The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan    

If you’re already a fan of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, you’re going to love this book. And if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Riordan yet, start here.

I picked up this book because a few CHS students, looking for a (easy) novel to start their senior project with, asked me for something on ancient Egypt. While this novel fits that description, it isn’t historical, even by the loose definition we use for our project. However, I believe it will work perfectly for any student who’d like to form questions on ancient Egyptian culture, particularly on religion.

At the center of the novel are the current-day Carter and Sadie Kane. Their father is a famous Egyptologist and their mother, who died mysteriously six years before the book opens, was an anthropologist. After their mother’s death, the children are separated, Carter then traveling the world with his father and Sadie settled with her maternal grandparents in London

Dr. Kane only has visitation rights with Sadie two days of the year. On Christmas Eve Day, he picks her up, and, along with Carter, they go to the British Museum to visit the Rosetta Stone. There, working magic, Dr. Kane blows up the priceless artifact and unleashes powerful Egyptian gods, including the evil Set, who encases him in a magic sarcophagus (coffin). The children run for their lives.

From here on out, it’s all action as the sharp-tongued Carter and Sadie discover their true natures and powers. While they are fighting ancient evil forces, much of Egyptian culture is mentioned—various pharaohs, a number of gods and their special divinities, famous architecture and archeological sites—all great teasers just perfect for posing research questions about ancient Egypt.