Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

First of all, you should know that I made the mistake of watching the movie first before reading the book. And of course, not having known the full book story, I loved the film completely (well of course, Logan Lerman being one of the reasons why). But then I have this friend who has been forcing me to read the series since last year. He told me that the movie is a complete thrash compared to the novels.

So now, a year later, here I am, totally hating myself for even liking the movie adaptation of this book. The movie plot was very different from the book. It’s like they just took the characters and wrote a whole new storyline. The adventures, the deaths, the problems, and a lot more were completely different. Even the age of the main characters was wrong. I mean, does Logan Lerman even look like a twelve-year-old? Okay, enough of the complaints and let’s move on to the review.

Percy Jackson is a twelve-year-old sixth grader who is diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. He is irritable, and he couldn’t control his impulsive behavior. The dyslexia made it hard for him to read and understand his lessons and this resulted to failing marks. And so, Percy might be kicked out from his boarding school, again. 

And then, one field trip to the museum revealed the truth about him when he was attacked by his math teacher, well actually, a monster disguised as his teacher. He is a demigod, a half-god, son of one of the gods of Olympus. Suddenly, it all became clear that his problems were actually his talents. The dyslexia was due to the fact that his brain is hardwired to understand ancient Greek writings. The ADHD are manifestations of his advanced reflexes, useful in battles. These would all seem to be a good thing if not for the mythical monsters and demons running after him, wanting him dead.

In turns out that he was the prime suspect for a crime done to the most powerful Olympian god, Zeus. But Percy has no clue as to why he was blamed for the theft of the master lightning bolt, Zeus’ most important weapon. Nevertheless, he must go on a quest to find the lightning bolt and prove his innocence before the gods wage war to each other, endangering the mortal world. Together with his friends, he must know who the real suspect was and stop the possible war, in just ten days.

Okay, so as I’ve said the book was very different from the movie. I don’t want to spoil the whole story for those who haven’t read the book yet, so I leave you to your own disappointment when you finally read this book. All I can say is that I don’t know how the movie producers are planning to make sequel since some important events in the book were removed and replaced in the movie.

As for my opinion on the book, I can say that I seriously enjoyed it. I am a big fan of fantasy novels and this one has one special trail that I loved: its reference to Greek mythology. I’ve already talked about how much I am attracted to mythologies in my past post, and so the all the allusions this book have to all those Greek gods and goddesses immediately got me hooked. The story was brimming with intense action sequences that got me more excited. Also, the plot twists would have been surprising, had I not watched the movie first. 

Well aside from all the magical stuff, I loved the way it portrayed family problems. Of course, in the book, the demigods have both mortal and god parents. This means that they only spent their life with only one of their parents. And I can empathize with how these characters felt, growing up without my dad. They all struggle with the abandonment they felt. Because of this, they felt the need to seek acceptance and approval from the Olympian gods and goddesses, who are their parents. They even put themselves in dangerous quests just to prove that they are worthy of their parents’ titles. 

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m hoping to finish all the books in the series before school starts. But I just have one problem. No matter how hard I try, I can’t help but find Harry Potter similarities in the book. First is Percy’s appearance. He is a twelve-year-old boy with jet-black hair and sea green eyes. Sounds familiar, right? The only things missing are the glasses and the scar. Then their Trio was made up of Annabeth, daughter of Athena—very intelligent girl—and Grover, a satyr who seem to be very cowardly but otherwise, loyal and useful. They somehow remind me of Ron and Hermione. Oh well, maybe this is just my obsession with Harry Potter messing with my head. But seriously, ignoring those parallels, this book is good and very much adventure-filled. It can stand alone and the plot is different from Harry Potter. I give it an overall 4.5/5.

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Imagine how every human being will survive when the Earth finally comes to its close. When everything crumbles down and the whole planet dies, what will happen to the human race?

In Beth Revis’ futuristic novel, Across The Universe, scientists and researchers alike have found a solution to this grave complication. They found a planet, Centauri-Earth, which is potentially capable of sustaining human life. It is located several light years away from the Earth, possibly inhabitable due to the fact that it has almost the same substantial elements as our home planet. So, to preserve the human race, a gigantic ship was built to carry thousands of people to the new planet: the Godspeed. These people are selected based on their skills, intellect and usefulness, which are essential in order for the people to survive in Centauri-Earth. But the journey itself is not a brief one. In fact, it was estimated to last for three centuries. It is planned that generations of people will have to carry on the task of leading the ship towards it’s destination. In order to survive the 300-year expedition, these selected “essential” were frozen and kept in cryo chambers until Godspeed lands on Centauri-Earth. They were meant to sleep through three centuries and would only be awaken when Godspeed reaches the new planet.

And in the picture comes Amy, one of the frozens. She isn’t actually essential but her parents are. This guaranteed her a place in one of those cryo chambers. Together with her parents, she was scientifically frozen in an ice coffin, set for a very long sleep. Imagine her surprise when she was violently awakened from her deep cold slumber as her glass chamber was unplugged, 50 years ahead of the expected time. Now, she was alone and a complete stranger to the world of Godspeed. 

Life in Godspeed is different from the Earth. Everything is in unison and things were so orderly. There were no disputes among citizens, everyone has their own place and purpose, the place was peaceful. They are all obedient to their leader and follows every rule. To Amy’s eyes, it wasn’t normal. It’s as if people were in some kind of daze, completely stripped of their own senses. Something is seriously wrong with this ship.

And then there’s Elder, the next leader of Godspeed. The person who will soon be responsible of every life aboard. He is the only person Amy feels she could trust. Elder was currently being trained by Eldest, the present leader of the ship. He is taught about everything that has to be known about preserving the unity and ensuring safety of the people in Godspeed. Surely, nothing could go wrong. Until one by one, the frozens are being unplugged and murdered.

Of all the dystopian, futuristic novels I’ve read, this one is very much surprising. I was lead to think that it was a romance novel because of it’s cover, but soon I realize how very wrong I was. This book is so much more than a love story between two teenagers from two different worlds. As the characters find out more about the mysterious murders, they also unveil the secrets and lies that surround the ship. They soon question the system and how things were implemented in Godspeed. Truths were uncovered and they soon understand how much they were fooled by their leaders. 

I think it was beautifully crafted because while reading, I can feel being in the same ship as the characters. Like many dystopian novels, this book shows us that too much progress and scientific development is not very good for people. No matter how advance our technologies get, it is still important to put humanity higher up the ladder. It also teaches us about the value of true leadership. What matter is how we give strength to the people who depend on us, not how much power or control we have over them. Greed and selfishness won’t get you far. And finally, it tells us how every people deserves the truth, no matter how unacceptable it may be.

All in all, it was good book and very riveting. It’s not a perfect book as I easily predicted about some of the events and secrets. And also, the ending was quite a hanger. But then I know that there is a sequel so it’s not entirely disappointing. Honestly, I was not expecting that it was such a captivating read. It’s part dysoptian, part sci-fi, and part romance. I just could not put it down. I’m sorry if this review is quite long, but I just can’t help my thoughts about this book form overflowing. I give it a 4.5/5.

The worst thing you can do to bookworms is to disturb them while reading. If you see us holding a book up our noses, stay away and leave us alone for your own good. No matter how close you are to us, we will be annoyed.

Each one of us has a story, or two, to tell. But in silence, we tend to keep them to ourselves because no one seems to be listening.

Trust me, I know how it feels. I know exactly how it feels to cry in the shower so no one can hear you, how it feels as you shut yourself in your room at two in the morning, crying your heart out. I know how hard to keep things to yourself just because you think that no one will understand.