Zionsville — Lauren Phillips is passionate about her reading.

The Zionsville West Middle School seventh-grader is an avid follower of the “The 39 Clues” adventure series.

Her love has paid off. The 12-year-old won a $500 prize from Scholastic Inc. for first place in “The 39 Clues” Book 4 sweepstakes.

The series combines books, collecting cards and an online game that offers young readers a chance to win prizes.

Lauren said part of the prize money was used to buy “The 39 Clues” books for the school library.

Lauren credited Lisa Kern, a former Zionsville West library assistant and instructional assistant for the counseling program, for getting her interested in the books.

“If it wasn’t for her, I never would have known about the book series and never would have won this,” she said.

Lauren said she can’t wait for the sixth book in the series to come out in three weeks.