The Lightning Thief

Beginning
Percy Jackson is a twelve year old boy diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, who has been expelled from every school he has ever attended. While he is in sixth grade, his teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a Fury, and tries to kill him. His other teacher, Mr. Brunner, charges in, and throws Percy a pen that changes into a sword when you uncap it (known as Riptide). Percy kills the Fury/Mrs.Dodds (Alecto) in self-defense. For the rest of the year, everyone thinks Mrs. Dodds, who is replaced with Ms.Kerr, never existed. As it turns out all of the students (and teachers) were manipulated by the Mist. On his way home, three very old ladies (who turn out to be the Fates) cut a line of string, and his friend Grover suggests this is worse than it really seems. As Grover suggested the Fates are cutting the Line of Death. Percy immediately thinks that it is his life getting cut.

Going to Camp
On a vacation trip to Montauk with his mother, Grover, (Percy's best friend) who turns out to be a satyr (a half human, half goat), urgently tells Percy's mother that Percy must go to an certain camp. As they drive towards camp, they are attacked by the Minotaur, who grabs Percy's mother. She dissolves into a golden shower of light, while Grover and Percy narrowly escape. Percy is unconscious for a few days and wakes up at Camp Half-Blood, a secretive training ground for demigods. Then Percy finds out everything he learned about Greek mythology class from Mr. Brunner is true. He's shown around by Mr. Brunner, or Chiron, and a girl with blond hair and grey eyes named Annabeth. Clarisse, a girl from the Ares cabin, tries to shove his head in a toilet, but the water arcs over his head and onto her and her friends, pushing them out the door.

Claiming
Percy gets used to his new life as a demigod. During a Capture the Flag game, Percy is attacked by five Ares campers, all wanting revenge. They fight and Clarisse stabs him with an electric spear but then he steps in the creek and is able to defeat them all while breaking Clarisse's spear. Soon Luke captures the flag, and the campers come together. A hellhound, a vicious monster, attacks and Percy is healed in the water. Percy then is claimed as a son of Poseidon. Poseidon had broken the oath he had taken with Hades and Zeus after World War II not to have any more children because of a prophecy given by the Oracle of Delphi. The prophecy stated that a child of one of the Big Three gods (Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades) would make a decision on his/her sixteenth birthday that would either save or destroy Olympus.

Getting Ready for a Quest
Percy is then granted a quest to find Zeus's master bolt which Chiron believes Hades has stolen. However, Zeus, who discovered Poseidon's broken oath, believes Poseidon had Percy steal the bolt. Percy, who has ten days before summer solstice to find the lightning bolt, is given magic shoes by Luke before leaving. However, Chiron tells him that it is a bad idea to use the shoes since Zeus might blast him out of the sky, so they are given to Grover. Percy, accompanied by Annabeth and Grover, decides to travel west to reach the entrance to the Underworld in Los Angeles.

Starting the Quest
After Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are driven into town, they take a bus into New Jersey. When they get on the bus, three old ladies get on with them. Percy recognizes one of them as Mrs. Dodds. The Furies, as they are called, attack and they fight before escape Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporiem. Aunty M asks for a picture, but tries to turn them to stone because she is Medusa. Percy cuts off her head, and they leave. They find a lost dog, return it, and get $200. They buy train tickets with that money. They get off at the Gateway Arch. When Percy is alone on the top, Echidna reveals herself, along with Chimera. Then Percy jumps into the Mississippi River, to get away and is on the news - in a bad way.

Going Further West
After Percy lands in the Mississippi River, a Nereid tells him to go to the ocean before he goes into the Underworld. They get back on the train, and take it to Denver. They get off, and go into a diner. Ares comes in, and tells them to get his shield at Waterland, and in turn, he would give them a ride west, and information about Percy's mom. They go to Waterland, and find out the ride was set up with a trap by Hephaestus. They get out, and go back to the diner, and Ares shows them a Kindness International truck. He also tells Percy his mother has been taken as a hostage by Hades. They ride the truck farther and stop by a place called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They play games, sleep, and clean up. Percy discovers that time is frozen, so they escape.

Reaching the Underworld
They eventually make it to the ocean. Percy walks in, and gets a ride to the Nereid. She gives him three pearls saying to use them when they were in great need. Then they enter the Underworld. Percy bribes Charon into letting them in. They play with Cerberus using a little red ball, so he lets them pass. They walk through the Fields of Asphodel, and walk along a path to the pit of Tartarus. As they approach Tartarus, Luke’s shoes try to pull Grover into it, but he manages to slip free. Percy confronts Hades who also believes Percy stole the Master Bolt as well as his Helmet of Darkness. Percy realizes that Ares has tricked him when he discovers the Master Bolt is in his backpack. He uses the pearls to flee from the Underworld, forced to leave his mother.

Fighting Ares
When Percy used the pearls, they brought him back to the ocean. He went back to the shore and met Ares, and confronted him. Percy then challenges him to a fight. He uses Riptide to battle Ares. Percy eventually stabs him in the heel and starts to bleed ichor. He is about to kill Percy, when an evil force convinces him otherwise. He then leaves, giving Percy the Helm of Darkness. The Furies take it back to Hades.

