions.
Other than all this, I was slightly disappointed that I could identify elements of a middle grade story centering a young hero. Kept finding parallels with Harry Potter. But maybe that's okay.
I kinda wish I'd read this as a middle grader, would I be less scared then? Anyways, I'll take some time before I read the next book in this series, and I hope I'm not as scared then😅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Domestic abuse