I bought this book for my class because some students asked for it. It is very much like many Japanese Manga books whose purpose is to collect and trade cards. The kids will go wild, the adults less so. The book is pretty well written for its kind but is merely busy and goes from one place to another like an amusement park ride. Not too different from you usual Hollywood movie nowadays. I'm sure a movie is in this book's future.

Dan and Amy had always felt that they were Grandma Grace's favorites. Ever since their parents had died, she'd always had time to spend with them. She appreciated their gifts and always encouraged their creativity. When she passed, Dan and Amy were deeply saddened. All the relatives showed up at the funeral but really they were all just hoping to get a piece of Grace's vast fortune.

Grace being a rather unique woman herself, arranged to have the last word. After the funeral, a group of the relatives was quickly ushered into a room where the will was to be read. Each person was offered a choice. They could either leave the room with a million dollars or they could get a clue that would lead them on a quest. The first group to find 39 clues would find out something that would make them the most powerful person ever.

As you'd expect, Dan and Amy take their clue and begin the very dangerous journey. The first clue leads them to Benjamin Franklin, a distant relative to the children. It's a journey that takes them across the country and eventually to France. The two experience secret rooms, burning buildings, explosions, and creepy catacombs.

Read the book and then be sure to sign up for the online game. The website includes a variety of different fun interactive games and code breaking exercises that help uncover even more clues. Each week more activities are added.

If you've heard about Scholastic's maverick, multimedia series, The 39 Clues, and you've come to read this review of the inaugural title, THE MAZE OF BONES by Rick Riordan, with the hopes that I'll share the game-launching clue found at the end of the book, you are about to be disappointed. Share the clue that will start a real world game where readers become potential Cahill heirs and there are thousands of dollars in prizes at stake?* No. I'm better than that.

I have honor! I have integrity! I have an advance reading copy that's intentionally missing the last 40 pages, so even I don't know what the first clue is!**

Here's what I can tell you about the partial advance copy I received. Think of it as THE WESTING GAME meets "The Amazing Race" and together they each power slam a gallon of Red Bull. Reviewing a book that relies on deception and clues to propel its rocket-like plot can be tricky: how do you lay out the action without spoiling the fun? So here's my best attempt at telling you what's going on without ruining what's going on.

Fourteen-year-old Amy and eleven-year-old Dan are part of a very select group: they are two of only a handful of people with blood ties to the powerful Cahill family named in the will of their recently deceased grandmother, matriarch Grace Cahill. These beneficiaries are given a simple choice: they can walk away from the will reading with $1,000,000 and, in doing so, renounce all claims to any other piece of Cahill legacy, or they can surrender this inheritance for something potentially far more valuable: the secret that makes the Cahills the most powerful and influential family in human history. A secret that will be revealed through a worldwide scavenger hunt for 39 clues, of which there can be only one winner. With their parents lost in a fire years before and hoping to flee the guardianship of their tyrannical aunt, the siblings see little choice but to track down the 39 clues in the hopes of securing their futures.

A series of mini-clues involving Benjamin Franklin --- a distant Cahill relative --- sends the pair on a chase that takes them from their home in Boston to Philadelphia and, eventually, across the sea to Paris. Adding a sense of urgency to their quest is the understanding that, never far behind, is a legion of their scheming, underhanded relatives who would do anything to win the game...and the easiest way to be victorious is to take out the competition. Alliances are made and broken, traps are plotted and sprung, and the only rule to live by is the parting advice given to Dan and Amy by their grandmother's attorney: trust no one.

The real world game that readers will be able to play involves clues to be found in books, trading cards and various interactive websites. The books, however, are key to the fun, and if the rest of the series follows Riordan's example (different authors will be contributing titles to The 39 Clues; the second installment by Gordon Korman will be available in December 2008), they will contain riddles wrapped in mysteries inside enigmas and be brimming with Cahill family intrigue. My only concern about where this is headed: can the answer to the mystery live up to the hype? One thing is for sure: it will be a great ride finding out!

* For more information about how the real world game works, check out www.The39Clues.com

** And if I had the clue, why would I give it to YOU? Sorry, folks, but from here on out, it's every Cahill for themselves.

--- Reviewed by Brian Farrey

fun, interactive.
my son enjoyed searching for clues on the web, he is looking forward to the next book!

If you hadn't yet heard of THE 39 CLUES, you will be hearing all about it soon enough. DreamWorks has acquired the screen rights and Steven Spielberg will apparently direct the movie. As described in Variety (of all places), "THE 39 CLUES," which launches Sept. 9, is envisioned as a 10-book series to be released over two years. It's described as a multimedia adventure that will include a set of collectible cards and an online game that will serve as a portal as young readers try to solve a mystery for a grand prize of $10,000. The contest will run for two years."

Okay. A book with a bunch of gimmicks and prizes, right? Sounds a little fluffy, perhaps?

But the fact is that the first book -- THE MAZE OF BONES -- is great! Not only is it an engaging mystery and thriller, but it also taught me a bunch of neat stuff about geography and history and American cultural landmarks.

