I want to start this review by saying that I'm not a teen. Nor am I your typical girl. Which I think means I am not exactly the target market for this book. That said, the premise was interesting, and I was really curious to see how the story would spin out in the novel.

The intro to the book is a scene with Hades/Henry, and it seemed an odd place to start. I didn't really `get' it, though at the end of the book, that scene makes sense. Once you get into everything with Kate, and her mother, the story really starts to flow and I have to say that this is a very well written book. Kate is a likable character - she is been nursing her sick mother, and agreed to move to virtually the middle of nowhere to grant her Mum's dying wish, even though it's the last place she really wants to be.

Really, we just want Kate to catch a break, and this seems to happen when she finds a friend in James. I really liked James, he was quirky, and unique - the kind of guy I would have been friends with in high school as well. Her other friend ends up playing a mean prank on her, dying, and then getting brought back to life by Henry/Hades, and that's when the real story starts.

Not a whole lot actually happens in the story, and like Kate, the reader is left to wonder when these tests are going to start happening. She endures very little actual hardship, in actual fact, life with Henry seems pretty rosy to me - great clothes, great food, and she gets to spend all her dreaming nights with her mother, who is healthy and whole in Kate's dream time. All in all, I consider her a fairly passive character. She doesn't make any huge choices beyond her initial agreement to Henry to spend 6 months with him if he brings her friend back to life, and by the end of the novel I am angry for her, and wish she would feel something more lukewarm than what she does.

I have a few issues with this novel, and perhaps if I were the target audience, I might have been able to ignore them. I actually like my Greek mythology though, and for anyone who is familiar with it, this book is probably going to grate on your nerves. Carter takes liberties a lot of the time - these are not Greek god/goddesses as you might know them, they are perhaps the politically correct, heavily moderated versions of them. Henry often refers to himself as `lord of hell' which just makes me cringe. That's not the only time that boundaries between religions are blurred, though I won't go into details as I don't want to spoil the story for anyone.

For the most part, this is an evenly written book, and if you can forgot about the fact it's meant to be based on Greek Mythology, then you can enjoy it. Unfortunately, I can't say that I was rooting for Henry to win Kate over. James was definitely my love interest of choice - as this is book one in a series, it will be interesting to see how that potential love triangle plays out.

That said. I'm still undecided whether I will pick up the next book. Again, without going into details as I don't want to spoil the read, the climax of the book was unforgivable for me. It frustrated me no end and I can't say that it left me with a lot of trust in the author. Sadly.

I really think that this book will appeal to the teen girl market though, or anyone who can put aside their past knowledge of Greek mythology and read the story for what it is, rather than what you might expect/hope it to be.

I gave it 3 stars, as it was a well written book, though obviously, I don't agree with a lot of the choices the author made. She can certainly write, so there is a good chance I'd pick up something else by her, though maybe not from this series.

I fully agree with Mr Forsythe from London (Ontario). If like Mr Maitlin, you judge this movie with the special effects of the 1999, the movie is hokey. But the character, dedication and courage of Ulysse has never been so well portrayed as by Kirk Douglas. Sylvana Mangano doesn't do much, but she portrayed only too well why a man will fight 20 years to return to her and their son. Anthony Quinn gives a fine performance as the suitor. The recent version with Armand Assante, while proficient in special effects, doesn't exploit the richness of characters showned in the multi-european film. I have seen this movie in the 1960 and again this year. It is the same emotion and commitment. This is Homer's Odyssey. If you have not seen this movie, get your hand on the vidéo. This is a film I would gladly buy in VideoLaser disc or the new DVD. It is worth the money.

I held off buying THE LIGHTNING THIEF for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but THE LIGHTNING THIEF seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out.

This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son.

I did read it to him. We FLEW through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did.

Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better.

Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales.

From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip. He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard.

Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving.

The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world.

Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities.

The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.