--- title: The Lightning Thief: 100 Best YA Books of All Time description: Find out why 'The Lightning Thief' by Rick Riordan is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084700/the-lightning-thief/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-08-11T11:36:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:52:39.305Z og:title: 'The Lightning Thief' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books og:description: Here’s why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084700/the-lightning-thief/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e5c044d69baf56c/698a1bc416d88471d6c39995/the-lightning-thief-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'The Lightning Thief' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'The Lightning Thief' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books twitter:description: Here’s why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e5c044d69baf56c/698a1bc416d88471d6c39995/the-lightning-thief-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 11, 2021 # The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  Trouble seems to follow 12-year-old [Percy Jackson](https://time.com/5383334/best-books-like-harry-potter/). He finally learns why after his pre-algebra teacher morphs into a monster and tries to kill him, and his mother reveals a dangerous secret: Percy is actually a demigod, the son of one of the Greek gods of Olympus. _The Lightning Thief_ immerses readers in a thrilling world of gods and monsters, delivering adventure, mystery and characters as epic as the mythology it draws from. In Percy, Rick Riordan introduces a hero for kids who’ve had to stand up to bullies or struggled in school—his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia are an extension of his demigod powers. Percy learns to put his guard up; in his world, the nice lady by the road might actually be Medusa. At its core, the 2005 novel is about learning to navigate a reality where authority figures, be they parents, gods, or both, cannot always be trusted. With a creative premise and smart writing, _The Lightning Thief_ went on to launch four sequels, four spin-off sequel series, an extended universe, two movies and an [upcoming television show on Disney+](https://collider.com/percy-jackson-disney-plus-show-casting/). —_Madeleine Carlisle_ **Buy Now**: _The Lightning Thief_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780786838653) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786838655/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0786838655&linkId=ff99f163e085ba1f0095b9aef2d076eb) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084700/the-lightning-thief/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084700/the-lightning-thief/"},"headline":"The Lightning Thief","datePublished":"2021-08-11T11:36:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:52:39.305Z","description":"Find out why 'The Lightning Thief' by Rick Riordan is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084700/the-lightning-thief/","keywords":["Books","Lists","best YA books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e5c044d69baf56c/698a1bc416d88471d6c39995/the-lightning-thief-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e5c044d69baf56c/698a1bc416d88471d6c39995/the-lightning-thief-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084700/the-lightning-thief/","name":"The Lightning Thief"}}]}] ```