In many ways, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan felt like the Harry Potter series. A pre-teen realizes he has unusual powers, only to realize that he is a special person living in the ordinary world. In the case of Percy Jackson, he is the child of one of the Greek gods. The magic prevalent in the otherwise ordinary USA was lots of fun to see, and Percy’s quest makes him stronger than he realized he was. I thought it was a well-formed story, and I enjoyed seeing Percy find the strength to succeed within himself.
What I loved most was the creativity behind the novel. I love the connections with Greek mythology. I have gone through phases of fascination with mythology, so it was lots of fun to see the gods come alive in Rick Riordan’s book. If there is a fault, it is the voice. Unlike the Harry Potter books, The Lightning Thief is written in first person. I was not a fan of Percy’s pre-adolescent voice, and I was not excited to keep reading. But, despite the voice, I still enjoyed the book. I would like to know more about his further adventures, but I am wary of sequels and so expect I will not like the rest as much as I enjoyed this first one.
I have been pondering the two children’s novels I read recently (The Lightning Thief and Savvy), trying to think of how to expand the thoughts I have, but I find I don’t have much to say. Each only took about two hours to read, so I obviously didn’t spend much time thinking about them at the time. That said, they were a fun diversion, and it makes me excited to give more recent children’s literature a try.
