The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

I told you I like Rick Riordan. This is an interesting series with so many benefits for a young reader. 


The first benefit is how easy it is to read. The authors change every book to keep it interesting. However, you can't tell the difference and they all keep your interest. 
The next benefit is the cards that come inside the cover. They help readers stay involved with the book outside of just reading it. There is also a website that the cards can be entered into. The website prevents anyone under 18 from joining unless they have parental permission. There are extra clues and missions for the readers to do.
One more benefit is that students who hate reading start reading this book. They are totally interested in the book. I had middle school students who refused to read until I had them try this series.


This is the story of the Cahill family. After Amy & Dan's grandmother dies, they have no family left that care for them. Their aunt who they live with hires sitters to watch them. At their grandmother's funeral, a select few family members are offered the choice between one million dollars or a chance to solve 39 clues around the world for a greater reward. This is the first book in their journey.

City of the Dead by Tony Abbott

So, I literally finished this book last night. I was told by a student that this was a boring book. However, this is a student who stops reading if a realistic but entertaining story hasn't captured him in the first few pages. 


This is the first book in a series called The Haunting of Derek Stone. Derek is the main character who tells this story in first person. The book is very easy to read because it is told from a 12-year-old boy's point of view.


I was a little bored at first and was wondering where the ghosts came in. The second chapter gets very scary because Derek describes a train accident that he was in with his father and brother. Both are not found and presumed to be dead. Derek starts to research what really happened when his brother comes home but acts like a totally different person.


I was disappointed with the lack of ghosts in this story. However, they really start to appear in the last few chapters of the book. The kicker is that they are not really ghosts. They are souls inhabiting bodies. Trust me, Derek explains it to you. I don't want to ruin the story. I thought it was very clever of the author to leave the story hanging at the end of the book. It makes you want to go get the next book in the series to find out what happens.


Good thing I bought the second book when I bought the first, huh?

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

This is one of my favorite books of all time. 

It is a fiction romance novel. It is written by an author who is very well known for her Christian romance novels.

This book is based on the love story of the Biblical character Hosea. Hosea married a prostitute but no matter what, she kept running away.

This book is that story but set in the 1800s. This is a romantic period in literature settings anyway because there are no modern distractions. 

The main character, Angel, has never known love, much less unconditional love. She was sold into prostitution by one of her mother's many 'boyfriends'. Michael Hosea comes to her saying that God has told him to love her unconditionally and take her as his wife. The story is told from his perspective also. Michael never married, even though he had many opportunities, unless God told him to do so. He ends up being tested in this every time that Angel runs away. He knows he has done nothing wrong so he doesn't know why she keeps leaving.

This story will make you cry more than any other book. It is a really believable love story. You will learn the true meaning of faith in God and unconditional love.

Magyk by Angie Sage

This is the first book in the Septimus Heap series. I am huge fan of the Harry Potter BOOK series. I love disappearing into the magical world and pretending it's real. This series felt more realistic than Harry Potter. It takes you into the world of Old World Europe but in a location the author has created. The magic, I mean magyk, has new spellings of familiar words. The magyk seems very likely to exist and it feels like it is based out of old wives tales.


The story is about the seventh son of the seventh son being almost a myth but if he is born, he will be very magykal. At the beginning of this book, he is born to the Heap family but said to have died during childbirth. The same night, the queen is murdered and her daughter is said to have died as an infant as well.


The story follows the Heap family as they take in an abandoned baby girl the night their son dies. The fight for ExtraOrdinary Wizard is brought into the public eye.


This book may seem far-fetched but it is so entertaining. As of right now, there are five books in this series: Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, and Syren. Once you read this first book, you will want to stay in the magykal world and finish the series.

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This series has become very popular with students in the late elementary and middle school grades. I read this book after I had purchased the first four books in the series. I know it sounds crazy, but it was so worth it.


This is about a young boy who has many elements in his life that all of the readers can identify with. Percy is diagnosed dyslexic and ADHD. He has been kicked out of the last 6 schools he has attended. His mom is married to a horrible man who acts like a stepfather everyone wants to hate. 


Percy realizes that there is something more to his disabilities. The final straw is when a strange monster chases him and his mom when they are on vacation. This monster tries to kill them both. Percy must figure out who the monsters are, why the monsters are trying to kill him, who is father really is and how to stop the gods from destroying civilization.


I really enjoyed this book for the easy read and topic of Greek mythology. I have enjoyed every book I have read by Rick Riordan. I highly recommend this whole series.