Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The first in a series of five books about a young demi-god, Perseus Jackson, Lightning Thief begins an adventure in Greek mythology. Perseus(Percy)Jackson is a twelve-year old boy who feels like an outsider partly because of his dyslexia and ADHD diagnoses. He soon discovers that these "problems" are actually some of the gifts of being a "half-blood", the child of a human and a greek god. By the second chapter, he is battling monsters from Greek mythology, and discovering that there are many other demi-god children like himself.

This is an adventure series,and it is wildly popular with young readers right now. Part of its appeal is the mixture of middle school-age heroes who have to solve adult problems and the contrast with their parent-gods who behave like middle school kids. Percy's story moves quickly, and monsters are destroyed at a rapid pace; but much of the appeal is the balance of humor. Percy notes the absurdity of his situations and his mistakes--he is a very likable hero. The chapter titles entice the reader to the next chapter and make him giggle too. For example, the first chapter title is : I Accidentally Vaporize my Pre-Algebra Teacher. Students engage with the stories of Greek mythology, and they want to read more when they are finished with the five books. As I am writing, I have two students approach me to check out the fourth and fifth Percy Jackson books. One boy explains: " I stayed up until one reading because I lost track of time." That is agift for middle-school readers. This book has appeal from 3rd grade and up.

Lauren, Secondary Teacher and Library Tech