How has J.K. Rowling not sued?????

I just finished a book that I bought in the children's section of Barnes and Noble. It is about a young boy who has black hair and bright green eyes who goes and learns about special powers he had no idea he had at a boarding school.

Okay, so it wasn't a boarding school, it was more of a summer camp that can double as a school if the kids have no where to go during the school year. And Percy Jackson is not a wizard. He is a demi-god.

The book I am talking about is Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

The buzz that I had heard about the book before I bought it was that it was as good as Harry Potter. Upon finishing the book, I am left to conclude: as good as? Not exactly. Ripped off? Definitely.

I understand that all literature is inspired, but there is a fine line between inspiration and plagarism.

The book definitely had some unique aspects. It places the Olympian Gods of ancient Greece on Mount Olympus. That was not the original aspect, obviously. In this book, Mount Olympus is located at the top of the Sears Tower. I had not actually read any present day adaptations of Greek Mythology, so that was quite interesting.

But as mentioned before, did Percy really need to have black hair and bright green eyes? Did he really need to go off on an adventure with his best friend and a girl who was not really their friend but was a lot smarter than they were? I could have done without it. At least make the best friend the girl, and the brainiac the boy. And would blonde hair really have killed him?

That being said, it definitely had some redeeming qualities. For instance, it teaches kids that learning disabilities such as ADHD can definitely be a strength instead of a weakness. Percy is dyslexic as well, though that is more of a hindrance. It is reasoned away that all of the children of the Gods are dyslexic because their minds are programed for ancient Greek. Will this get dyslexic children thinking that they might be the children of the Olympians? Maybe. But hey, I looked outside on my 11th birthday waiting to see if my Hogwarts letter had arrived yet. It is obvious that the children who are old enough to read this book will be old enough to differentiate between reality and fiction. Hopefully.

Was it a terrible book? No. Would I recommend it to kids Percy's age? Definitely. It was a fairly exciting story with a lot of action. It is something that they might actually want to put down their video games to read? Possibly.

Would I recommend it to adults? No, but it wasn't written for adults.

The audience it was written for could and, judging by the fact that it was a best seller and the movie that will be coming out this month, do enjoy reading it immensely. And for that, despite my complaints, I will give it a positive rating.