The Lost Tribes by: C. Taylor-Butler

WOW!  I had to stay up last night to finish this book.  I am so glad that I stopped and talked with author C. Taylor-Butler at the LATimes Book Festival this past April.  Her book The Lost Tribes is the first in a series and it is a must read!

Ben and his sister April live in Paradise Circle in Sunnyslope California.  They have good friends and neighbors here all the parents are friends as well as the children.  When Ben's uncle challenges Ben to find lost treasure all over the world by playing a computer game with challenges and unique graphics Ben is excited for adventure.  April is also given a copy of the game and they decide to make it a competition.  Ben's best friend Grace is soon helping Ben figure out riddles and ciphers.  Within just a day all the children in the neighborhood are playing this game.  They discover it is best to be working together since they all have different abilities that enable them to solve mysteries and gain access to items needed for the challenge.

The graphics seem to be so very real at every destination.  Ben doesn't believe it is just a hologram and that he is still in his room, he is sure he and his friends are actually transported to locations.  At one location Ben is sure he sees his dad with the dad of his friend Carlos.  The children end up back in their rooms each time they are stuck on a clue or have found what is needed at a location.  Ben starts to think the game is more real than fake and wonders if he really does want adventure in his life.  He also is more aware that all of their parents travel quite often and each has secret work spaces at their homes.  The parents are also concerned about storm clouds that are approaching and they are all angry at someone named Kurosh.

When their neighborhood is hit by more than just weather...it really seems like tanks are approaching.  The children are amazed that there is a shield around the homes and they start to learn just a bit about their parents as they are packing backpacks and urging their children to go into one room.  When all the children are told to enter a dark passageway and told to meet at Safe Harbor while their parents stay behind the true adventure begins.  Ben and his friends learn that the things that they experienced in the game will now help them find Safe Harbor.  They travel in dark passage ways, narrow cliff pathways, and end up in a desert.  When they are once again being attacked and on the run Ben's uncle comes to their rescue. What they now learn about their parents is quite unbelievable!  Are they descendants of the lost tribes?  Is earth really in trouble??  Time to read book 2 in the series.

It took me a bit to get into this book but once the game began I couldn't put it down.  I loved the

Me with C. Taylor-Butler

riddles and ciphers (even though I never figured them out) the twists and turns that takes place are exciting and I love how these five friends pull together and create an unstoppable team.  Friends need each other.  I also liked that each chapter had a quote from a variety of people and books.  I plan on writing down a few of these quotes before giving this book to my students.

After reading this book you will want to get started on reading book 2.

Happy Daily Reading
Deanna