This series is a great one to recommend to your 10 - 12 year old. Boys especially will love the action and wise cracking humor of the main character, Percy Jackson. The Lightening Thief was made into a movie released in February 2010. It was a hit!
Plotline
"I Accidentally Vaporize my Pre-algebra Teacher" is the title of the first chapter of The Lighting Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan. The title of that chapter alone made me want to read this book. Percy Jackson is the main character of this 5 books series. Like Harry Potter, Percy is living a relatively normal life when he finds out who he really is and the adventure begins from there. In The Lightning Thief, Percy finds himself the prime suspect in the theft of the Olympic God Zeus' lightning bolt. Percy is a half blood, one parent was human, the other a Greek God. When Percy arrives at Camp Half Blood, he is further shocked to find out that his father is one of the three "major" Greek Gods - Poseidon. Percy also finds out that his longtime friend Grover is more than he appears to be. The book is fast paced with action around every corner, it's sure to keep your Middle School aged boy turning pages.
In the second book, The Sea of Monsters, Percy's once again finds himself on a quest, this time to save the camp where the children of mortals and Gods live called Camp Half Blood. The magic that has been protecting the camp has been poisoned so Percy and friends must find the Golden Fleece and hope that its powers will restore the protection of the camp. There are fun new characters and loads of adventure. The ending makes reading the next title a must.
The Titan's Curse is the third title in the series. Once again Percy is on a mission with his friends this time to rescue two new demi-gods, a brother and sister, who have been identified by Grover. During the battle over these two new gods, a daughter of Athena is taken, and our quest for Book Three is born.
