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Grover
Percy’s mom is a beautiful woman with long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her story is tragic: her parents died when she was little, the uncle who raised her was distant, and his death kept her from finishing high school or attending college. Mom had a brief fling with Percy’s dad, but they never got married—instead, she married Percy’s stepfather, Smelly Gabe, when Percy was little. Mom is extremely kind and generous, so Percy doesn’t understand why she puts up with Gabe, who’s cruel to her. Mom works in a candy shop and makes sure to bring home blue candy whenever possible as an inside joke between her and Percy. She adores Percy and never makes him feel bad for getting expelled. Early in the story, the Minotaur seemingly kills Mom in its attempt to kill Percy, but Percy later discovers that Mom is being held in the Underworld by the god Hades. Percy adores his mother above all else, so although he agrees to go on the quest to help Poseidon, he secretly hopes that he’ll be able to save Mom. However, once Percy reaches the Underworld and comes face to face with Mom, who’s frozen, Percy realizes that he won’t be able to do this: he doesn’t have the tools to save Mom as well as his friends Annabeth and Grover. Knowing that Mom would be furious if she knew Percy turned over a friend and let the gods go to war on her behalf, Percy agrees to leave her behind. When Percy returns to New York, he learns that Hades returned Mom home as well, after receiving his helm. Once Percy reunites with Mom, he makes a shocking and horrific discovery: Gabe isn’t just cruel, he’s physically abusive. Mom insists that she’s trying to leave, but she needs to do it on her own terms and not let Percy get rid of Gabe for her. Percy leaves her Medusa’s head to petrify Gabe. Mom eventually does, and she uses the money from the sale of her “first sculpture” (Gabe) to pay for her first term of college.
Mom/Sally Jackson Quotes in The Lightning Thief
The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by Mom/Sally Jackson or refer to Mom/Sally Jackson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3 Quotes
“I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud.”
I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.
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Chapter 7 Quotes
“That’s the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.”
“You mean sometimes it doesn’t?”
Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. “The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and don’t always...Well, sometimes they don’t care about us, Percy. They ignore us.”
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Chapter 10 Quotes
“You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn’t lived with him every summer, you probably would’ve been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must’ve loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better.”
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Chapter 19 Quotes
I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. [...] I had spent thousands of miles worried that I’d be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.
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Mom/Sally Jackson Character Timeline in The Lightning Thief
The timeline below shows where the character Mom/Sally Jackson appears in The Lightning Thief. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...brewing—Percy figures it’s global warming. He gladly gives Grover his apple and thinks longingly of Mom, who lives close by. As Mr. Brunner parks his wheelchair and starts eating, Nancy walks...
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Chapter 2
...to feel cranky most of the time. His grades slip, and finally, the headmaster sends Mom a letter saying that Percy can’t come back next year. Percy doesn’t care; he wants...
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Chapter 3
...when Grover stops to use the restroom. He gets in a taxi and heads for Mom’s apartment. Percy tells the reader that his mom has had rotten luck: her parents died...
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...Grover’s fear. Percy feels like something is looking for him, but his fears melt as Mom gets home and enters Percy’s room. They sit on the bed, pick through the bag...
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As Percy tells Mom about his year, he thinks of the museum incident. Mom asks if something happened that...
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...makes the door slam on Gabe and sends him flying up the stairs. Percy and Mom get to Montauk around sunset. They’ve been coming here for years, and Percy knows it’s...
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Percy feels suddenly angry at his dad for not marrying Mom and relegating them to Smelly Gabe. He asks Mom if she’s going to send him...
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...to discover that a hurricane is blowing in. Percy can also hear an odd roar. Mom hears pounding on the door and throws it open to reveal Grover—but he doesn’t look...
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Chapter 4
Mom zooms along in the car, and whenever lightning illuminates the sky, Percy stares at Grover’s...
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Percy thinks he could never come up with a dream this weird on his own. Mom says that they’re going to the summer camp she mentioned because Percy is in danger....
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...be holding a fuzzy blanket over his head, and his raised hands look like horns. Mom tells Percy to get out of the car and points out a big tree at...
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The Minotaur sniffs around the car; Mom explains that he goes on scent. The monster roars and tosses the Camaro down the...
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...into dust. The rain stops. Percy grabs Grover and starts down the hill, calling for Mom. He collapses on a porch with a girl named Annabeth and a familiar-seeming man.
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Chapter 5
...not a good idea to say that and asks what Percy remembers. Percy asks if Mom is really gone; looking out at the picturesque scenery around him, he thinks that nothing...
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...to protect Percy and he failed. Grover helps Percy to drink. The drink tastes like Mom’s blue chocolate chip cookies, and it makes Percy feel warm and energetic. Grover leads Percy...
