The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

By Rick Riordan

1157 ratings 1554 reviews 1770 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 5 - 8Grades 3 - 8W4.787223

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself. Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp. Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
ISBN-13: 9780786838653
ISBN-10: 0786838655
Published on 3/21/2006
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 416

Book Reviews (1487)

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Ranger51 Ranger51

This is a pretty cool book! It was the first one I read (at 9 years old) that had the whole powers and magic idea, (and I had always liked that stuff) so I fell in love with it after the first chapter! It's a really clever idea that Rick Riordan uses with the demi-gods and all that - super creative! In my opinion the reading level is 4-7 grade. My mom started reading this to us when I was in 5th Grade and my brother was in 3rd, but we forgot about it after a while. In 6th grader I found it lying around the house and picked up the book again... I simply gobbled it up. At that point my high-schooler cousin claimed this series as her favorite... I think it doesn't matter how old you are to like this series, as long as you like fiction/fantasy. I would also recommend Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles, a series with the same idea of gods and magicians, except instead of Greek Gods it's all about the Egyptian Gods! However, my favorite series of all time is "Ranger's Apprentice". Please check this out!!
Reader Reader

I have not read this book, but I read The Heroes of Olympus and the Kane Chronicles. I'll read this book but you have to read those series'. ( There also by Rick Riordan )
Aaron25cool Aaron25cool

so cool I love this book
kltoad kltoad

Rick Riordan is such a good author. The Percy Jackson series is really great with people who love action. Don't watch the movie before you read this though. 5/5
HappyTapper HappyTapper

I read every single book!!!!!!! I loved it sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!! MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!
goldwolftrainer goldwolftrainer

This is one of the best books I have ever read!!!!
mineturtles11 mineturtles11

Percy has no idea what is coming to him I love this series it is what got me into Greek mythology. You like Greek mythology you should read it RICK RIORDEN woooooo :) 💘 💋 💖💗💜 👄 💕 💞 💟💛💚💙❤👅💃👼
suchomimus suchomimus

Thank you everybody for helping put this on the most read leaderboard.
suchomimus suchomimus

I like how in this book it gives random chapter names.
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