Throughout The Red Pyramid, Riordan explores the struggles Carter and Sadie face as interracial teens. Relate their experiences to ones you’ve heard about or experienced yourself. What messages about being open-minded, racism, and societal norms does Riordan deliver through how Carter and Sadie are treated, both as individuals and as a family?

Did you guess that Zia was replaced by a shabti and that she hosted Nephthys? If so, when? What clues made it obvious, and what could Riordan have done differently to make it less clear? If not, why not, and what red herrings kept you from figuring it out? How did Riordan’s choice of false clues and their placement affect your discernment?

Riordan offers a few different histories of the gods, their relationships, and their motivations. Do you think this is intentional? Does this reflect the ever-changing nature of the gods through the centuries? Support your answer with evidence from the text.