The Lightning Thief
By Rick Riordan
Media Tie-In Cover
Series: First in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

Percy Jackson finds himself in a heap of trouble when he is expelled from boarding school… again. Not only are Greek gods and creatures coming out of his mythology textbook and into his life, but he seems to have angered some of them. Percy soon learns that Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen and he is the prime suspect. Now, Percy and his friends have ten days to find the true thief and return Zeus’s stolen property before war breaks out between the gods and Percy must come to terms with the father who abandoned him and is now coming back into his life in a big way. While this reader found the beginning a bit slow to get into, he kept with it and was completely hooked into the story and characters by the second/third chapter. While some of the chapter titles can spoil or give too much away about what happens in the chapter, the reader will enjoy the surprises of who, or what, the next mythological creature or god will be the characters meet or run into. Many of the storylines are concluded by the end of the story though the author does introduce some twists at the end that will leave the reader ready for the next book in the series. Fans of Greek mythology should enjoy seeing favorite mythological gods and creatures in a contemporary setting.