Heyo Bookaholics!

This is my first time reading Percy Jackson!

Not sure how many times I’ve mentioned this, but I never read the Percy Jackson series when I was a little kiddo like many others who I’ve seen raving about this series. I was that one kid still reading Geronimo Stilton and Judy Moody novels trying to hold onto my childhood before I had to grow up and read older kids books.

Blurb:

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

REVIEW!

I watched the Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief movie many years ago probably about a year after it came out, and I, of course, new all about the books though never thought I’d ever get around to reading them so I dived right into the movie.

The movie was fun and all, but the entire time I was watching it all I could think of was how more amazing the books would be compared to this. So it is about time that I confirm my suspicions of the books being better than the movie!

AND IT WAS! Oh so much better! Especially since all I could think of while reading was trying to match up parts of the movie to events that occurred in the book and try to alter what I already know to fit the story Rick Riordan wants to tell.

I absolutely loved how childish this book was; and not in a bad way, but a this-is-so-light-and-fun-to-read-I-can-just-breeze-through-it kind of way. I breezed through this book, laughing but not holding my breath as I sadly already knew what was going to happen next.

The one thing that I really enjoyed, which differed so much from the movie – besides from all the character descriptions and minor occurrences – was the Lotus Hotel scene where the trio (which have many similarities to the Golden Trio) enter a hotel which is literally a kids wonderland! There are games of all sorts, unlimited money to play, unlimited food, comfy beds, no parents, and everything a child could dream of. That scene was so much fun to read as I could imagine myself in their shoes, never wanting to leave and just having the best time ever!

I did find a major similarity between Annabeth and Hermione from the Harry Potter series. Where Percy describes Annabeth he talks about her carrying around a book and playing games that require skill and brainpower which he sees as boring. I noticed that even though Annabeth is the daughter of a war Goddess, she still must understand how to do complex calculation to ensure her strategies work. This is a really nice touch showing that being good at war isn’t about being a Tank, but knowing how to calculate probabilities and trajectories, and other fun math stuff to ensure things work in your favour.

If I’m comparing this to other Middle-Grade novels I’ve read then the banter in this novel between Grover, Annabeth and Percy were the best. It broke up the seriousness of the story but really set the scene for the budding friendship that I am expecting to grow over the rest of the series.

I’m not too sure I can be surprised or shocked with this series from here on out, only because I know that Percabeth is an actual thing (duh), further cemented in my mind because the cute couple appeared at the beginning of the third and final Magnus Chase novel. Though I am oblivious to the fate of the other main campers, especially Clarice, Luke and Grover, of which I am keen to find out.

★ Rating ★

I rated this novel, an unpredictable ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars). I shaved off a star only because of my anger towards the way in which the stories of the Greek myths are portrayed by people. One such example lies in the story of Medusa, whereby she was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena for being too beautiful, then cursed by Athena to look like a Gorgon. In the Percy Jackson book, Annabeth tells Percy that Medusa was actually in the temple with Poseidon as lovers. Knowing the true translation of the myth and how Medusa was wrongfully slain, I really didn’t think this was necessary to add into the arc as the story could still have moved along without this tidbit.

I actually put this series on hold for many many years because of my lack of love for the Greek myths and their constant incest and rape. Yes I’m aware all mythology has an element of incest and rape, but none more so than the Greek myths, which seem to have prejudice against women as a prevalent theme within all their stories.

Apologies for this little rant. I have been learning about stories from various mythologies lately from the Myths and Legends Podcast. If you haven’t I urge you to listen to Jason Weiser tell myths from a 21st-century point of view whilst still quoting some of the original sources.

Thank you so much for reading!

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With Love Bree xx

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