A story of a young boy who discovers he is the child of a powerful Greek god: The Lightning Thief  is a book turned movie turned series, which recently started releasing episodes late December. So far it has been a hit nation-wide. Many Briar Woods students have been talking about it for a few weeks now, and fans cannot wait for a new episode to drop. 

Each time the story has been remade, there are noticeable differences between it and the original, making each version unique. Many fans of the story have very strong opinions on which version is the best and that they would recommend. 

“I recommend reading the book so that you can understand the storyline and context of the series,” says Amrusha Chitturi, a freshman at Briar Woods.  The interviews revealed that many agree with Chitturi. Other popular reasons interviewees gave was that the books were more extensive and had fun details that weren’t expressed in the movies and series due to the need to cut down time. 

While there is a heavy consensus that the books reign supreme, many people are debating whether the new series trumps the movies. 

“I think the series did an amazing job portraying the characters because of the emotions they expressed and the connection the characters portrayed on screen,” says Chitturi.

 Hunter Alderink, a freshman at Ramstein High School says, “I enjoyed the movies [more] than the series because I grew up with the movies and I [enjoy that] the characters are older and more mature, making it easier to watch as you get older.”

“[I would choose the] series because they kept a relative alliance to the book,” says Kayla Libby, a homeschooled sophomore, “For instance, they have the age range right, and you get the expected reactions as seen in the book.”

Quite a few reviewers are expressing similar opinions to Libby’s, resulting in the general reviews for the series to be four stars, while the movies sit at a low 2.6. Reviewers comment that the movies are missing key elements of the story’s plot. All the while, the series incorporates and includes the book’s original plot, not to mention keeping the actors at an appropriate age. 

No matter the format, the story of Percy Jackson and his adventures with the Greek gods have made a profound impact on many kids, teens, and even adults. Even almost 20 years after being published, the story’s impact on younger audiences appears to be going stronger than ever. 

“I’ve been a librarian at Ashburn Library for 11 years, and the Percy Jackson series has always been very popular,” Ms. Williams says, “They’re almost never checked in! We have 35 copies of the original Lightning Thief, all of which are currently checked out, with 7 more people on the waiting list.”