“It takes strength and courage to admit the truth.”

The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan

The Kane Chronicles is a three-book trilogy written by Rick Riordan.

And it’s making its way to my favorites list!

The Kane Chronicles follows two young Egyptian magicians, brother and sister Carter and Sadie Kane as they learn about who they are and set off to save the world from the forces of chaos. They soon learn not only that the Egyptian gods are real, but that their family is personally connected to the ancient pharaohs of Egypt and their world may crumble without the help of Carter and Sadie in the fight against evil and chaos to restore balance to the world.

I stumbled upon these books in my sister’s bookshelf when I had nothing else to read at the time. And I’m glad I did! Rick Riordan has an addicting way of making you laugh with every page you turn in these books. The plot is priceless, with its love interests, family problems, and the ever-imminent chance of death at every corner.

When reading these books, I found a part of the writing to be very unique compared to anything I’ve ever read. The books are written to be “transcripts” of an audio recording made by the main characters. Because of this, there are points in the book where the characters pause the story and argue about how they are telling it, just like a brother and sister would. It makes the books that much funnier and relatable.

The characters were all very diverse, in both race and personality. The characters’ relations to each other was very realistic, and the presentation of different races such as African American and Arabic made the books stand out to me even more. And with Sadie’s sarcastic outlook on life and Carter’s need to stand up and lead, you can’t put the books down.

The books left me wanting more, even though the ending was very satisfying. And I even learned a little bit more about some Egyptian mythology along the way! I thoroughly enjoyed these books and recommend them to anyone looking for a funny and Egyptian-based story to read. (Or someone who really enjoyed the Percy Jackson books.)

-R.E. Klinzing