The Kingdom Keepers
A while back I began to read the Kingdom Keeper series by Ridley Pearson. I am a HUGE Disney fanatic and I was so stoked to run across these books. The Kingdom Keepers are a Seven book series followed by The Return a trilogy with the main characters.
I know there have been mixed reviews on these books. Many people feel that they began to repeat or drag on. I thought they were interesting by changing locations and kept it fresh. I believe that these books are more aimed at middle school aged, more so than Young Adult, but the kid in me enjoyed them highly. As a series in whole, I have no problem rating them a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Here is the Goodreads summary of the first book:
In this fantastical novel, Disney's Magic Kingdom suddenly becomes a bit eerie. Finn Whitman and four other teens have been hired as Disney World guides, but with an odd twist: With cutting-edge technology, they have been transformed into hologram projections capable of leading guests around the park. What begins as an exciting theme park job turns into a virtual nightmare as Finn and his pals attempt to thwart an uprising by a menacing group of Disney villains.
The next seven books take place through out Disney World and the other parks there. They are filled with action, adventure, fight scenes, a tad bit of romance and a lot of imagination. I very much wish that Hollywood would make a series of movies or a tv show based on the books. There would have to be 10 movies but I think a tv show would be perfect! Netflix maybe? Disney Channel?
The next set of books, The Return Trilogy has to do with Disneyland in California instead of the Florida parks and cruise ships.
Here is the Goodreads summary for Disney Lands, the first book of The Return:
With the defeat of the Overtakers behind them, the five teenagers known as the Kingdom Keepers should be celebrating. By all accounts, they saved Disneyland from certain destruction. Why then did their mentor leave one last puzzle for them to decipher? The Keepers must solve a puzzle of the past, or be crushed under an evil that makes the Overtakers seem like gentle souls.
These books are different in that they go between two times. Present day, and when Disneyland first opened. I just finished reading the last book in this series a couple of days ago and am sad to see it end. The books represent a part of my life that I want to always keep going. Now that I have a son, I am excited to pass on my love of all things Disney to him. This last October, when he was 4 months old, I took him on his first trip to Disneyland to celebrate him being alive. I have 4 of these books on my iPad so I need to buy the actual books because they are going to be a series I look forward to reading to him when he is of age.
Finn, Charlie, Terry, Dell and Willa are a fun group of characters to follow on their adventure. My only complaint is that I would have loved to have had an appearance by Walt Disney to have made these books perfect.
If you are looking for a fun read for yourself, if you are a Disney fan or have a child who is ready for books this age, then I very highly recommend these 10 books.
