Review of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Pages: 375
Publisher: Puffin Books
Released: 2005

Plot: After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus. (Goodreads)

The Review... People have been recommending me to read these books for a while now and so I thought it was about time I gave them a try. I watched the film with Logan Lerman a couple of years ago and thought it was okay but I have to admit after reading the book I finally understand what everyone in the Percy Jackson fandom were arguing about. The book is so much better. Honestly you can barely recognise that the film even came from the book there's so many differences to it.
The main character Percy was introduced well. He has all the characteristics of a likeable character loyal, caring and at times funny which add to the book being a fun read alongside the adventure Percy, Annabeth and Grover embark on, of finding Zeus's stolen lightning bolt.
Basically I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. I was a little bit sceptical about reading the book to begin with because of the hype surrounding them and I have to hold my hands up to this when I saw Percy was a 12 year old boy I immediately thought kids book. But DON'T BE FOOLED! The book was fantastic! It was fast paced and the plot moved smoothly yet never got boring. To be honest, I kind of forgot that Percy was 12 after a while due to his smart mouthed and outgoing character that took charge in going to find not only the lightening bolt and his mother but also taking on the Gods as well.
Overall I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone of any age, the story's great, there's five books in the series and it centre's around Greek mythology. Honestly, what more could you want?
Reviews of the next books in the series to come!

Seen the trailer for Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters movie? Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments below :)