The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percival, known as Percy, Jackson, doesn't have much luck with schools. He's ADHD and Dyslexic, and has a history of being kicked out of every school he's been to. Now, he's attending a school for disruptive kids and it looks like he won't be staying here long, either.

On a class trip to the Museum of Natural History in New York City, one of Percy's fellow students, Nancy Bobofit, picks a fight with him and his best friend, Grover, that ends with her somehow in the fountain at the food court. Then Mrs. Doods, the Pre-Algebra teacher, takes Percy away to disipline him and turns into an ugly, wizened, flying woman with a voice like nails on a chalkboard. And it seems like she is going to kill him.

At the last minute, Percy has a vision of being tossed a pen by the other teacher on the trip, Mr. Brunner, but the pen turns into a sword in Percy's hands, and he stabs the former Mrs. Dodds with it. She screams and turns to dust. But when Percy tries to figure out what the hell is going on, no one seems to remember Mrs. Dodds, and all insist they never had a teacher by that name.

While Percy wonders if he's going crazy, he returns home, and his stepfather, whom he cordially hates, takes away his last bit of money while he plays poker with his friends around the table. Gabriel Ugliano is fat, stinky and loud, and he returns Percy's dislike in spades. The only thing they have in common is Percy's mother, who is one of the best people in the world.

When she returns from her job selling Candy in Grand Central Station, she takes Percy on a special visit to their beachfront Cabin in Montauk, taking Gabe's treasured Camaro with them. But a late-night visit by Percy's friend Grover leads to them having to run for a special summer camp in New Jersey being chased by a bull-headed man who turns out to be no other than the Minotaur!

They make it, but only barely. Percy kills the Minotaur, but not before his mom is choked by the Minotaur, turns into golden light and disappears. Percy thinks she is dead, and knows his stepfather is going to blame him for the destruction of his car and the death of his mom.

At the camp, though, Percy discovers that he is a half-blood, a son of a God and a human. But which God? Until he finds out, he'll have to stay in the cabin dedicated to Hermes. So when he's claimed by Poseidon, he's completely amazed. So is everyone else in camp, because Zeus, Poseidon and Hades came together at the end of the last war to vow to have no more half-blooded children because of a prophecy.

But no one will tell Percy about what the prophecy said, or why it is important to him. And when the powers that be assign him a quest, it is to recover the missing lightning bolt of Zeus, the original, the one all the others are patterned on. Accompanied only by Grover and a girl named Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, Percy will have to cross the country, enter Hades' Kingdom (he's been pegged as the most likely thief) and get it back. But is Hades really the thief? And how can Percy, who has newly discovered his half-blood status, prevail over the mythological monsters who want to deny him a successful end to his quest? And can he keep ahead of stories about him fueled by his stepfather's hatred and blaming him for his mom's death and disappearance?

I liked this book, which I decided to pick up after reading "The Demigod Files". It's fun and has a decidedly irreverent take on the Greek Myths. The Greek Gods of Olympus are revealed as responsible for Western Civilization, and they move as it does. Now, they are based in America, along with Mount Olympus (which is floor 600 of the Empire State Building).

The story itself is serious, but the treatment of the Greek Gods and the Myths and Legends surrounding them is rather less so. Ares, God of War, is like a Biker, and even rides a bike (Aphrodite apparently likes "bad boys"). The Summer Camp is also not without humor.

But Percy Jackson's first adventure is, in some ways, the hardest. He's cut off from his Mom, who is gone, and the only two people he can trust is a girl whose mother has a problem with his Dad, and a friend from school who lied to him over and over. Nobody trusts him- everyone seems to think he's kid who might have murdered his mother, and stolen the lightning bolt. But can he trust those around him, and will they show him the same kind of loyalty he shows those who are his friends?

Despite what's going on, the adventure is surprisingly lighthearted and fun, and extremely enjoyable to read. Kids will enjoy the idea of being the child of a God, and the powers, friends, and monsters that Percy encounters or gains along the way. Highly recommended.