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The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 1 Audiobook
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Plot Summary
"The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians" continues to enthrall adolescents and young adults in homes and classrooms throughout the world. Author Rick Riordan has been able to introduce the Olympic gods and their stories to millions of new fans, not an easy feat, as any teacher can testify.
Percy Jackson is a 12-year-old boy with a problem. Things keep happening to him, things that make him feel like he's a trouble magnet. He has a deep sense of responsibility to stand up to bullies, especially when his friends are involved. He just can't seem to avoid getting into trouble when he helps out. To top it all off, his math teacher keeps metamorphosing into a monster. As if this isn't enough, all sorts of mythological creatures begin to stalk him.
The worst part is that no one believes him. Finally he is kicked out of his school.
He finds himself in summer camp, and yet again, trouble seems to find him. He ends up in a sort of Mount Olympus, where Zeus' thunderbolt has been stolen.
Percy discovers that he is actually blood kin to some of the Olympic gods, in essence a demi-god. He finds out quickly that this is not an enviable position to be in, especially when he has encountered the wrath of some of the most powerful gods.
"The Lightning Thief" has won many prestigious awards and has gained a huge following among preteens and teens. Teachers love it because it is a high-interest novel and provides an excellent introduction and pathway into later studies such as "The Iliad," "The Odyssey" and "The Aeneid."
New York Times #1 best-selling writer Rick Riordan is the creator of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of books, the Kane Chronicles, the Heroes of Olympus. He also wrote the storyline and the first book in the immensely popular 39 Clues series of books for young people.
Riordan was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1964 and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. He earned degrees in both History and English and continued with graduate studies. He taught English in California and Texas for fifteen years before retiring to write full-time. Riordan currently lives in San Antonio with his wife and two sons.
Moving away from his home state of Texas, he says, made him realize how much he appreciates growing up there. He works much of his knowledge about his native South and Central Texas locales into the settings of his works.
Other popular books by Riordan include "The Serpent's Shadow: The Kane Chronicles, Book 3" and "The Mark of Athena."
"The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians" provides over ten hours of listening pleasure, and is narrated by Jesse Bernstein. It can be quickly and easily downloaded in audiobook format from Audiobook Store
"I find "Percy Jackson" a very interesting book. I was 7 when he (Percy Jackson) came out. As I grew he made me realize how much I am into mythological creatures and Greek Gods. I love to read the books and I watched both movies over and over again. He made me wish that these Greek Gods were real and have real Demi-Gods for children. And I really would love to see more of Percy Jackson."
— Ms. Jenkins (5 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.
Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.
Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends–one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena–will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
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Awards
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A USA Today bestseller
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the 2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award
The Lightning Thief Listener Reviews
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4/4/2023
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Philip Stender, 4/3/2023
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Gina Ackermann, 1/22/2023
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Nick McMillan, 11/30/2021
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Stephanie Shreffler, 9/11/2020
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" I thought this book was a breath of fresh air- so fun to read a good children's book. It came highly recommended by my 9 year old nephew, and I read it to see if I thought my 8 year old would like it. I really enjoyed it. "
— Elizabeth, 2/20/2014 -
" Great book, enticing and fast paced. Much better than the movie. "
— Andrew, 2/13/2014 -
" Not an impressive read. Interesting only for all the info on mythology it shares. "
— Mariya, 2/10/2014 -
" loved it but its not exactly like the movie though "
— Arriana, 2/8/2014 -
" I couldn't put down this one!!! "
— Jenna, 2/4/2014 -
" Fantastic book for middle schooler's. It got me into mythology. The spin off series, which has Percy in it of course, is more for high schooler's. If you time it just right you can read it as you age. You can age with the books almost. Best mythology fiction book I've read. "
— Alex, 1/21/2014 -
