The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Bibliography
Riordan, Rick. 2005. The Lightning Thief. NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0439865999.

Plot Summary
The Lightning Thief is the story of a boy named Percy Jackson who doesn't have much going for him. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, kicked out of several schools, doesn't know his father, and has an awful step-father. After vaporizing his teacher, Mrs. Dodds, with a ballpoint pen, his mother decides it is time for Percy to know about his father.

During his trip to Camp Half-Blood (a camp for demigods), he discovers his best friend is a satyr, is almost killed by a minotaur, and looses his mother during the minotaur attack. Once he arrives, he discovers that Poseidon is his father and is forced to go on a quest in order to prevent a war between the gods.

Critical Analysis
Percy Jackson is the uncommon hero in The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Everything is stacked against him...he does not know his father, is ADHD and dyslexic, and has been kicked out of several schools. Now that he is 12 years old, his mother decides that it is time for him to learn more about his father and thus more about himself.

Percy's mother takes him to Camp Half-Blood where it is soon determined that he is the son of Poseidon, the Sea God. Because Poseidon has been accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, Percy is sent on a quest to retrieve it and prevent a war between the gods. The quest is filled with action, suspense, and laughs. Both children and adults with fall in love this new series by Riordan.

Reviews
School Library Journal: "Mythology fans will love this take and kids who haven't been inculcated with the Classical canon will learn aspects of it here while having no trouble following a rollicking good–and modern–adventure."

Booklist: "The escapades of the Greek gods and heroes get a fresh spin in the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, about a contemporary 12-year-old New Yorker who learns he's a demigod."