The Lightning Thief
By Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 400
summary

When troubled student Percy Jackson vaporizes his math
teacher on a class field trip, he begins to suspect that his
life is not what it seems. He discovers that his lifelong
reading and attention troubles are all signs that he is a
half-blood-a child of the Greek gods. After a summer
training session with other demigods and Chiron the
centaur, he sets off on a cross-country quest to Los
Angeles (the entrance to Hades) with his friend Grover the
faun and Annabeth, a child of Athena, to recover Zeus'
lost thunderbolt and stop a war between the gods. Along
the way, where modern life and mythology intersect to
create both humor and excitement, Percy will come to
know his father Poseidon, rescue his mother, and discover
that he has what it takes to be a hero. If you want to find
out how this incredible story ends, you must read this
book!!!!!
Favorite part

My favorite part of The Lightning Thief was
found in Chapter 16, We Take a Zebra to Vegas.
In this chapter, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover find
themselves in an amazing hotel in Las Vegas.
While in the hotel, they are able to have access
to ANYTHING they want, food, entertainment
etc. And the best part is, EVERYTHING is free!!!
This hotel isn’t all that appears to be, however,
and the gang find themselves in a little bit of a
dilemma.
vocabulary










Scrawny
Pulverize
Defunct
Misnomer
Billowing
Pseudonym
Kinsmen
Skeptically
Dousing
Submerged
Vocabulary definitions





Scrawny-excessively thin;
lean
Pulverize-to demolish or
crush completely
Defunct-no longer in
existence; dead
Misnomer-an error in
naming a person or thing
Billowing-to swell out or
puff up





Pseudonym-a fictitious
name used to conceal
one’s identity
Kinsmen-a person of the
same nationality or ethnic
group as you
Skeptically-to look at
someone with doubt
Dousing-to splash or
throw water or liquid on
Submerged-under the
surface of water
Vocabulary sentences

The boy was so scrawny that he looked like a toothpick!

Watch me while I pulverize this soda can with my fist!

After putting a lot of money in, the new restaurant was
defunct.

Naming my dog killer was a misnomer, since he is the
nicest dog around!

The girl’s long, red hair was billowing around her face.
Vocabulary sentences
continued…

The author used a pseudonym when he wrote the novel so
no one would know that is was him.

I put so much effort into the rally because I wanted to
support my kinsmen.



When I told the teacher that it took me five hours to
complete my homework, she looked at me skeptically.
The little boys ran around dousing the other children with
water.
The submarine was submerged in the ocean for fifteen
hours.
Recommendation

I would most definitely recommend The
Lightning Thief to a friend. Not only is
the book fast-paced, it is also hilarious! I
didn’t want to put the book down the
entire time I was reading it. I can’t wait to
read the other books in the series!
What I plan on reading
next…

The book I would like to
read next is the next book
in the Percy Jackson and
the Olympians series. The
book is entitled, The Sea
of Monsters. If this book
is anything like The
Lightning Thief, I know
that I am going to enjoy it!
About the Author…

Rick Riordan was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas.
He started writing as a young adult. He began by writing
short stories but he was unsuccessful. He submitted a few
of those stories for publication, and was the editor on his
high school newspaper. However, he didn’t take writing
seriously until after he graduated from college and was
teaching in San Francisco. Riordan and his family (wife
Becky and sons Haley and Patrick) enjoyed living in
California, but they missed Texas. Riordan decided to
write a mystery novel set in his hometown of San Antonio.
The book was very successful, but he wanted to write
children’s books. That’s when he got the idea to start the
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series.