I've heard so much about the Percy Jackson books, but I haven't taken the time to sit down and read one until my YA Lit class that I'm currently taking for university.

To be honest, I just didn't click with The Lightning Thief. Every trial seemed so easy to defeat that it was almost laughable. I never doubted for a second that Percy could defeat a monster. I never wondered if he would be able to get his mom back. And it was pretty clear from the beginning the identity of his true father. There was never a "edge of my seat" moment.

The most problematic part of this book for me was meshing the ancient Greek gods with modern times. Having Ares be a motorcycle-driving thug and Zeus be a tough-looking man in a pinstriped business suit just didn't work for me. The Underworld's similarities to a Toll Booth? Sorry, I just wasn't awed or frightened.

Perhaps if I read this book for the first time when I was twelve, I would have enjoyed it more. I'm happy to see Rick Riordan encouraging kids to embrace their differences, like dyslexia and ADHD, and to learn more about history, but I personally had trouble connecting to this book.