Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Chapter Summaries

By Rose

Chapter 19 – We Found Out the Truth, Sort of

They arrive at the Field of Asphodel with millions of the undead roaming in the darkness.

They walk deeper into Asphodel when Grover’s sneakers sprout wings and lift him up. His magic words have no effect. Annabeth and Percy followed him as he was dragged through a tunnel towards a chasm, the place in Percy’s dream. One sneaker finally came loose and Percy and Annabeth helped Grover to stop.

They return their course and enter the house of Hades. Hades tells Percy he is brave to come. Percy tells him he has two requests. He explains a war among god would be very bad and asks for Zeus’s master bolt so he can carry it to Olympus. Hades tells him that Percy is the thief, and he stole the bolt on the Winter Solstice and wants Percy to return his helm or he will stop death.

Read the rest of the recap of the chapter and join us in the discussion of the questions in the forum!

Questions:

Do you think Percy chose wisely in his use with the pearls?

What other things do you wish to discuss in this chapter?

What are your favorite quotes?

Memorable Quotes:

Percy: “Charon wants a pay raise.”

Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Chapter Summary: Chapter 18 – Annabeth Does Obedience School

By Rose

They enter DOA Recording Studio and lie to Charon the security guard about how they died and say they drowned in a bathtub. Charon realizes they aren’t dead. Percy bribes his with coins.

Charon takes them into the elevator, which turned into a boat and they descend to River Styx and reach the Underworld.

There is a death queue with three lines. Percy remarks he can start to see the ghouls better and Annabeth says it is probably because they are closer to being dead. Cerberus a dead dog monster sniffs them and can tell they are not really dead. Grover understands its barks and believes it to be cursing at them. They have moments distract it and Annabeth takes the red ball from her bag and gives it to Cerberus. They quickly go through the EZ Death line and hide in some trees as security searches for them.

Come discuss the questions with us in the forum!

Questions:

What was your favorite part of this chapter?

What are your favorite quotes?

Funny mentions:

EZ Death line – like the EZ pass line when driving.

Memorable Quotes:

Percy: I’m not sure what I was expecting – Pearly Gates, or a big black portcullis, or something. But the entrance to the Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike.

Grover: “So what have we learned today?”
Percy: “That three-headed dogs like red rubber balls over sticks”

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 16: We Take a Zebra to Vegas
Written by Katlyn

Summary

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover met Ares in the diner parking lot. Percy confronted him about the trick he played on them and Ares was very satisfied with himself, and he told them that their ride was in the parking lot. It was an animal transport. Ares gave them a backpack full of supplies and sent them on their way. Percy stopped Ares and asked about his mother. Ares told him that his mother was not dead, she was being kept so that whoever had her had the upper hand with Percy. Ares left them, and they hustled into the back of the truck. They discovered that the transport was escorting a zebra, antelope, and male albino lion. Grover was disgusted by the ‘humane’ transport these animals were given, but Percy told him they would help them later.

Annabeth apologized to Percy about freaking out with the spiders. She said it was because of the Arachne story where Athena turned her into a spider after challenging her to a basket weaving contest. She then asked Percy about what Luke said earlier, and Grover was embarrassed that Percy would not want Percy to accompany him if he knew the truth. Grover was the satyr that was supposed to transport Thalia back to Half-Blood Hill. Annabeth and Luke were the other travelers with them. Grover failed because he tried to save everyone from the Kindly Ones versus saving just Thalia. Annabeth and Percy told Grover it was not his fault, then he fell asleep.

Percy noticed Annabeth was deep in thought rubbing her necklace. He asked about her father’s college ring and she said he sent it to her since Athena helped him through his doctoral program. He also said he missed Annabeth and wanted her to come home. She believed him and did come home but ended up in the same situation as before. After a few moments of silence Annabeth told Percy that in the big fight she would fight by his side even if Athena did not.

Percy had a nightmare. He was taking a standardized test in a straightjacket with Thalia in the same situation next to him. Percy got out of the jacket and went to persue Hades. He overheard him talking to someone else about how something was stolen and how they everything was going to plan with Zeus and Poseidon fighting. They then realized that Percy was there and they called him to them. The scene then changed with Percy on a throne of human bones reaching out for his mother. He then realized his hands were withering to bones and he was being smoked by Chimera poison.

Read the rest of the recap and join in the discussion on the questions HERE

Characters Involved (Characters who are interacted with)
Percy
Annabeth
Grover
Ares
Maurice
Eddie
bellhop
Darrin

Characters Mentioned (Any other character’s mentioned by name)

Nancy Bobofit

Clarisse

Gabe

Minotaur

Luke

Thalia

Hades

Zeus

Poseidon

Places Visited
Denver (diner parking lot)
Las Vegas (Lotus Casino)

Quotes

“You think you’ll ever try living with your dad again?”

