Charlie Friesen

Charlie Friesen
The Lighting Thief
Rick Riordan
Fantasy
Holiday
pg. 145



1. Right now in my book,Percy Jackson is at Camp Half-Blood. He has just played in the capture the flag game, where he found out that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Before that, before he came to Camp Half-Blood, Percy was living with his mother and his step-father, Gabe, in an apartment in New York City. Percy was going to a boarding school for troubled kids, he has dyslexia and ADHD, and of course, he has his demigod powers that could sometimes act up. Percy was on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when his math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a Fury and tries to kill Percy. But suddenly his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, who is in a wheelchair, comes in and gives him a sword to kill the Fury. But when Percy goes back to his group, no one knew a Mrs. Dodds, but his best friend Grover looks like he has something to hide. When the school year is finished, Percy is once again expelled from school, and so he makes his way back to New York, where his mother is waiting to take him on a vacation to Long Island. When they are away, Grover appears, and warns of trouble, and so they all flee. But when they get near Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place for Percy, the Minotaur is chasing them, destroys their car, and Percy's mother is killed, but both Grover and Percy make it safely to Camp Half-Blood, where Percy begins his training.



2. So far, I think that this book is great. I actually saw the move of it before I began reading this. But so far, even though I have not read very far, it is very different from the movie. But that is what makes this book interesting. I like comparing the books to their movies. The Lightning Thief is so different from its movie that I did not spoil the book too much by watching the movie. Also, the way the book is written is very good. It is flowing, which makes it easier tho read and enjoy. There are also no other books like this that I have read so far, which makes it more interesting. Some fresh reading is always good for someone. I have read quite a few books on mythology, and a lot on troubled kids who turn into heroes, but never one where they are mixed together. I am looking forward to reading this book.



3. A theme that I have noticed so far is seclusion. When Percy was at Yancy Academy, the boarding school he went to, he did not have many friends. The only real friend he had was Grover. Then, if he stayed in his apartment in New York, he would have to deal with Gabe, or Smelly Gabe as Percy called him. Gabe thought of Percy as sort of a servant. He was supposed to get beers and snacks for all Gabe's poker buddies. Gabe did not care about Percy, nor his mother. So Percy would either have to stay in his room all day, or go out onto the streets until he had to go back home. He did not have any friends at all in New York. And then at Camp Half-Blood, when people were still not sure of his pedigree, he stayed in Hermes' cabin, because Hermes is the god of travelers, and accepts anyone. After people stopped picking on the new kid, Percy found out he was the son of Poseidon and was moved to his own cabin, all by himself because there are not supposed to be any sons of Poseidon. In all these times, Percy has no friends. Grover cannot be with him all the time, so Percy is lonely most of the time.

4. My favorite character is Percy. The way he responds to all the new things that he is being shown I think is great. I could feel like I was in his shoes. But, he is the hero, and the main character, so you have to like him. I would probably respond to all the things Percy is going through in the same way, so I feel a connection with him. Also, because he is so new to the demigod world, you sort of have to feel sorry for him, because he does not know anything and is just learning. I also like comparing him the Percy that I saw in the movie, who I think is very different from the book's Percy. He is a teenager, just like me, so there is also something that gives us a connection. The best characters are the ones that you as a reader can relate to personally, and Percy is one of those characters.

5. My least favorite character would have to be Mr. D, or Dionysus, who runs camp Half-Blood. He is the god of wine and grapes, and as his punishment for doing something bad. He obviously hates his job, and he hates all of the kids at Camp Half-Blood. He is especially angered by Percy's ignorance towards the gods. But Percy did not know any better, he had just arrived at Camp Half-Blood, and he had no idea that the gods even existed. He seems like a very impulsive man. He will not give any thought to what he says or does. Overall, so far he is my least favorite character because I would hate to have a conversation with him.

6. I think that what will happen next is that Percy will get a quest of some sort from Chiron, because Annabeth has been talking about some kind of quest, which I believe is foreshadowing. From what Percy had picked up from her mumblings is that something was stolen, and probably Percy will end up having to get it. He has quite a lot of power, because he is the son of a Big Three god, Zeus, Poseidon or Hades. So he will use his power somehow to find what is missing and return it to whoever wants it before something terrible happens.