The first series is one that I have already eluded to in my post about my love for Disney. It is the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson. This past week I finally finished the original series by reading the seventh book Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider. This book was an amazing end to the series. There were plenty of plot twists that I didn't see coming and some twists that I was super sad to see, but it was amazing. Once I started the book, I couldn't put it down and I ended up finishing the over 500 page book in about a day and a half. With a toddler running around, this was definitely a hard task, but I literally could not stop reading this book. For all my fellow Disney nerds out there, this series is one that I definitely recommend reading. The series takes five kids (eventually turns into seven total) and turns them into DHI's, or Disney Hosts Interactive. This means the kids are holograms that were created to guide guests around Walt Disney World. The actual reason for their creation was because once they go to sleep at night, they can be transported in their hologram forms over to the Disney parks to save them from the Overtakers, or OT's. The OT's are all of the Disney villains that have banded together to stop Disney's magic. This series is great. The Keepers are tasked to save the parks and Disney's magic from some of the worst villains in Disney history. In books five and six, the Keepers go on a Disney cruise because there is trouble brewing with the OT's on the cruise. Book seven was a very interesting one. The author posted chapters and previews on his website and allowed the readers to write sections of the story. Throughout the first few chapters of the book there are passages written by fellow readers that were selected by the author to include in the book. This book is also different in that it is the only book in the series to take place at Disneyland. That piece really allowed a lot of Disney history to be tied in the story, which is something that I really enjoyed. The ending of book seven was left open allowing for more to branch off from there. It really wasn't a concrete ending to the story as there were many hints given that there was more to be had. After finishing the novel, I went on the web and found the site Kingdom Keepers Insider where I found out that there are several new books (that of course are now on my to be read list). He wrote a novella called Unforseen which is a story that follows Jessica, one of the Fairlies that help the Keepers, and is set between books six and seven. He also has a book that has the Fairlies, Amanda and Jess, starring in a story where they have to save a fellow Keeper. The last book is going to be part of a new Keepers series (it says trilogy on the website) called The Return. The first book is called The Return I: Disney Lands. This book is set directly after book seven from the last series and Pearson did a similar thing as book seven where he posted updates and allowed reader to write passages in the novel. I am excited that this series is continuing and I can't wait to read these new books. I will update you all when I read these new books!
The next series that I want to share is called the Spirit Animals series. This series is written in a similar manner as the 39 Clues series in that each book was written by a different author. The last book in the original series is shown in the picture here, Spirit Animals Book 7:The Evertree by Marie Lu. This series begins with four children as the summon their spirit animals for the first time. Each child in the world drinks the nectar to see if they will bond with a spirit animal that will be a part of them for life. The four children in the story, Meilin, Rollan, Conor, and Abeke summon the animals of the four fallen beasts. The series then has the children traveling the world to recover the talismans of the other great beasts so they can save the world from the Devourer and make sure that he doesn't gain all the power. The series has a lot of twists and turns and this is one that I recommend reading back to back. There are some series that are easy to drop and pick back up after a long break. This series, because of the intricate nature of the story, is hard to keep up with if you don't read it back to back. The general nature of the story is easy to grasp, but there are a lot of details which can be confusing if you haven't read it in a while. I really enjoyed the series and I hope that they continue with other stories of a similar nature. Unlike the Kingdom Keepers series, the Spirit Animals series definitely finished in a way that would be hard to continue the exact story, but I could see a branching off point for a new series with a similar premise. There is also a trilogy that is an ebook series that is written from the opposite point of view. It is called The Book of Shane series and I hope to begin reading that series soon as I just got notification that my library obtained the ebooks in their collection. There is also a companion book called The Tales of the Great Beasts which outlines the original stories behind the series. This is also one that I have added to my to-be-read pile.Well, as you all can see I have been busy finishing some series but also adding many more books to my pile of things I need/want to read. I hope this has inspired some of my fellow readers out there to start a new series or gave you some ideas as to what types of series you would want to start. If you have any more questions about the series, any recommendations, or want to discuss the series further, comment on here! Thanks for reading and I will update as soon as I decide what I want to dive into next! Happy reading!
