Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 3: Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants
Written by Krystal

As soon as the bus arrived at the station Percy ditched Grover, despite agreeing to let him walk him home, and headed home alone.

Before you meet Percy’s mother you should know that Sally Jackson is the sweetest woman in the world, but is proof that good things do not always come to those that are good natured. Her parents had died in a plane crash, raised by an unloving uncle, and dropped out of college to take care of said uncle. In fact, the only good thing that had happened to Sally was meeting Percy’s father, but even that ended in disaster. Now she was married to an ungrateful man by the name of Gabe Ugliano.

When Percy entered the apartment Gabe sat with his friend’s playing cards, a cloud of smoke surrounding them. As expected, Gabe forced Percy to hand over his cash before he headed angrily to his room. After only a short while Percy heard his mother’s voice as she opened the bedroom door and joined him on the bed. They embraced each other and then ‘Smelly Gabe’ called for Sally to make some dip. Sally ignored him while she listened to Percy talk about school, but knew he was holding something back in his tale. She threw the thought aside and announced that they were going to Montauk, the beach where his parents had met.

Read the rest of the summary HERE.

Memorable Quotes:

Percy: Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal. (Page 29)

Percy: Her name is Sally Jackson and she’s the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. (Page 29)

Percy: Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell would’ve covered up everything else. (Page 31)

Percy: I loved the place.
We’d been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she’d met my dad. (Page 37)

Grover: “O Zeu kai alloi theoi!” he yelled. “It’s right behind me! Didn’t you tell her?”
Percy: I was too shocked to register that he’d just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I’d understood him perfectly. (Page 42)

Questions for discussion:

What do you think is so significant about the sixth grade when it comes to Percy?

Why do you think Percy’s mom wasn’t surprised to see Grover? How did he know to find them at the beach?

Read and discuss more HERE.