A review by cadence99
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I can certainly see why this is such a well loved series; lovable characters, tons of action, and emotional depth all packed into an easy to read bundle. What lowers my experience, reading this as an adult, are things I probably wouldn’t have picked up on if I had read this when I was still the intended audience. There were numerous instances of the author using ableist language: the words

cripple

and

lame

both appeared multiple times. In addition, in true early 2000s fashion, every fat character was a bad guy, clearly intending readers to see them as gluttonous and repulsive. 

I might continue the series at some point, as I felt the strong points of this book still made for an overall positive reading experience, but i’m not chomping at the bit

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail