The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Synopsis: When a school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art goes horribly wrong, Percy Jackson is informed that he will no longer be welcome at Yancy Academy, his sixth school in six years. Injured and confused by a conversation he over-hears between his favorite teacher Mr. Brunner and his best friend Grover Underwood, the only people he has grown attached to, Percy dreads saying goodbye. He's saved from the painful process by what seems to be chance: Mr. Brunner unthinkingly insults him while trying to explain that his exit is for the best, and Grover is on the same bus to Manhattan. What happens along the way home only adds to Percy's confusion when the bus breaks down and he and Grover witness a strange trio of ladies knitting a giant pair of socks. We quickly learn that Percy seems to be a good kid, but also has an unfortunate knack for getting into impossible situations. A childhood rife with inexplicable escapes(a snake in his cot at daycare, a stalker in a black trench coat on the playground) has been capped by this recent encounter(an attack by what Mr. Brunner called "The Kindly Ones") and his mom is worried.

Having returned home for the summer, a trip to he and his mother's favorite summer vacation spot goes horribly wrong and Percy finds himself on the top of a hill in New Jersey, face to face with a monster straight out of Greek mythology. This first book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians introduces us to everyman(soon to be hero) Perseus "Percy" Jackson, his best friend, Grover Underwood and Camp Half-Blood, last refuge for the children of the gods most of us think of as ancient Greek and no longer around. The narrative moves quickly from one crisis to another with only a few short stops along the way to remind us about the Greek mythology we studied and forgot in school. A classic hero's quest with a contemporary twist.

With chapter titles like "I accidentally vaporize my pre-Algebra teacher" and "We get advice from a poodle", the tale of Percy Jackson's journey to discover his father's identity and complete his first quest is filled with irreverent humor, an entertaining and constantly morphing cast of characters contemporized straight out of Ancient Greek mythology and battle sequences that leave a famous U.S. landmark smoking and Los Angeles in flames. While you never doubt that Percy will succeed in his quest, Riordan does make you wonder whether he'll be missing a few limbs or sporting some very interesting scars. I especially love the way "Smelly Gabe" is disposed of! 8 stars (out of 10)

This review is also posted on Mrs. Boman's Book Banter