The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

This blog post aims to share with you an author who truly ought to be nominated One of the Best Young Adult Authors Ever EverEverEverEverEver (surely this award exists). In his novel The Lightning Thief and its subsequent bestselling series, Rick Riordan riotously reimagines the world of Greek mythology as set in the modern-day United States.

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is used to dealing with difficulties – he’s been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, saddled with an unpleasant stepfather, and kicked out of almost every school in New York for various and occasionally spectacular accidents. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, his first real hint that something in his world is seriously abnormal occurs during a class field trip when his pre-algebra teacher turns into a monster and tries to destroy him (we’ve all been there). Percy learns that not only are all the Greek gods, goddesses and legends real and alive, but that he himself is a demigod, a child of a god and a human, whose destiny is to become a hero if he can make it to adulthood without getting killed in a nasty way. The only safe place for people like him is Camp Halfblood, a special camp that trains demigods, or halfbloods, to be heroes. But when the lightning bolt belonging to the king of the gods is stolen and the evidence points toward Percy, he and two new friends must accomplish a quest that leads them across America to recover the missing bolt and restore peace among the gods.

          The Lightning Thief is one of those rare books that seems to have everything a reader could possibly want from a novel: a spellbinding plot, action, danger, unexpected twists and buckets of humor. Arguably, the very best part of this book is Percy himself. Narrated in first person, his account of his adventures is realistic, warmhearted and consistently funny. This book is accessible to anyone without a working knowledge of Greek mythology as the author explains any character or concept that needs clarification. The series is continued with The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian; each book contributes to the development of Percy’s character and leaves readers wishing they could meet him in person. Happily for them, Percy’s adventures are furthered in a second series called The Heroes of Olympus, which currently includes The Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, and, most recently, The House of Hades. The next book is due in the fall of 2014! Go ahead and read them all – you won’t regret it.