#13 in Myths & legends
The Lightning Thief
- 384
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Film 2010
- On screen
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
“The Lightning Thief” grips from the first chapter, with Greek myths dropped into present-day America. The quest rarely pauses, the hero jokes his way through danger, and its real strength is that the children behave like children however long the odds. It is written for middle-grade readers and stays light, so adults should expect charm rather than depth, though some older readers enjoy it too.
Worth knowing Rick Riordan, then a middle-school teacher, invented Percy in bedtime stories for his son Haley, who like Percy has ADHD and dyslexia. The book came out in 2005. Riordan disliked the 2010 film, which made the characters older; he was closely involved in the Disney+ series that began in 2023, which stays much nearer the book.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American children's fantasy action-adventure middle grade children's fiction novel based on Greek mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. The first children's novel by Riordan and the opening installment in Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, the book was recognized among the year's best for children. Riordan followed the novel with various books and spin-off series, spawning the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles media franchise.
Reading order · Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Full order & progress →
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- FilmPercy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning ThiefIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 4,133 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 97% of the weight and the score stays at 8.2 — the Myths & legends average of 8.2 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.6 | 407 | 10% |
| Google Books | 9.0 | 29 | 1% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 3.7K | 90% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Lightning Thief for?
The Lightning Thief sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 384 pages — shorter than 82% of the ranked books in Myths & legends.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Myths & legends — with scores between 8.0 and 8.2, closest to this book.