She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Please. I’m not into self-inflicted pain.”

“Because you’re my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I placed a satyr’s sanctuary on them.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning they’ll reach the wild safely,” he said. “They’ll find water, food, shade, whatever

they need until they find a safe place to live.”

“Why can’t you place a blessing like that on us?” I asked.

“It only works on wild animals.”

“So it would only affect Percy,” Annabeth reasoned.

I balled up my fists. “You’re pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues.”

Questions for consideration

Why do you think Percy could also hear the animals talking in the truck?

Who do you think ran the Lotus Hotel and why?

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 15: A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers
Written by Katlyn

Summary
Seven days before the solstice Percy, Annabeth, and Grover arrived in Denver. Annabeth suggested they try to contact Chiron. They arrived at a car-wash, and Grover took hold of the ‘fine mist’ hose to contact Iris, she carries messages to the gods. Annabeth threw a Drachma into the rainbow the mist created, and asked for Half-Blood Hill. A vision of the camp and Luke appeared before them. Luke said that Chiron was busy with some trouble at the cabins. Annabeth and Grover let Percy speak to Luke alone. Luke said that the campers heard about the Zeus and Poseidon fight and they were taking sides. Percy updated Luke on their travels thus far. Luke insisted that it must have been Hades that stole the bolt although the gods could not steal magic items directly. The water started to run out and Luke wished Percy luck on the rest of his journey.

The trio went to a local diner for food but were disappointed when the waitress asked if they could pay for it. All conversation at the diner stopped when a large, loud motorcycle pulled up to the curb. A huge man stepped off the bike and offered to pay for the kids food. They figured out that this man was Ares, god of war. He had a proposition for Percy, to find his shield that he left when he was with his girlfriend at the local water park in the Tunnel of Love. Percy refused and Ares told him that he framed Hades for stealing the bolt so that he could start a war. Ares also said that he could get them a ride west and tell him something about Percy’s mother, if they got his shield back for him.

Read the rest of the recap and join us in the discussion on the questions HERE

Characters Involved
Percy
Annabeth
Grover
Luke
Ares

Characters Mentioned

Chiron

Iris

Oracle at Delphi

Aphrodite

Apollo

Poseidon

Athena

Zeus

Clarisse

Hades

Hephaestus

Places Visited
Denver (diner, Waterpark)

Quotes

As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked us again, “You kids have money to pay for it?” The biker said, “It’s on me.” He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, “Are you still here?”

“Why don’t I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don’t feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?” He leaned forward. “Or maybe you only fight when there’s a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you.”

The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love’s exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good.

Questions for consideration

Why do you think the big, bad God of War Ares was afraid to get his shield on his own?

What do you think the gods saw when were watching the live feed of Percy and Annabeth trying to stay alive?

Do you think Ares will live up to his promise to them?

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 14: I Become a Known Fugitive
Written by Katlyn

Summary
Percy was falling fast into the water below. The impact he made was painless, not as he expected. He also realized, that he wasn’t wet. Although he felt the cool of the water, his clothes were dry. He even lit a hamburger wrapper on fire while he was holding it underwater and then when he let it go it became moist again. And the most amazing thing was that he was breathing underwater. Percy found Riptide under the water as well. He heard a voice of a woman telling him to take the sword.

The woman appeared before him and told him that his mother’s fate wasn’t as hopeless as he thought and that he should go to Santa Monica beach. She also told him not to trust the gifts.

Read the rest of the review and join us in discussions HERE

Characters Involved

Percy
Grover
Annabeth

Characters Mentioned

the Chimera
Echidna

Places Visited

Mississippi River
Streets of St. Louis

Quotes

I’d love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my

own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera.

The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!

“Um … thanks.” Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid.

“Thank you … Father.”

Questions for consideration

What do you think might be at the beach in Santa Monica?

Who do you think was the messenger that summoned Percy?

Why did the woman tell him not to trust the gifts?

It’s that time again and OBS is bringing you the A to Z of the first book of the Percy Jackson series “The Lightning Thief”, in honor of OBS Book Club of the month. We’ve put up a list of things that will guide you through the book and might even prepare you for the movie. Enjoy!

Be sure to also check out Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief book club to discuss its chapters, questions and any opinions that you have.

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school…again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

A: Annabeth Chase
(She is a demi-god, her father is the mortal Frederick Chase while her mother is the Greek goddess Athena. She ran away from home when she was seven.)

