Monsters Monsters Everywhere

When I first saw the previews for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, I was a bit skeptical. To be quite candid, the plot line featuring unknown superpowers and monsters out of Greek Mythology screamed 12-year-old boy to me. The gap being quite large between myself and prepubescent, pimply, squeaky specimen such as the pre-teen boy, I was determined to uphold an objective state of mind and read Rick Riordan’s novel to see what all the fuss was about.

I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine. From fourth to sixth grade, I was a Greek Mythology geek. I have my fatigued copy of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths to prove it. I loved reading about the big 12 up on Mount Olympus, the playful dalliances of certain gods, and the talented progeny undergoing dangerous quests. I had the thirst to absorb as much of it as possible. As you can imagine, it came as a shock to me when we were learning about the subject in history class and instead of being fascinated, my classroom contemporaries dished about Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and other monumentally riveting topics. That’s when it dawned on me that I was a nerd.

Having been ten years since I last indulged in my childhood hobby, I was somewhat reticent about what I may find in the pages of Percy Jackson. Incredulously enough, it took only one chapter for me to be completely hooked. Riordan’s writing seamlessly echoes a young kid who really doesn’t know what he’s good at, or why he keeps getting into trouble at school. Once Percy discovers the truth about his half-blood heritage, he finds within himself a sense of purpose while retaining the inquisitive and headstrong personality traits that make him, well, Percy. His impulse for action drives the story right along and Riordan introduces monster after monster to keep both Percy and the readers on their toes. I fell right into the pace of the story and marveled at the innovative ways that Riordan chose to introduce the monster of the moment. 

The Lightning Thief is a good example of why I am so keen to work with children’s books. With the flip of a page, I was instantly transported back into the younger version of myself. To the visual eye, I resembled a somewhat put-together 22-year-old, but internally I was a gangly, frizzy, Gap Kids wearing 11-year-old that was a die-hard Greek mythology fan. Amazing how that happens. My passion having been successfully rekindled, I quickly renounced my prior judgment on the series in favor of more positive feedback.