The Lightning Thief

By Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson has a hard time focusing in school. In fact, he's never been to the same school two years in a row. The thing is; weird stuff happens to Percy a lot. In fact, he could've sworn that his pre-algebra teacher just tried to kill him. When Percy informs his mother of the strange event, she knows it's time to tell him: he's not completely human. Percy is a demi-god, the son of a greek god, and his mother is sending him to Camp Half-Blood, where Percy can be safe and learn how to survive.
Instead, Percy is thrown into a quest to the underworld, along with the daughter of Athena and a satyr, to prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

"I accidentally vaporize my pre-algebra teacher". That's what got me hooked on this series. That is the first chapter heading in The Lightning Thief. If you ever studied greek mythology in school, you will no doubt love this series. It gives a fun new spin on the ancient greek gods and an adventure around every turn. This book might be for kids, but man, I enjoyed it just as much. The only thing that gets on my nerves in this book is how they make up their own way to swear by using the names of the greek gods. Otherwise, it is fantastic, and more than entertaining to read. This is one of those books I don't like to read in a public place because I have to strangle my laughter and I end up sounding like a goat! Give this series a try, and you'll be hooked with the first sentence.

Fun Facts: The adventures of Percy Jackson have just come to an end in The Last Olympian, fresh off the shelves. There are five books in all and each are worth your time! Another awesome thing: this book is being made into a movie! It will be released February 12 of 2010 and the cast looks interesting to say the least. Sean Bean is going to be Zeus and they have Pierce Brosnan as a centaur...(weird)

Also check out Rick Riordan's website for the series at http://www.percyjacksonbooks.com/ and you can have Rick himself read you the first chapter of The Lightning Thief!