Athena
(Goddess of Wisdom and Battle, and she is also the disciplined side of war. She has many demigod children, one of the most well-known being Annabeth Chase.)

B: Bolt of Lightning
(Zeus’ Main Weapon and reason for the title of the book.)

C: Chiron
(The centaur who dwells at Camp Half-Blood as the immortal teacher to demigods.)

Clarisse La Rue
(Clarisse La Rue is one of the children of Ares. She is hot-tempered, arrogant, big, tall, and strong..)

D: Demi-gods
(Half-bloods, sons or daughters of the Olympians or a minor god and a mortal parent.)

Dionysus
(Dionysus is the god of wine, and the son of Semele and Zeus. He is also known as Mr. D, the Camp Half-Blood camp director.)

E: Empire State Building
(Olympus, home of the gods, is hidden on the 600th floor.)

F: Furies
(The Furies are female deities of vengeance. They represent regeneration and the potency of creation, which both consumes and empowers. They are referred to as ‘Kindly Ones’.)

Fates
(The Fates foretell the death of a person and are only seen when you are soon to die, Percy and Grover see them on the way home from Yancy Academy.)

G: Grover Underwood
(He is a satyr and Percy’s best friend. He was undercover as a boy in search of potential demi-gods and the one to recognize Percy for who he was.)

H: Hades
(Hades is the god of the Underworld and wealth, son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea and the husband of Persephone.)

I: Iris
(Iris is the Goddess of the Rainbow. She carries messages for gods, goddess, and if you ask nicely and she’s not too busy, demigods.)

J: Javelin
(The kids train with these at Half-Blood Camp.)

K: Kronos
(Kronos is an evil Titan and the main antagonist of the series. His name literally means “Time” in Ancient Greek, and he is the Titan Lord of Time.)

L: Lotus Hotel & Casino
(Percy, Annabeth, and Grover went in there on their first quest in The Lightning Thief.)

Luke Castellan
(Luke Castellan is a son of Hermes and May Castellan.)

M: Medusa
(Gorgon who posing as a human, Medusa lures people into “Aunty Em’s Gnome Emporium” and then turns them into statues by looking at them.)

Minotaur
(Evil creature Percy must defeat in order to get to Half-Blood Camp. He is also responsible for Sally Jackson’s ‘death’.)

N: Nancy Bobofit
(She is the bully at Yancy Academy and described as a kleptomaniac with curly red hair. Percy hated her because she was always teasing Grover and himself.)

O: Olympus
(Olympus is the traditional home of the Olympian Gods. It was originally located on Mount Olympus, but, as Chiron explains, it has steadily moved west, following “Western Civilization” over the centuries and is now in the United States.)

P: Percy Jackson
(The main protagonist of the Percy Jackson series (duh), he is the son of Greek god Poseidon and Sally Jackson. He has the ability to control water and breathe under it.)

Poseidon
(Poseidon, also known as Earthshaker, Stormbringer, and the Father of Horses, is the god of the sea, earthquakes, and the creator of horses.)

Q: Quest
(Percy, Annabeth and Grover head on a Quest to avoid a war between the gods.)

R: Rick Riordan
(Author of the series, so give the man some love.)

Riptide
(Percy’s sword which was given to him by Chiron, it is disguised as a pen normally.)

S: Satyr
(A Satyr is explained as men with hairy goat legs and hooves, goat horns, and pointed ears that may look like those of a goat’s. Grover is one of these.)

Sally Jackson
(Percy’s mother, she does everything she can to keep Percy close despite the danger it puts him in… her fatal flaw.)

T: Thalia Grace
(Thalia Grace is a demigod, a daughter of Zeus and a human with the surname Grace. She was a friend of Annabeth Chase and Luke Castellan.)

U: Underworld
(Where the dead go and Hades domain.)

V: Vegetarian
(Grover is considered a veggie eater, awww how cute.)

W: Western Civilization
(Mt. Olympus has follows this over the centuries and now finds itself in New York.)

X: Xystarch
(Ancient Greek officer in charge of gymnastic exercise.)

Y: Yancy Academy
(Private boarding school that Percy Jackson attended in sixth grade, but was eventually kick out of, like all his other ones.)

Z: Zeus
(Zeus is the god of lightning, the sky, and ruler of Olympus and the gods. He is the last son of Kronos and Rhea.)

Have you read the Percy Jackson series?
What do you like about it?

Join us on the discussion.

Check back by the end of the month for more A to Z editions and remember that Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie comes out this Friday, we’ll be waiting for your reviews!