Percy Jackson and the Olympians

This is a pretty fun series of books geared towards middle school students. They are actually really perfect for sixth graders, since (in California, at least) they are studying ancient cultures in history and mythology in English. So far, I’ve read the first two books in the series and am planning to make them available to my students for independent reading once we start our mythology unit.

The basic premise of these books is that the Greek gods and goddesses are actually real and have simply moved to America to follow the hub of Western Civilization. Of course, the hero of our story (both in a literal and literary sense) does not know all this at the beginning of the first book. All he knows is that trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes, and he’s been to a lot of places trying to get away from it: six different school in six years, in fact. It isn’t until his math teacher turns into a flying monster during a field trip, though, that Percy begins to realize that maybe the kind of trouble following him isn’t just because he is dyslexic, has ADHD, and tends to attract bullies. He soon discovers that his best friend is a satyr, his Latin teacher is a centaur, and that he himself is only half human.

While Percy struggles to come to terms with the fact that his father is one of the Olympian gods, he is thrown into the middle of a brewing war between Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Everything depends on Percy’s successful completion of his quest to find and return Zeus’s stolen thunderbolt.

In the second book, Camp Half-Blood (the summer camp where Percy trains to be a hero) is under attack and Percy’s friend Grover, the satyr, is being held captive by a cyclops. Percy must face a friend who has become an enemy and learn to work with an enemy who…well, hasn’t quite become a friend, but is at least an ally, for now, in order to save both Grover and the camp.

If you are knowledgeable in Greek mythology, you will recognize quite a few allusions to those stories, especially in the second book where references to The Odyssey abound. However, you don’t have to be up on all the gods and heroes to enjoy these books. Everything that is essential to understand is explained, since Percy himself is not familiar with many of the stories.

I also appreciate that Riordan throws in a bit of an environmental bent. He doesn’t make it overbearing, but there are references, where appropriate, that although Western civilization has its benefits, we have really polluted the natural environment to the point where many of the good creatures of mythology can no longer thrive, but the evil monsters do.

The other themes that I find incredibly valuable in this series are how to deal with bullies and how to overcome your own weaknesses. Percy constantly faces the teasing (both physical and verbal) of bullies, and while he doesn’t always deal with them in the best way, he also realizes that their differences can be overcome in times of need. He also must overcome personal obstacles, such as his dyslexia and ADHD. At Camp Half-Blood, he learns that his disabilities can sometimes be an advantage, such as the ADHD helping him in battle, keeping his senses alert and shifting as the battle shifts.

December 2, 2009 Tags: YA series Posted in: action, fantasy, fiction