One of the first books/series that got me into serious reading was the Percy Jackson series. I started reading it in about 3rd-4th grade and it was one of the best books I have ever read. After I read the series I went on to watch the two movies and I can say without a doubt, that the movies were one of the most disappointing movies I have ever watched. They had almost no correlation to the books and there were only two movies. Which is why I was really excited to know that there is a new series apparently coming out on Disney plus. In honor of this series I wanted to give a quick recap and my review of the first book.
The first book in the Percy Jackson series is called The Lightning Thief. It revolves around a “demigod” ( half human and half god) by the name of, obviously Percy Jackson. Percy starts off the story by introducing how much of a trouble maker he is, but readers can tell that Percy isn’t a bad kid, it's just that he finds himself losing it. He has some strange encounters with his teacher and this leads him to going to a special summer camp for people like him. This was called Camp Half-Blood, another name for demigod children. Percy thought he didn’t belong here because he never had any sort of power that he was aware of. It is later revealed that Percy is a son of Poseideon, one of the three powerful gods. Once he finds out, Chiron ( the camp leader) tells Percy that Zeus- Poseidon’s brother/rival- is blaming Percy for stealing his lightning bolt and that he is in serious danger. Percy, astounded by this news, is utterly confused but decides to go on a mission with fellow friend Grover, and a girl he just met in the camp Annabeth.
This book is amazing. That’s all there is to it, it engages readers right from the beginning and never gets boring. The way that readers get the funny aspect in the story from Percy’s sense of humor but also a lot of suspense and thrill from the mission that Percy goes on is amazing. Personally, I think all of the books in this series are exactly like this, and the plot behind the stories never gets boring. I am trying not to have high expectations from the series that's about to come out because the movies are heavily disappointing, however I am really excited. The series will be on Disney Plus if anyone who is reading is interested. Thanks for reading!
This is a great book review and I enjoyed how you included why you wrote this - because there is a new movie series coming out that is based on these books. I have, of course, heard of Percy Jackson and have wanted to read it for a long time. One question I have is: were there any parts that you found a little slow or not as perfect as the rest of the story, because no book is perfect. Great job! -Claire Hobson
ReplyDeleteWhat a nostalgic review! I honestly did not know a new series was coming out on Disney+ so I'm really excited. I also read this book many times (my mom as well), and it was probably one of the first fantasy books I've ever read. This, and many, if not all, of Rick Riordan's books incorporate many mythological elements, making you want to learn more about the gods and monsters depicted in his stories. Every time I meet a fan of the Percy Jackson series, they can often name off the 12 Olympians, their parents, and their grandparents! This is a really good series which I might just reread again.
ReplyDeletefor a split second when I saw the title I thought you meant there was a brand series coming out, either way, this review was nice to read, and reminded me of why I loved the percy jackson series so much when I first started it!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job!
ReplyDeleteI have read the Lightning Thief 2 times and both times I was always hooked. There are a lot of Rick Riordan posts on these blogs!
Nice review! I completely agree, the Percy Jackson series is one of the best I've read in my life. I liked how you summarized the plot without giving away too much of the plot. I do, however, have to disagree that all the books were amazing. There were some books where it felt like a filler book in the sense that the author wrote it to just add more to the backstories and never really progressed the main plot line. Despite this, I think you did an awesome job on your article.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great book review! I used to love this series and totally agree that the movies did NOT do the books justice, so let's hope that this new show makes up for that!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I used to love the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series when I was younger, so reading this blog brought back lots of great memories. Your critique of the two movies reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia movies. That series also had movie spinoffs which were not nearly as good as the books.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I used to love to read this book and its many sequels, this blog has reinspired me to go back and revisit those good memories! I think I might have to check out the new TV series too. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNice summary of the first Percy Jackson book! I also read this series in late elementary school and really enjoyed it. I totally agree with your assessment of the movies as well, and was incredibly disappointed when I watched them. When I first read the title of your post I thought you were going to be discussing a new Percy Jackson book series so I was confused at first, but a TV show about it sounds exciting! I hope you'll write a follow up blog post if you end up watching the series to compare to the books when it comes out!
ReplyDeleteI read this book a while back and I completely agree with what you are saying here. Actually, this was one of the books that got me into reading too. I've never seen the movies, but it doesn't seem like it's worth to now. By the way you describe the new show, I might just give it a watch. By now, I have completely forgotten the plot to this book- but reading this post is great for me as it is a recap on all of the events in the first book. Great summary!
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