The End
Percy reaches New York City to give the lightning bolt to Zeus on top of the Empire State Building, where Olympus is now located. Zeus accepts the bolt and Percy returns to camp, where he learns that his mother is alive. He meets Luke, who reveals that he stole the bolt and helm for Kronos. Luke calls out a poisonous scorpion which stings and nearly kills Percy. Percy is unconscious after the attempt to kill him. Luke manages to escape and leaves Camp Half-Blood. Chiron cures Percy. Percy then leaves to attend another school his mother found. The camp bead for Percy's first year is a black bead with a green trident in the middle. Annabeth leaves Camp Half-Blood for the first time, to live with her dad, step-mother, and two half siblings.

Prophecy
This book's prophecy was given to Percy Jackson.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,

(Percy go west to find the Mather Bolt, when they face Ares who is the god that has turned)

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,

(They find Zeus' Master Bolt and Hades' Helm of Darkness and see them returned safely)

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,

(Luke was pretending to be Percy's friend and later betrays him)

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

(Percy fails to save his mother in the quest but Hades sent her back after Hades' Helm of Darkness was returned)

Chapter list

 * 1) I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher
 * 2) Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death
 * 3) Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants
 * 4) My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting
 * 5) I Play Pinochle with a Horse
 * 6) I Become Surpreme Lord of the Bathroom
 * 7) My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke
 * 8) We Capture a Flag
 * 9) I Am Offered a Quest
 * 10) I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus
 * 11) We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium
 * 12) We Get Advice from a Poodle
 * 13) I Plunge to My Death
 * 14) I Become a Known Fugitive
 * 15) A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers
 * 16) We Take a Zebra to Vegas
 * 17) We Shop for Water Beds
 * 18) Annabeth Does Obedience School
 * 19) We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of
 * 20) I Battle My Jerk Relative
 * 21) I Settle My Tab
 * 22) The Prophecy Comes True
 * 23) (Preview of The Sea of Monsters)

Campers

 * Percy Jackson - The main character, also son of Poseidon.
 * Annabeth Chase - A friend of Percy's and daughter of Athena.
 * Grover Underwood - A Satyr and a friend of Percy's, is also Percy's protector.
 * Clarisse La Rue - A daughter of Ares and the leader of her cabin. She holds a grudge against Percy for how he embarrassed her and her father.
 * Luke Castellan - A son of Hermes and a traitor when he turns on Percy at the end.
 * Argus - the security guard for Camp Half-Blood. He has blue eyes all over his body, and usually when heroes need to go on quests, he would drive them in the white van to a certain place, then head back to camp.

Mortals

 * Nancy Bobofit - One of the bullies at Yancy Academy
 * Gabe Ugliano - Sally's husand that she married to cover up Percy's half-blood scent with his stench.
 * Sally Jackson - Percy's mother. Percy said that she can see through the Mist better than him. She married Gabe Ugliano, who's character is certainly disliked by Percy.

Immortals

 * Chiron - A Centaur and the Activities Director of camp. He is (or was) called Mr. Brunner as an alias. He was one of Percy's teachers at Yancy. His father was also Kronos.
 * Dionysus - God of Wine and Ritual Madness. Goes by "Mr. D". He is the Director of Camp Half-Blood and despises Percy.
 * Poseidon - God of the Seas, Father of Horses, and Percy's Father. One of The Big Three.
 * Ares - God of War, and Clarisse's father.
 * Hades - God and Ruler of the Underworld. One of The Big Three.
 * Zeus - God of the Sky, King and Ruler of the Gods and Heavens. Said to be The father of Thalia Grace, who was turned into the Pine Tree that enforces the Barrier of camp when she had fallen in battle on top of that hill. One of The Big Three.
 * Kronos - Appears as a voice in Percy's many nightmares throughout the book. Kronos tries to pull Grover, Annabeth, and Percy into the pit by the cursed shoes that Luke had given them so he could get the Master Bolt.
 * The Fates

Monsters

 * Alecto and the other Furies
 * Minotaur
 * Hellhounds
 * Medusa
 * Echidna
 * Chimera
 * Procrustes
 * Cerberus
 * Pit Scorpion

Awards

 * Mark Twain Award 2008 (Missouri Association of School Librarians)
 * Bluebonnet Award Nominee (Texas Library Association)
 * Askews Torchlight Award (UK)
 * Best of the Best Book List (Chicago Public Library)
 * Top Shelf Fiction List (Voice of Youth Advocates)
 * Notable Book (American Library Association)
 * Best Book for Young Adults (Young Adult Library Services Association)
 * Red House Children's Book Award Winner (UK)
 * Choice Award; Notable Children's Book (Cooperative Children's Book Center)
 * National Council for Teachers of English, Publishers Weekly National Children's Bestseller
 * Warwickshire Book Award Winner (UK)
 * Beehive Award Winner 2006 (Children's Literature Association of Utah)
 * Maine Student Book of The Stupids