Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1
Author:
Rick Riordan
Autumn’s Rating:
♥♥♥♥♥
Minimum Recommended Age:
10
Summary:
Percy Jackson discovers he is a half god! Shocking information, but it is true. He is the only living son of Poseidon. He gets sent on a quest to retrieve Zeus’ thunderbolt from Hades. If he doesn’t succeed, this could result in the biggest war in the history of forever! Will Percy be able to help stop it?
Positive Messages:
None.
Language:
Phrases like “gods forbid, by the gods, oh my gods”; heck, darn, suck and butt appear several times. A few characters curse without profanity actually appearing in the text.
Violence & Scariness:
Underworld, gods and hell hounds.
Parents Should Know:
The premise of this series is that the gods in mythology exist and control world events with their magical powers. The gods live in, above and below America. The gods and goddesses have affairs with humans and their children are demi-gods. When Percy asks if there is a God, Chiron tells him that God with a capital G is different than the Greek gods and that the gods are a smaller matter, but they are real.
Evenings at Half-Blood Hill (the camp where Percy is) include toasting to the gods and giving the best part of their dinner to the gods as an offering. They also sit at the campfire and sing songs about the gods.
When Percy visits the underworld, he sees people tortured as they are chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches, and worse. Hades possesses an intense evil charisma and sits on a throne of human bones.
Percy is injured when he’s cut with a sword and then attacked by a hellhound. There are many battles, but the scenes are not graphic. People that are fatally wounded turn into dust or sand.
Percy “prays” several times. Sometimes he prays to Poseidon (his father) and other times seems to be more of making a wish.
Percy’s mother tells him he was born from an affair. She marries a terrible man named Gabe, because his stench covers Percy’s demi-god scent. He drinks, smokes cigars, and plays a lot of poker while treating Sally poorly. Percy lies to his mother about his activities, so she won’t worry.
Mom Says:
This is the first big series that Autumn really got into. She got the first book at school and was quickly into the storyline. I’ve never personally been into mythology, but she enjoyed learning about it. Also, mythology fits in with the fantasy genre she likes. I think this is another series that, as long as your child understands it is fiction, it is a good way to get them into reading.
Note: This series by Rick Riordan is good. We do not recommend all of his books or series though (particularly not The Sun and The Star).
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Accelerated Reader:
AR Quiz No. 89885
AR Points: 13.0
I love seeing my former first grader doing such a professional job reviewing all of these books. You are amazing, Autumn! These are some of my son and my favorite books, too. 🥰
I am so proud of you Autumn!! I love Percy Jackson too!!