2 March 2010
Frank Borelli
Yes, this is a book series that was primarily written for the young-adult audience. My 12-year old son and my 19-year old daughter both enjoy them. With the release of the first movie (there are five books so far so I assume more movies will follow) I figured it might be a good idea to see what's in the books and determine whether or not I should be concerned about the zeal my children have shown in reading them. So, I sat down with the first book before the movie came out and met a 12-year old with dyslexia and ADHD - Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon.
Now if, like me, you remember getting a little bit of education in your elementary, Junior High (middle school) and High School years about the Greek gods and if, like me, you remember being fascinated with the concepts of them, then these books are all the more enjoyable. Percy Jackson is the 12-year old son of Poseidon. Poseidon, if you remember, is one of three sons of Kronos and is considered one of the big three alongside his brothers Zeus and Hades. Zeus controls the air and heavens. Hades controls the underworld. Poseidon - as we all know - controls all that lives in the water, along with water itself. For 12-year-old Percy Jackson, a problem child with ADHD and dyslexia, discovering that he is the son of Poseidon explains a few things. First, it helps him understand his dyslexia. Apparently, as a demi-god (half god, half human) his eyes are hard-wired to read ancient Greek, not modern English. Second, his instincts and reflexes are those of a demi-god whose heritage inevitably involves battle with monsters and other demi-gods. The ADHD is a side-effect of constantly being "turned on" or battle ready.
So, we meet Percy living his miserable life, his best friend Grover (who is disabled and needs crutches to move around), his mother who loves him dearly and manages to cook everything blue (blue cookies, blue cake, etc) and his step-father who stinks and is, in general, a jerk. Percy's been moved from school to school as his ADHD and dyslexia causes him issues but in his current school we discover a bigger problem. One of his teachers is a monster in disquise sent to find him; seek him out and kill him unless he returns Zeus' master lightening bolt. You see, it's been stolen and Zeus is going to declare war unless it's returned.
Well, for a challenged 12-year-old, being accused of stealing a god's primary weapon, let alone being told you're a demi-god, is a... let's just say difficult situation. Good thing for Percy that another that another one of his teachers is really a Centaur in disguise. As things work out, Percy's buddy Grover is a satyr (half goat) and he's not disabled - but since his legs are covered in fur and he has hooves instead of feet and his knees don't EVER straighten out - it's easier to hide him as a disabled child than to explain what he really is. Grover's job, as it works out, is to protect Percy from the monsters that will inevitably come to do him harm once he's identified as a demi-god. And that's exactly what happens.
Surviving the attack, Percy finds himself informed about his true heritage, discovers much about how much his mother actually loves him, and discovers Camp Half-Blood: a camp created by the gods for their demi-god children. It's where Percy can go to be safe from more monsters, to be trained in how to fight them and where he discovers the quest he will have to undertake to prevent war amongst the Gods.
Each of the books is essentially the tale of a quest taken on my demi-gods to prevent something exceedingly bad from happening. While that's going on, the "mere mortals" are going about their daily routines unaware of the gods, their children or the battles being fought. Something commonly called "the mist" blinds human eyes to the realities around them - although some humans can see quite clearly and just don't say anytyhing. I mean... would you tell people if you could see a cyclops walking down the street? or saw a woman with bat-wings and talons for feet? Me neither.
I've read through the fourth book so far and the quests / battles are all building up to the return of Kronos. You see, Kronos was killed by his three sons (as much as an immortal can be killed) who chopped him up into more than a million pieces and imprisoned him in Tartarus (UNDER the underworld that Hades rules). But Kronos is pissed and wants to come back and all of the quests our demi-god characters take on is a step toward slowing down Kronos' return. Unfortunately, to the point I've read so far, it looks like Kronos' return is inevitable.
So, if you like such stories about gods, demi-gods, monsters, demons, etc; if you enjoy sword fights, mystical weapons and battles for world salvation; and if you think you can enjoy these things but in a modern setting (although a lot takes place in mystical realms) you might just enjoy these books. If nothing else, your pre-teen and teen age children probably will enjoy them.
Happy Trails!
