”Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”

From Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Percy Jackson is a kid living in crazy New York City; his life is completely normal except for his long string of bad luck and the mystery that surrounds his father. The character of Percy Jackson is nothing if not sarcastic; Percy’s narration of the book is filled with humor and attitude. The reader, and Percy, soon learn that Percy is the son of the Greek god Poseidon, which makes our young hero a demigod. Through a series of adrenaline-pumping attempts on Percy’s life, he comes to live at Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven/summer camp for children and teens that have ancient Greek deities for parents.  Camp Half-Blood is a magical place, to say the least; creatures that Percy had previously believed to be mythical beings, now act as his teachers and instructors. We are introduced to many different characters that are present throughout the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, but the first book focuses mainly on campers Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Being a demigod is not without its perks, as Percy learns that he has some control of water, sea animals, and the ability to breathe underwater, but having a god for a parent also places a giant, glowing bulls-eye on Percy’s back. Ancient Greek monsters of every size seem to have made it their life’s work to kill the young demigod before he can fulfill a mysterious prophesy. As a son of Poseidon (brother of Hades and Zeus), Percy is the focus of everyone’s attention; he is not only the sole living demigod of Poseidon, but he is also apparently destined to save the world. Friendships are created and tested, enemies are born, questions are raised, and battles are fought… all centered around Percy.

Riordan does an excellent job of introducing the reader to Greek mythology in a way that is both informative and understandable. The real-world setting of the book allows for the reader to ease into the pages of the book without losing track of the plethora of Greek monsters, creatures, and gods. The characters are believable, with raw emotion and honest questions, so that each character becomes a living character by the end of the book. Percy’s struggles become the reader’s struggles, Annabeth and Grover’s pain becomes the reader’s pain, and the victor’s joy becomes the reader’s joy. Riordan’s portrayal of Greek mythology is a captivating world that demands that the reader continue to turn the pages until every battle has been won and all questions have been answered.