The Red Pyramid

Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid, book one of the Kane Chronicles, is written in a style that is similar to his Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. The story is narrated by Carter and Sadie Kane, siblings who have spent years apart. When their mother died six years ago, their maternal grandparents fought to raise Sadie in London. Those six years Carter spent traveling all over the world with his father, an Egyptologist. At the beginning of the story, their father picks up Sadie for a visit and takes the two to the British Museum. Their father, Dr. Kane, destroys the Rosette Stone and in the process accidentally calls five dangerous Egyptian gods to life. As members of the House of Life, the kids and their Uncle Amos must find a way to stop the most evil god, Set, before he destroys the world. Egyptian gods took the form of various animals making the characters in this book extremely interesting. Will Carter and Sadie have the power to overcome the destructive gods and rescue their father? After reading this, I now know why my students kept recommending this book to me and others. Readers like thick books that take some time to read. All 516 pages of this book will keep your interest until the very end. I love the way Riordan draws the reader into the storyline from the very beginning of the book. Click on the trailer below to hear him describe The Kane Chronicles series.

The Lost Hero

Don’t you just love reading long books that last and make you feel like you got your money’s worth out of them? You know, the ones you wouldn’t mind reading one more time in case you missed something. Well, Rick Riordan’s The Lost Hero (Book One: The Heroes of Olympus) is that kind of book. At the beginning of the story we are introduced to three friends who are on a school field trip to the Grand Canyon. They go to the Wilderness School, a school for problem children. Jason finds himself on the bus with no memory of his past and has to rely on what the others tell him. Piper, daughter of a famous Hollywood actor who has been missing for a few days, had just started a relationship with Jason and he doesn’t even remember it. Leo, who lost his mother in a fire when he was younger, uses his hands to fix things and hides the fact that he has a gift with fire. Storm spirits attack the trio. Annabeth, searching for Percy Jackson, saves the demigods and brings them to Camp Half-Blood. While at Camp Half-Blood the three learn who their God/Goddess parent is and each has a talent they have inherited as a result of their lineage. The trait that throws everyone is Jason’s ability to understand Latin. The demigods at Camp Half-Blood learn that Jason is to lead a quest to save Hera who is imprisoned. The trio will face various trials in their quest to fulfill the Prophecy. I especially loved the shocking ending. Riordan stays true to the writing style he used for his popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I’ve only read the first two books in that series: The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters. Reading The Lost Hero made me want to go back and finish the previous series.