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Books on Screen: The Lightning Thief

February 18, 2010 by Guest Contributor

When my 8-year-old son asked me to take him to see The Lightning Thief on opening night, I jumped at the chance. Not only had we read the book together— and loved it — (click the link for our review) just a few months before, but we’d also been snowed in for about a week and absolutely needed to get out of the house.

As with most movie adaptations, we found some big differences between what we read in the book and what we saw on the screen. Kiddo was on the edge of his seat the whole time though, so I knew the movie was a hit with him! For me, the real test is whether or not the movie captures the “feel” of the book. I’m glad to say that this movie did that, and did it well.

That said, the changes made for the movie are significant. The most obvious is that Percy is not 12 years old but rather 17; this allows the movie to bring in a romantic undercurrent that doesn’t appear in the books until later in the series. Another, albeit minor, change is the reason for the gods not being involved with their demigod children. I don’t want to spoil it, but I appreciated this storyline in the film. Perhaps the biggest change is the absence of the Kronos plot line as the overarching framework. This allowed the movie to be a stand-alone story and not depend on a sequel to make sense (although Kiddo and I are both hoping for sequels!).

One thing parents should know is that the creatures in the movie are creepy, and some are scary – there were a few upset kids in the theater with us. Kiddo had no problems with creatures and he actually enjoyed those parts. I’d say that if your children have seen the Harry Potter films then they will be fine seeing The Lightning Thief.

As we left the theater I asked Kiddo which he liked better, the book or the movie. His answer? “The book, but only by a little bit. The movie was good but it left out some things I like and it changed stuff.”

Now THAT is a child after my own heart!


This Mom & Son Movie Review is brought to you by Heather J. and Kiddo. Check out Heather J’s blog, Age 30+ … A Lifetime of Books for more Mom & Son Book (and movie) Reviews. You’ll also find tons of other book reviews and bookish info, as well as posts about Kiddo’s struggle with severe food allergies and life with a feeding tube.

Filed Under: 12 and up, Books on Screen, Children's Books, Guest Contributor, Middle Grade Chapter Books

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Comments

  1. Dawn says

    February 18, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    My nine year old son LOVED the books, and he’s dying to see the movie, although he’s already told me that he has “low expectations.” 🙂 My husband read The Lightening Thief, but has no desire to see the movie, so I’m hoping that he and I can go sometime soon, and it will be my intro to the story, albeit the movie-fied version.

    • ilovethepercyjacksonbooks says

      April 14, 2010 at 11:39 pm

      @Dawn: nooo! read the book first! the movie isn’t even close to the book!!!!

  2. Kathy R (Bermudaonion) says

    February 18, 2010 at 4:15 pm

    I haven’t read the book, but my son has. I think he just might want to see the movie when he’s home for spring break.

  3. Amber says

    February 18, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    My 11 yo son (who has read the books) and my 9 yo daughter (who has not read the books) both really liked the movie. I did not. I felt like it left out, and changed, too much. I was disappointed. 🙁

  4. Anna says

    February 19, 2010 at 7:27 am

    Sounds like my daughter and I will have to read this book, then see the movie. I’m sure she’ll love the creepy creatures.

  5. Ebony Haywood says

    February 21, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    omigosh, i love the olympians book series! i’ve heard from several sources that the movie doesn’t live up to the book. i’ll check it out soon. 🙂

    • RC Green says

      April 1, 2011 at 1:28 pm

      It doesn’t. It leaves out way too much. Definitely read the book first. I would have loved the movie had I never read the books, but I did so I was disappointed initially. After watching it a gajillion times, I have grown to like the movie too. But have a hard time seeing what they will do to make a sequel. They ruined the plot.

  6. Shines says

    March 11, 2010 at 11:20 pm

    My kids and I went to see the movie. We liked it but it didn’t do
    the book justice at all

  7. ilovethepercyjacksonbooks says

    April 14, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    well, i’m actually an eleven-year-old kid and i LOVE the percy jackson series. but after seing the trailer, i’m not sure i want to watch the movie. they take a wonderful book and ruin it. the casting could have been way better. the annabeth they picked was 24 and percy was 18. even worse, “annabeth” had brown hair when it repeatedly says in the series she has curly blond hair. grover was waaay too confident. in the books, he’s supposed to be shy and timid. another this is that there were way too many parts changed around and left out. it might be an okay movie if it was called “bob and the three pearls” or something, but because its “based on the book” it looks like it sucks. I don’t think I’ll watch it because i won’t be able to bear seeing such a great book being destroyed.

Trackbacks

  1. The Lightning Thief Book vs. Movie—Link to Mother-Son Review « Mother Daughter Book Club Blog says:
    February 23, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    […] since my oldest daughter is now away at college), and they both enjoyed it. Here’s a review from a mom and her son who both read the book and went to see the movie as well. It was featured on […]

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