The Lightning Thief is a gripping story of adventure, myth, legend, deceit and treachery. Fraught with danger, fear and pride. The main character is a boy called Percy Jackson. He is the son of one of the most powerful Greek Gods. Hunted down by every mythical Greek monster you can think of. His mother (a mortal) is forced to take him to camp half-blood. Camp half-blood is a place where most sons and daughters of Gods go (half bloods)! Here they are trained in lots of different skills. They have lodges to stay in which represent different gods. Whichever God was their mother or father would be the cabin they stayed in.
While Percy stayed at camp half-blood he met Annabeth, a strong willed daughter of Athena. As they get to know each other they become good friends, along with Grover a half-man half-goat, one of Percy's oldest friends, they overcome many challenging obstacles. I think they make a great team! Before setting out on their quest Percy had to consult the oracle. I loved this part. The description was brilliant. You could get a graphic picture inside your head. That's one of the reasons I loved this book because Rick Riordan's descriptions are so vivid.
This is an exceptionally well written novel. Once you start it you won't want to put it down - I couldn’t!!! I think Rick Riordan will go far, and I can't wait for the sequel. This is a book anyone can read and read again and won’t get bored.

This book was really good and I think that boys and girls would enjoy this book aged 11 +. However, some of the ending was a bit too happy to be realistic. Percy always thought Greek myths were just... myths. But suddenly his life turns upside down when he finds himself on a quest to help a load of Greek Gods, who have found a way of life in the modern world.
Percy Jackson had moved from school to school, always finding it difficult to fit in. He ends up at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids. He suffers from dyslexia and ADHD and the only lesson he shines at is Latin. So after a mixture of strange events involving his algebra teacher, Percy discovers his Latin teacher and his best friend aren't who he thought they were... Percy ends up at Camp Half-Blood where, after discovering his father's identity, is sent on a quest to prevent a war between the Greek gods and retrieve something that had been stolen. However it doesn't turn out quite as simple as that and Percy meets lots of other mythical characters in his travels, while managing to make the whole of America think he's an international criminal.
There was lots of action with a lot of different characters and it may help if you know a bit about Greek gods although there is quite a bit of explanation in the book about who everyone is. I would definitely read a further book involving Percy Jackson.