The Lightning Thief

Krae read this book while he was in my class, and I always thought it had an intriguing premise. Percy (the main character) finds out he is son of Poseidon and that the Greek gods are alive and well on Mount Olympus (which happens to be found at the very top of the Empire State Building). Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and the gods are blaming Percy. Percy is sent on a quest (as all heroes are) to retrieve the lightning bolt from Hades, who Percy believes has stolen it. It's full of adventure and excitement - two elements I know my boy readers love. If you're a fan of the fantasy genre, this book will be right up your alley.

I loved learning about Greek mythology. I've heard several of the stories before, but I found myself going back to the Internet to get background knowledge on the various gods. This book was a lot different from the other books I read this summer, and I really enjoyed it. It was a little on the long side (375 pages), but it was very fast-paced. Due to its length, it might be better suited for some of the more fluent readers in our class.

If you like this book, make sure you check out its sequel, A Sea of Monsters (which I have in our classroom library and is on my "To Read" list).