The Lightning Thief/Rick Riordan/377 pgs.

This is book 1 in the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series.Twelve year-old Percy Jackson finds out that he is part god--Poseidon is his father, but his mother, Sally, is a mortal. He "escapes" to Camp Half-Blood--a camp made up of "kids" very similar to himself. He is sent on a quest to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt--which will keep a war from breaking out among the gods. It was an entertaining read, but I found myself comparing it to the Harry Potter series. I can see where it would be appealing to both  girls and boys in the 4th-5th grade age group. I appreciate that one of the stronger characters, Annabeth, is a female.  I will most likely continue reading this series--I might even have to check out the movie from the library!