The Lightning Thief from the Percy Jackson series follows the story of a boy in New York who realizes he's half-blooded, his father is a Greek god. The story follows him as he tries to figure out who his godly parent is. Percy and his new group of half-blooded friends must go on a mission to return a lightning bolt to Zeus from an evil titan. On the way, Percy learns where he can fit in and where he belongs. The book has themes of identity and living up to one's full potential based on the opinions of others. Percy struggles with being a delinquent and tries to change his image of being a lazy bad student, he never knew his father and just had his mother.
Although the book is under the juvenile fiction section, people of all ages can enjoy it. The reason I rate this book 5 stars is because the characters are complex and likable, as well as the story kept me hooked. Many problems they faced felt very relatable, and many conflicts and how they dealt with them were dealt with smoothly. Although the book is slightly fast-paced, I prefer it so there aren't boring parts. The book is in first person and it's very helpful to see how Percy thinks and deals with things. Overall, the book was very enjoyable, and many of the characters had clear motives. The book was lighthearted, but still dealt with so many serious topics, given they were all children. I would recommend the Harry Potter series for anyone who enjoyed this book, they both are very similar and deal with similar themes of trying to fit in.