Parent reviews for The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1

I enjoyed the story, and it's action packed. The biggest problem is with the way the demigods were conceived. There is a lot of talk about the gods sleeping with humans to make the demigods. Until your child is ready to understand babies out of marriage, this book isn't for him.

I love this book, and so do my children. I have seven children, and all of them, age 7-15, love the books and the movie. My three year olds haven't read them yet, but I'm sure they'll love them too. I think it is a great way to introduce your kids to a different culture.

My 7 yr old son and I have been enjoying this series for a few months. Some times we read it together, but more often than not we sneak off and both read ahead. (He is quite the advanced and voracious reader for 7!) We've gotten so into them we moved onto Heroes of Olympus and are now reading the Kane Chronicles while anxiously awaiting the next HoO book. In an effort to test my son's reading comprehension and the overall educational value I looked up a few Greek Mythology quizzes. I actually had to use the middle school ones, as they don't learn this material in elementary. He knew all of the Greek Gods names, roles, lore, interrelationships and thanks to Heroes of Olympus, their Roman equivalents. He also did pretty well on the Greek heroes (Hercules, Perseus, etc.) and didn't miss a single monster/beast. (Of course!) We got into the series to get some extra mommy/son time but I love that he's picked up this subject matter and truly understands how all of the pieces fit together. Before reading this series, I'm not sure I could tell you who was married to who, whose children were whose, etc but now both my seven year old both understand the complex interrelationships of all of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. The book is an adventure series and they do spend a lot of time fighting monsters. Demi-gods do get injured but fortunately they always carry a magical food that cures their injuries. It does subtlety address more mature content, as other reviewers mentioned, but in a way that a seven year old doesn't even raise an eyebrow. (For example, one camper will tell another camper "Zeus is my dad." He will not say "Zeus is my dad. He had an elicit affair with my mom in the 90s, left us and went back to his goddess wife, Hera, who now hates us." It's really the more mature reader who is reading between the lines in those situations.) There is next to no consumerism. There isn't a toy line or Lego series (much to my son's disappointment) and very few collectors/fan items out there. They occasionally reference Diet Coke, but there really isn't any branding or merchandizing. Fortunately, we've been recreating scenes and weapons with legos, cardboard and lots of gold duck tape! If you are continuing with the series, it is important to note it is much like Harry Potter. The children start off as pre-teens and then grow up. So by the the Heroes of Olympus books, the girls are starting to take more of an interest in the boys and are sometimes dating but relationships aren't really a factor in the Percy Jackson series, which comes chronologically first. Another point of note - the books and the movie are not at all aligned. Plot, character appearances and even geographic locations and quest purposes are changed. I didn't like the movies and think they are a poor representation of the series. I am hoping Disney will consider a reboot in the future.

My son is in grade 7 now, and he knows real Greek history and mythology from reading this fun series. Kids might memorise all about Narnia, Hogwarts or Middle Earth but this one actually gives them knowledge they can use. My son is familiar now with Greek Gods, Titans, Nymphs and Dryads - and their relationships, powers, and legends.

I bought the compete Percy Jackson collection for my 12 and 9 years old kids as a way for them to proactice english (since we speak spanish) and the older one became completely facinated by the story, so did I that read the 5 books on my way back from an africa trip, we kept talking about the story and what could be the posible outcome of each book, my younger kid was somehow reluctant because his english is not so good, but I'll give it another shot when he is older, the story and characters are great a must read for every kid.

I completely agree with "slrohrer," a parent who reviewed this book on this site. This is a fantastic book for kids in middle school. I think a parent would definitely need to read the book with a child much younger than that and be prepared to talk about the affairs that go on between the gods and mortal people. I also thought that kids would enjoy the book better if they had at least a little background knowledge on Roman/Greek gods and their stories.

While I found the story and idea of demi-god children to be fascinating, the writing itself left something to be desired. The author wrote the character's parts without emotion and they often said lines that made me want to weep with grief. They viewed every event through the eyes of an ignorant child and even the most dramatic segments were unfulfilling in the bland way the author described them. However, I managed to finish the book simply because I liked the idea of the story. I only wish a better author had chosen to narrate the novel.

I think it is a really good book and that it teaches loyalty and respect towards Greek Mythology.

i like greek stuff its kinda cool specialy gods and things in that catorgory