Alyssa Tyler editor in chief
As the semester ends, I have less time to read or listen to audiobooks. Therefore, for this review I will look back to my childhood and review one of my all-time favorite series, the Percy Jackson series. I devoured these books when I was in elementary school, and then continued by obsession up into middle school when a spin off series was created.
I started the series when I was in third grade when the series was 4/5 books completed. The Lightening Thief opens with Percy Jackson, the main character, killing his math teacher (it was self-defense I promise). Percy is expelled from his school and eventually ends up in Camp Half Blood. Here, he learns that the Greek Gods he learned about in school were real, and they had kids. Hence the names, the camp is a haven for those with half-god, half-human DNA.
Percy soon learns who his father is, why his math teacher is out to murder him during a field trip, and that he is in the center of a massive argument between the three strongest gods in Olympus. Percy takes his best friend Grover, a satyr, with the girl that nursed him back to health while also making fun of him, Annabeth. The three travels from New York to California and back in hopes of stopping the argument between brothers before another world war begins.
This is the first book in the now massive series. Percy is the main character in the first five, and then a part of the main group in the second spin off series. These books are meant for children, they are written in a youthful way. There are crude jokes (anything that someone might have found funny in elementary school will find it in this book).
When I was a child, I was extremely quiet. I found solace in books, and this series was arguably one of my best friends throughout school. Throughout the series, you meet Percy when he is 11 and then grow up with all the characters. This series is not complex, so those who may struggle with reading may find it easier to understand compared to Harry Potter. There is quite a bit of action, humor fit for elementary school kids, and important concepts that all children will learn at some point.
Overall, if I were forced to give this series a rating, it would be a 1.5 billion/5. If I read this series for the first time now as a senior in college, it would not receive the same rating. However, since I read this at such a formative age in my life, it really did transform the way I read and the books that I love. Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone who needs to remind themselves of their childhood, or if they need a recommendation for any kids.