The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is another action-packed fantasy mixed with mythology. This time Riordan weaves Egyptian myths into the quest of siblings Carter and Sadie Kane who are attempting to save their father (and the world) from total destruction. Twelve-year-old Sadie is a sarcastic young rebel who has been raised by her old-fashioned grandparents in London while her fourteen year old brother Carter has accompanied his archaeologist dad around the world. (Mom is dead.) They never knew that their parents were both powerful magicians who fought against demons and Gods. Now they are ‘hosting’ the Gods Horace and Isis and need to both fight to maintain control of their minds and bodies as well as fighting for the future of humankind.

This book ends with a tease. The protagonists tell the readers that they are trying to find children who are descendents of the pharaohs. They are putting an amulet inside a school locker, but the location of the school is deliberately ambiguous. The right kids will read this book and will find the locker. The locker combination is 13-32-33. The students who can open the locker will know what to do and will be trained as magicians to help in bringing about peace between Gods and humans.

In an afterword, Riordan explains to his readers that much of the story is based on fact. The ‘house of life’ was part of Egyptian society for thousands of years. Archaeologists have discovered the spells and the types of wands described in the book.

This is a fun book for 6th grade students who will be learning about ancient Egypt as part of their school curriculum.