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Cay Gibson
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My 12-yr-old dd has left behind the world of Tolkien and picked up Rick Riordan mythological-adventures with Percy Jackson series.
Has anyone had a child read these? Are there any head's up I should know about?
I see there's a movie coming out so I'm glad she's reading the books first (and all my children find study of the Greek and Roman gods fascinating).
Couldn't find any mention in the archieves so I thought I'd ask.
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Cay Gibson
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LeeAnn
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My 10yo & 12yo have read these. I saw the movie was coming and so I've just finished reading #1. Generally, I would say it's acceptable, particularly if you already have allowed your child to read all of D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and have had some discussions about the less-than-perfect behavior of the Greek gods.
*spoilers ahead*
The general premise is that Percy is a demigod, a son of Poseidon, but he doesn't know it at the beginning. Various mythical monsters and enemies pursue him, he ends up at a "summer camp" for other demigods (or half-bloods, as they are usually now called) who are all children of the gods and goddesses of Olympus. So, there is some explaining to do about how it is that Hermes has a whole bunch of children he doesn't know about and so on. However, the book makes some interesting parallels to modern families where kids are often raised without fathers. Many of the demigods are unhappy that their immortal parents never spend any time with them, and so on. Hera, being the goddess of marriage, and Athena, a pledged virgin, don't have any illegitimate children of course. There's also some fun stuff about how ADD is "actually" a misdiagnosis of being a half-blood and how Percy's dyslexia is due to the fact that he "was made to read ancient Greek" (which I guess goes in the other direction?). Kind of a fun way to turn problems into assets. :) There's a lot of violence...he's fighting Medusa and Echidna and the Minotaur with a sword and there's blood...but also a lot of cleverness and goodness. At one point the characters lose five days in a Las Vegas funhouse for kids (video games, entertainments galore) when they think they've only been there a few hours.
I didn't particularly like one of the plot resolutions: his mother is being abused by her husband (Percy's stepfather) and Percy brings her the head of Medusa and gives her the choice to take care of the problem herself rather than doing it for her. It is implied later that she does it, as she sells an award-winning statuary of a man playing poker (the stepdad's signature thing). But I suppose that's right in line with the Greek myths--revenge is perfectly acceptable in that sort of world.
I am planning to read #2-5 in the next few months, but overall, I'd say they were OK for an older reader.
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Mary G
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My son loves these ... read all 5 books at lightning speed. Seriously, he devoured them ... and just when I was thinking he'd never be as avid a reader as I am ... just in his own time, I guess!
I read the first one and didn't see anything to worry about. They were highly recommended by a Catholic high school english teacher who is very careful. She's even having her 9th graders read it to prove that Greek Myths have an enduring quality.
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missionfamily
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Quinn read these as we completed our year of mythology studies last year. He too was ravenous for them and has recently re-read them all in anticipation of the movie's release. I read the first and also checked in with a few conservative sources and these seemed on the okay list. I am grateful because he really, really loves them.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Jan 08 2010 at 2:04pm | IP Logged
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Oh, good! Thank you all.
Chelsea has always been a huge reader and loves series. She says she's not deserting Tolkien. She plans to come back to LOTR later but was intrigued with this series. She takes a Latin class and literature class at co-op and both classes discuss heavily the Greek myths and gods. I wasn't surprised she wanted to read them but didn't know anything about them.
Thanks again! It's always nice to be able to give your child a book and say, "Knock yourself out." 
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Anonymous
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My dd is counting.down.the.days till that movie opens. She pines away thinking of it sometimes by watching the trailer on the computer!
Loves them!
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stefoodie
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here's a previous thread, Cay.
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Cay Gibson
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Thank you, Stef. I missed that. Just read through the whole thread and appreciate the feedback. 
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Cay Gibson
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Mary G
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KackyK wrote:
My dd is counting.down.the.days till that movie opens. She pines away thinking of it sometimes by watching the trailer on the computer!
Loves them! |
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Yes, Thomas has already negotiated what he needs to do to be able to go see it with Mom (his favorite date, for now anyway!  )
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KC in TX
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I LOVE the Percy Jackson series. I read the first one with my son and then had to keep reading ahead of him. I read them all in about 3 days. I just couldn't put them down.
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Michiel
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My son got the first one today, after we waited a month for the one we reserved at the library to be returned. He is SO EXCITED. And I like that it ties in with his other studies. I noticed that Catholic Digest is recommending the movie. I look forward to reading it after he's done.
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TracyQ
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My daughter is just about to finish the series today. She's sad she's finishing it, she loved it so much.  She and her dad will go see the movie together. She's in 9th grade, but hadn't found out about them until recently. She read the series very quickly! She is studying World History this year, so it's fine she's reading them along with her other reading.
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Becky Parker
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My son is 16 and an avid reader. Would you say he is too old for this series? I don't know anything about them.
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kristacecilia
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I have a seven year old who reads well ahead of his grade level, and we're working through all the standard Greek myth books now- I was thinking he would enjoy this for fun when we finish those books. Is it too mature for him?
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cathhomeschool
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Becky, I'd give them a try. My 16yo found them to be not worth his while. My 15yo read some of them and liked them. I thought that the storyline was interesting and enjoyed reading them with my boys. The vocabulary will certainly not challenge your 16yo.
Krista, I don't think that they're above a 7yo. He will probably need help with pronunciation (Greek names) and may miss some of the details and connections, but the series has enough action that he would be able to follow along. The material isn't any more "mature" than the Greek myths themselves. The most scandalous part IMO is the whole aspect of gods having children with many women/men whether or not they are already married, etc.
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Grace&Chaos
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Krista, My 11 year loved this series when it first came out. I had such a kick out of watching her work through the books. She would sit with it and alongside she had the usual myth books (D'aulaire's and Usborne) to cross reference its accuracy or to explain characters/themes. She enjoyed them so much, she is now reading through his second series.
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kristacecilia
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Thanks, ladies. I'll put the first one on reserve and give it a quick read.
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Becky
My ds 16 had this set on his wish list and just received it for his 16th. It is a light read but he does enjoy them.
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I enjoyed them for that matter.. but yes, light fun reading.
and yes it makes the kids wonder what the "real myth" is about the characters.
The movie is probably worse than any of the books.. so if you've seen that and it was ok.. the books should be too. Though as you get further into the war, more characters die. That might be disturbing for a younger reader.
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Erin
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JodieLyn wrote:
| and yes it makes the kids wonder what the "real myth" is about the characters. |
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Mine have plenty of arguments as to why they are educational
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Percy Jackson's Mythological Adventures