" This is my absolute favourite book of all time. I'm 14 and I've read it so many times it's embarrassing. Rick just has an amazing way of capturing the feelings and thoughts of a modern day teenager and I don't know how he does it! Well done : ) xx "
— Darcy, 1/18/2014 -
" ....speechless "
— Jade, 1/13/2014 -
" Well, Rick Riordan is a really great writer.I love it how he makes the story goes so exciting.You can really feel the tension even if you're just reading it.I just love this book. "
— Arby, 1/8/2014 -
" This book was very entertaining and was action packed. It was no were neer the movie and was way better than the movie. It left you so that you wanted to read the next one. Also it keopt me interested so I wanted to finish reading. I rate this book 5 out of 5. "
— Jordan, 12/29/2013 -
" Loved the voice of Percy throughout the book! "
— Stacy, 12/17/2013 -
" A fun read! Percy has an interesting view of the world which becomes more unique when he discovers his Father is a Greek God! Great, easy read for ages 9-109. Fast read too! "
— Mike, 11/21/2013 -
" Such a page turner and kept me interested the whole time! A little confusing with which god was which but after a while you pick up who's who. Very well written- I enjoyed it a lot! "
— Colleen, 11/19/2013 -
" I thought this book was amazing because i'm really interested in books like this one with epic battles and fights to the death.this book also because it always has a surprise at every big part in it I would recommend it to tons of people. "
— Andrew, 11/3/2013 -
" A better series than Harry Potter in my opinion. "
— Travis, 7/25/2013 -
" Great book! Adventurous, humorous, and action-packed!! Great book if you're studying Greek Mythology. I've read the whole series plus more and Rick Riordan makes new adventures for my mind!! "
— Sanh, 1/13/2013 -
" Riordan is definitely one of my favorite authors-by far. He always can mix everything in that makes it an awesome book to read. Actually started to read because of the movie trailer and my brother. "
— Amy, 7/21/2012 -
" Cool book, though it didn't caught most of my eagerness until the end. Maybe because I watched the movie first that the information pretty messed up while I'm reading it. But still a cool book. It makes me want to read the next books. "
— Rj, 6/25/2012 -
" This is one of my favorite ever. I'm so glad my teacher recommended this book to us. Now I enjoy all of Rick Riordan's books. "
— Connie, 2/3/2012 -
" A good jump start to the rest of the series. "
— Erin, 11/10/2011 -
" Another fun series to read with the kids........ "
— Jackie, 5/24/2011 -
" This is one of the best books I've ever read! I loved the story line and everything about it (the book is way better than the movie) "
— Taylor, 5/24/2011 -
" Read it when it first came out in 2005, and was hooked. Upon reading it aloud to my daughters, find it still rocks. "
— Melissa, 5/23/2011 -
" Read for school; was to make a commercial to advertise the book but the video cam wouldn't work. It was a quick read and fairly interesting on a very young reader scale. "
— Tamela, 5/23/2011 -
" A great YA lit novel. My 5th graders love it. An easy read for me, but very engaging. Highly recommend it! "
— Helen, 5/22/2011 -
" This book was good. There was comedy, as well as history and mythology. It was put into a context that you could understand. "
— Tandra, 5/22/2011 -
" A little young for my liking. I think this is more of a "coming of age" read. "
— Celeste, 5/22/2011 -
" The book is good, read it mostly to see if my daughter might like it. We saw the movie and she loved it, is now interested in reading the book, perhaps some fun summer read! Loads more to read in this series, but quick books. Enjoyed the idea of using mythology I have always been a fan!! "
— April, 5/22/2011 -
" I absolutely love this book and its series! it is funny,adventurous, and unique. They need to have more books out there this amazing. "
— cassie, 5/22/2011 -
" Why do they take a good story and make a "movie" about it then change the story.... much better then the movie! <br/> "
— Peta, 5/22/2011 -
" I normally don't write reviews but I just have to tell everyone how much I love this book!!! It is awesome!!!!! "
— Dtanight, 5/21/2011 -
" This book was so much fun i cannot wait for the rest of the series "
— Rebecca, 5/21/2011 -
" It was the first amazing book I have ever read! OMG! I loved it so much I read it 4 times already! I thank my friends Kim and Steven for recommending it me. Without them, I don't know what I would do with my reading life. "
— Grace, 5/21/2011
About Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan is the New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus. He is also the author of the award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults, winner of the top three awards in the mystery genre. For fifteen years, he taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas and was honored him with the St. Mary’s School’s first Master Teacher Award.
About Jesse Bernstein
Jesse Bernstein is an audiobook narrator and winner of seven AudioFile Earphones Awards. His many works include The Battle of the Labyrinth, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Girls, Chasing Windmills, and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson Series.