Why Percy Jackson Still Reigns Supreme

"Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life."

- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I remember the first time I read The Lightning Thief. My brother was obsessed with the books, and begged me to read them. He needed someone to talk to about it and had finished the entire series. I was in high school, so I was a little outside the target demographic, but I figured I would use this time to bond with my brother. 

And then proceeded to devour the entire series in about two weeks. 

These books brought Greek Mythology to life, but also showed us real life at the same time. Between awkward first kisses, jealousy over having the same crush as someone, and having your first friendship betrayal, this was something the readers could easily relate to. The characters happened to save the world at the same time, but that wasn’t what made them REAL. I saw myself in Annabeth - I tend to be labeled bossy by people who don’t want to listen to me. I was also a gifted child who had a hard time understanding why other people didn’t make the same connections I did. The two of us both had long blonde hair - and I think that was the first time I truly saw myself in literature, instead of using a story to learn about someone else. 

Eleven years ago, during my first year of teaching, I ended up having fifty copies of The Lightning Thief donated to my classroom. We read the book together as a class, and I watched so many students fall in love with reading. They could relate to Percy, I was teaching 6th grade at the time, and the fact the main character was the same age as them was mind blowing to my students. But at the school I was teaching at, so many of my students had ADHD - and none of them had ever thought of it as a superpower before. I watched as they grew more confident (and unfortunately more snarky - thanks for that Percy), and I watched as they saw for the first time someone with the same struggles as them in literature. That summer, a lot of them started The Sea of Monsters. Many of these students still keep in touch with me, and they are still avid readers. Percy Jackson did that. 

This past winter, my current batch of students had a countdown to when the TV series would come out. In fact, they told me every single day how many days until it came out. Not because they wanted to experience the story for the first time, but because they loved the books. So I took their excitement and ran. We did a unit where we compared the first chapter of the book to how it was presented in the movie, TV show, and musical. We did a mini-LARP on the last day of the term where they created characters and found out who their “godly parent” was through a series of different games. And through the wildest of circumstances, season two of the show was announced while we were in the middle of the LARP so I got to watch as they freaked out over the fact the story wasn’t over. 

And next year? The Lightning Thief is going to be twenty years old. 

I don’t think Rick Riordan had any idea when he first thought up Percy as a story for his kids that he would still have this kind of a hold on baby nerds after two decades. 

So what is it, exactly, that has made this series stand the test of time? After all, we have all witnessed the rise and fall of Harry Potter, Twilight is now only enjoyed as an extended meme, and The Hunger Games failed to catch the attention of the next generation.  My answer, there are three things that set Percy Jackson apart from the rest: it’s realism, it’s diversity, and it’s heart. 

Now you may be thinking, realism? Really? This is a book about Greek Mythology! And yes, you would be absolutely right, that part of the book is not realistic at all. But now think about the characters. We have an incredibly gifted girl who is labeled as bossy for one reason: she takes charge and has ideas that work. We have a boy who is labeled as troubled, but really the system has just failed to help him learn how to work with his struggles instead of against them. We have a woman in an abusive relationship, who is able to get out and start a new and happy life. I am sure every person has people in their lives like this. But it’s not just the main characters who are this rounded, the supporting characters are too. Clarice bullies people to attempt to get attention from an absent father. Luke’s grief is so intense it turns destructive. All of these characters have good and bad traits, all of them we can take out from behind the mythological veil and they would still 100% work in our world. And that sort of care into his characterization has made millions of people be able to relate with the characters because they can truly see themselves in them. Times may change, but these core struggles don’t. And being able to see that portrayed well in literature, that’s something readers always will latch on to. 

Riordan has said the character of Percy was inspired by his son, who like the character, was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. He wanted to honor kids with learning differences and show that being different still makes you special. The fact this story started because he wanted someone to see themselves wanted to see themself in literature, is something that was not lost on Riordan. It’s something he’s doubled down on across the rest of his career. After being called out about a lack of diversity in his books, Riordan looked at his work and not only agreed but wanted to do better. He added culturally diverse people of color throughout the books, not as token characters, but with their own lives. He worked with people of these cultures to learn about them so he told their stories right, and went on to launch the “Rick Riordan Presents” series, which uplifts authors of color to tell the mythology of their cultures in the style of Percy Jackson. He had Nico DiAngelo come out as gay and the book The Sun and the Star is not only about his relationship with his boyfriend Will - but it was co-written with a queer author to make sure their points of view were written authentically and respectfully. Riordan has made it clear he wants all people to see themselves in his universe, and as that is so incredibly important to Gen Z, it’s no surprise this “old” series is one they have fully latched on to. 

But the last reason I feel like Percy Jackson lives on, is the one I think is the most important: it’s heart. Throughout every single book, there is one theme they have in common: hope. The characters live through some terrifying and traumatizing events. They struggle with them, they learn to deal with them, and they learn to live with the consequence of horrible actions. And yet, never once do they believe hope is lost. They know there are impossible odds, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to achieve them. The world can literally be falling apart, but they still come up with plans that may or may not work because they believe the world is worth saving. And they believe they can make it a better place. So many of these kids look outside at the world, and still have hope they can make it better. And they see this reflected in the pages of these books. They see they have the chance to make a difference. They see that even when the world is dark, hope is not lost. Their hearts are already so much bigger than we see in the older generations, and they’re ready to start the work now. They believe they can make the world better, and books like these only reinforce this belief. 

The Percy Jackson series is not going away any time soon. And I think that is for the best. As the world gets scarier, as politicians get louder, and we dive even more into the darkest timeline, kids will need these stories more than ever. And now as parents are introducing them to their children, more and more are falling in love with the world of demigods and monsters. 

Which is good. They’ll need those lessons to fight the monsters in the real world. They might just look a little different than the ones they see in the book.