Percy Jackson and the Olympians

During our trip home from Utah we finished a book series on CD. It is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I wanted to give a little book review of the series and give a recommendation to those who might be interested in reading it. The reason I am pushing this review on to the blog now is because there is a new movie coming out about the first book in the series. I felt I should throw a plug out for the series and possibly the movie if anyone is interested.

The series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was written by Rick Riordan. There are five total books in the series and I think it is over (but I can foresee another different series about Percy Jackson later). For those of you that have not heard of the Percy Jackson series, I’ll give you a little introduction. The main character is, of course, Percy Jackson. He is a troubled child that has always struggled in school. For some reason he doesn’t fit in with normal society and always causes problems that get him kicked out of every school he has attended. Through an unforeseen series of events, Percy learns that the Olympian gods are real and alive today. Not only are the gods real but he learns that he is a half blood child of a god. He proceeds to a camp that trains these half bloods to defend themselves against the monsters that would kill them.

The book series follows the various quests of these half blood kids and exposes the reader to Greek mythology through events that happen in the modern world.

(If you’re wondering why Pierce Brosnan is a centaur, well…read the book or watch the movie)

Actually, I find the similarities between the Percy Jackson books and the Harry Potter books kind of interesting. The Percy Jackson series involves kids picked out of normal society to teach them how to use their powers. Harry Potter does the same thing. The Jackson books involve events that transpire during the summer in between school. The Potter books do the exact opposite. The first Jackson movie has director Chris Columbus. The first two Potter movies had director Chris Columbus.

I don’t think I would openly say that Percy Jackson is America’s version of Harry Potter, but there are some eerie similarities. Gratefully, the character of Percy Jackson is nothing like Harry Potter. Jackson seems a little naive at times, maybe a little out of the loop. I wanted to wring Harry Potter’s neck most of the time after book two. Both have a bright spotlight on them and both don’t want it, but I think Percy did a better job of handling it.

If you are looking for a new, fun children’s book similar to Harry Potter, try the Percy Jackson series. If you have forgotten how to read because you watch too much TV/movies or have been out of school too long, I would recommend checking out the new Percy Jackson movie coming in mid-February. No promises about the movie as I obviously haven’t seen it yet.

PS- Brooke is making a fuss about who they cast in the roles of some of the main characters. I wouldn’t get her started on it unless you don’t care about losing a body part or two.

PPS-We have a great discussion going in the comments section on the first Harry Potter post if any of you are interested.