The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 22: The Prophecy Comes True

We’ve finally reached the final chapter. It’s the end of The Lightning Thief but the beginning of Percy Jackson & the Olympians. The series’s big bad has been officially revealed and the protagonist is determined to stop him, because the alternative to leaving the occasionally-amused-by-humans Geek gods in charge is being ruled by human-hating titans.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 21: I Settle My Tab

In the penultimate chapter of The Lightning Thief, Percy finally steps foot on Olympus to return Zeus’s bolt. In doing so, he scratches the surface of a half-blood’s complicated feelings towards their divine parent.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 20: I Fight My Jerk Relative

While this was very much the “Ah-Ha” chapter of the book, that wasn’t my main focus when reading it. Probably because I know the mystery of the lightning thief is only half-solved, I opted to focus more on Percy and Ares’s fight. It’s not the most epic fight, nor is it the most well written. Ultimately, it’s a battle of wits on Percy’s part; somewhat fitting considering Annabeth’s declaration of reconciliation between the goddess of wisdom and the god of the sea. I focused on this fight because it really enforces how terrifying Percy Jackson actually is.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 19: We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of

Every mystery has at least one major red herring, at least one clue or person designed to direct someone’s attention away from the real answer. The creepy old man who actually has a heart of gold. The angry character who always says, “I’ll get you for this,” but rarely ever does anything beside brood. Any example you want from any Harry Potter book ever.