Rise of the Isle of the Lost Author Melissa de la Cruz Shares Her Summer Reading Picks

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of the irresistible Descendants series, in which the children of our favorite Disney villains fight the pull of their evil heritage and strive to do good, or at least to discover their own paths. In the spirit of the upcoming third book in the series, Rise of the Isle of the Lost, we asked de la Cruz what middle grade books she would bring to keep her entertained on a desert island, and her list is filled with terrific summer picks!

Bad Magic, by Pseudonymous Bosch
The final installment in Bosch’s Bad Books trilogy is a hilarious, fantastic tale that pits Clay against the dangerous members of the Midnight Sun. Filled with dragons, secrets and laughs, the book is the perfect island read as it’s set on an island and—I happen to know the author wrote it while we were in an island in Hawaii.

Real Friends, by Shannon Hale
A memoir of elementary school, painful, raw, honest and funny, Shannon Hale at her finest. I devoured it in one night.

Short, by Holly Goldberg Sloan
If I’m trapped on a desert island, I’m going to need some inspiration, and Holly’s book about a short kid who finds confidence when she’s cast as a Munchkin during a summer production of Wizard of Oz is just the book that will give me hope and courage.

Five Days of Famous, by Alyson Noel
I’ll miss my LA life on the desert island, so I’ll definitely want to read this fun Hollywood tale full of fun and mischief, about a Cinder-fella who gets to be the beau of the ball.

The Inquisitor’s Tale, by Adam Gidwitz
My Isle of the Lost series is about villain kids, and the three magical children in this book are considered “villains” and enemies of the state, and their funny, fantasy-filled adventures will keep me entertained while I’m waiting to be rescued by a Disney cruise ship.