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...game begins, Percy begs for someone to tell him what’s going on. He says that Mom said nothing except to mention Camp Half-Blood. Chiron states that Percy already knows that satyrs...
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Chapter 6
...Percy won’t look good to the Council of Cloven Elders. Chiron mentions the “fate” of Mom, and Percy asks if the Underworld is real too. Chiron says it is, but then...
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...insists that one’s cabin depends on who one’s parent is. Percy says his mom is Sally Jackson . Annabeth insists that she’s referring to Percy’s dad, whom she says isn’t dead. She...
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Chapter 7
...dad is human, but Annabeth says that her mom is Athena. They argue about whether Mom knows who Percy’s dad is, but Annabeth says that the only way to know for...
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...he wants to drink. Percy asks for blue Cherry Coke and drinks a toast to Mom, whom he’s sure is imprisoned in the Underworld. Before Percy can take a bite, he...
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Chapter 8
...gets old, but Percy decides that he likes camp. He tries not to think about Mom, but he decides that if the gods are real, there must be a way to...
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Chapter 9
...discovers a mortal newspaper in his cabin that’s open to an article about Percy and Mom’s disappearance. It suggests that Percy may be to blame, and someone circled the tip line...
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...that the bolt could be elsewhere, but Percy finds that he’s excited, not afraid—especially if Mom is in the Underworld too. Percy does feel awful about needing to take Grover with...
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Chapter 10
Percy isn’t far from Mom’s apartment. Grover explains that as a satyr, he can read Percy’s emotions and he knows...
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Chapter 12
...he only agreed to the quest so he could go to the Underworld and rescue Mom; he doesn’t care about Poseidon at all. Grover says that no matter what Percy says,...
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...bottom, an ancient voice says that Percy should barter with the voice, not the gods. Mom appears over the pit in a pained pose. A force starts to pull on Percy,...
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Chapter 13
...to ask Percy to bring the bolt if Hades already has it. When Percy mentions Mom, Annabeth reminds him that he can’t barter with Hades. If Hades had her dad, she’d...
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...woman and had two kids, and they pretend that Annabeth doesn’t exist. Percy says that Mom married an awful guy to protect him and that maybe Annabeth’s dad is doing the...
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Chapter 14
...it. It occurs to Percy that he’s also breathing. He imagines a woman’s voice like Mom’s asking what Percy should say, and Percy thanks Poseidon for saving him. Percy wonders why...
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Chapter 15
...Percy refuses again, but he changes his mind when Ares says he has information on Mom. Percy asks what interrupted the date, but Ares cagily says that he’ll meet Percy back...
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Chapter 16
...cook snaps a photo of Percy. Even more annoyed, Percy asks Ares for news of Mom. Ares says that Mom is alive and being kept as a hostage to control Percy....
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...the pit notices Percy and shows him a vision of a black marble throne room. Mom is at the foot of a dais. Percy’s body withers as the evil laugh booms.
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...it’s 1985 or 1993. Percy wonders how long he’s been here and struggles to remember Mom’s name and their quest. He drags Annabeth away from her game by talking about spiders....
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Chapter 17
...front of an appliance store to watch Barbara Walters interview Smelly Gabe about Percy and Mom. Gabe fake cries and says that if it weren’t for his new girlfriend, he’d be...
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Chapter 19
...a mistake, but Hades says there is no mistake—he knew that Percy would come for Mom. She’ll die if Percy doesn’t hand over the bolt. Mom appears frozen in a shower...
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...Hades’s request. Hades points out that there are only three, so either Percy must leave Mom or one of his friends. Annabeth, Grover, and Percy agree that they’ve been tricked—but they...
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Chapter 21
...he grudgingly agrees. Poseidon chuckles at Percy’s struggle to be obedient, stands and says that Mom is at home—Hades keeps his word. Percy wants to ask Poseidon to come with him...
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...people stop and look at Percy with gratitude. Some kneel. Percy catches a taxi to Mom’s apartment. She envelops him in a hug, cries, and says she terrified Gabe when she...
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Mom and Percy enter the apartment: it’s filled with beer cans and dirty laundry. Gabe threatens...
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Percy asks Mom if she wants Gabe to go and points out that he hits her. Mom says...
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Percy tells Mom that a look inside the box will do away with Gabe, and he insists that...
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Chapter 22
...during the day, and he knows that Poseidon is watching and is proud of him. Mom also writes to say that she’s doing better: Gabe left mysteriously, and she just sold...
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...but think that it’s not over yet—Ares’s betrayal doesn’t seem like enough, and he let Mom save herself.
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...the choice should be easy—classrooms are torture—but he’s excited by the prospect of living with Mom without Gabe. He remembers Annabeth’s insistence that the real world is where the monsters are,...
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