Brenna B. (demiducky25) reviewed on 4/11/2009 + 161 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

I decided to read this book because it seems to be quite popular with my 8th grade students. They keep raving about it, so I figured I might as well see what all the fuss is about. It's about a young man who finds out that he is half-god and he is sent on a quest with two friends in order to retrieve the lightening bolt of Zeus to prevent a war between three of the Greek gods. It is very fast-paced and action packed, the myths sprinkled throughout have a modern twist to them that are sure to make any reader want to know a bit more about Greek mythology.

What I couldn't get past was how it just felt like Harry Potter but with a different setting. Percy's two best friends consist of a slightly goofy male and a very intelligent female (similar to Ron and Hermione), he has a male teacher who knows his destiny but cannot revel it to him just yet (like Dumbledore), there is a special place (a camp instead of a school in this case) for those just like him and the mortal world is more or less unaware of their kind, he faces torment at home from a cruel relative (in this case though there is a kindly mother to counteract some of that whereas Harry was alone with the Dursleys)... you get the picture.

Still, it is a worthwhile read. It's a great recommendation for reluctant readers as there aren't any parts that drag, the narrative voice doesn't get bogged down with too many details, and it often draws parallels between the actual myths and what's happening in the story to give the reader a taste of Greek mythology.

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