"Aunt Beatrice kept driving and muttering about spoiled children. Amy secretly went back to her huge book. The last two days, since they got the news about Grace's death, Amy had been reading even more than usual. Dan knew it was her way of hiding, but he kind of resented it because it shut him out, too.
"'What are you reading this time?' he asked. "Medieval European Doorknobs? Bath Towels Through the Ages?'
"Amy gave him an ugly face -- or an uglier-than-usual face. 'None of your business, dweeb.'
"'You can't call a ninja lord dweeb. You have disgraced the family. You must commit seppuku.
' "Amy rolled her eyes.
"After a few more miles, the city melted into farmland. It started to look like Grace country, and even though Dan had promised himself he wouldn't get sappy, he began to feel sad. Grace had been the coolest ever. She'd treated him and Amy like real people, not kids. That's why she'd insisted they simply call her Grace, not Grandmother or Gran or Nana or any silly name like that. She'd been one of the only people who'd ever cared about them. Now she was dead, and they had to go to the funeral and see a bunch of relatives who had never been nice to them..."

Yesterday I spent Jo's and Harry's birthday up on the Eel River, sitting alongside my favorite swimming hole, trying to figure out what facts might be of help in uncovering a clue. What's the deal with the random page numbering that suddenly appears? What so important about that photo?

The ten books are being written by different, well-known authors. This first one is by rocking writer Rick Riordan of Percy Jackson fame. The second will be by another of my faves, Gordon Korman.

"'And yet, all the previous accomplishments of the Cahill clan are nothing compared to the challenge that now faces you. It is the time for you to discover the greatest secret of the Cahills, to become the most powerful members of the family in history -- or to die trying.'"

Amy and Dan Cahill are orphan siblings. As we come to recognize, each has inherited some of the cognitive abilities of their talented, late parents. At Grace's funeral, it is announced that all the heirs in attendance have a choice: Each individual has the option of taking a check for a million dollars and walking away OR the option of taking a clue that will lead to another clue that will lead to another clue that will eventually lead to the REAL Earth-shaking inheritance.

And -- Shades of Hogwarts! -- when Dan bemoans the "bunch of relatives who had never been nice to them," he's not kidding! There are four different branches of the Cahill clan and it quickly becomes evident that those relatives who, along with Dan and Amy, opt for the first clue rather than the million bucks are going to stop at nothing to get a leg up on the rest of the family.

Of course, Scholastic does not want the relatives of booksellers and reviewers and librarians (not to mention the booksellers and reviewers and librarians themselves) to get a leg up on the general public in solving the mystery of the first book, SO THEY LEFT THE END OF THE DARN FIRST BOOK OUT OF THE ADVANCE COPIES THEY SENT US!!!

Which means that we, too, will be waiting for September 9th, when the fun begins. (You'll find the clock ticking down to the starting gun at the website.

I got this for my 11 year old who has read the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Inkheart series, which were better. She was looking forward to trying the website. Alas, after weeks of trying and exchanges with help@39clues, we never were able to activate an account. Expect disappointment.

My son - who is 8 - is totally thrilled with this book, the website, & figuring out the clues. He loves going online to work through the clues himself and looks daily for new material. I honestly think it is because of this book that has gotten him to want to read. We read it out loud together every night - I love to watch him digest the material and come to conclusions on his own. I am recommending this series to all his friends as it is a good way for them to learn about history and get involved.

I was a little hesitant with skulls floating across the front cover. So, I had to give it a preread for the kiddies. This book was an addictive read! And it passed with flying colors. (And for the record the skulls respresent and scary historical place along their adventure)

The adventure starts out at the Cahill mansion with orphaned Dan and Amy Cahill attending their grandmothers funeral. At the reading of the will, they along with others are challenged to take the money ($1 million) or go on the 39 clue adventure to learn the Cahill family secrets which is suppose to be more powerful than they can imagine! Those who have taken the challenge are now competing against each other for the family prize... but they don't know what the prize is!

What makes this book a thrill is the mix of historical facts with fantasy. Much like you know it... The National Treasure movie series. Unfortunately there isn't a Nicolas Cage running about this book but let's face it... it is a kids book. Same kind of adventure just geared toward a different audience.

There are not many books that my husband, myself, and 9 year old son will race through. My 9 year old can't wait for the next book to come out... We can't wait for the next book to come out. It sorta' reminds me of the newspaper series that would come out every couple of weeks in our local paper when I was growing up.

Although, you might be a little hesitant about letting your kids on the website that they have set up for the book... Not to worry they need your permission to enter and there is no exhanges between visitors. It is completely safe. There are also cards (aka "clues") to collect. Personally, I am not fond of them but it looks like with only 10 books they will be short lived in my house. The "clues" make the book seem more real.

All in all this is the best "fresh" series for "tweeners" I have seen in a while.

This is an imitation of Magic Tree House series. You know there will be 38 books to follow. Author tries to make it "educational" by adding some historical facts, in this specific book, about life of Benjamin Franklin. For that, I'm giving 2 stars. Other than that, story line is pretty pathetic. It's terrible how this publishing company is also trying to use this book to sell game cards and trying to attract kids by offering internet game to win some prizes.
I read this book prior to giving it to my kids. I'm glad I did, because this is going straight to Good Will.

My 5th grader loved this book so much that he has read it 3 times within the first few weeks of getting this book. He cannot wait until the next book is released.

"I loved all the adventure and danger and puzzle solving."

This isn't even a real book. It is a marketing ploy designed by corporate executives to separate you from the most cash possible. An insult to literature.

Bought this for my 8 and 11 year old grandsons. They loved it, my daughter read it, is totally into the clues and is playing the game online. I also read it and enjoyed it. The kids are cute, instantly likable, though it took me awhile to get all the characters straight. My grandsons had read other of Rick Riordan's books and enjoyed this as well. We are looking looking forward to the next one.

I bought this book for my 9 year old son and he read it in just 3 hours! He loved the book and can't wait for the sequel. I also bought him the cards. Together we accessed the website and used the cards to decipher the clues. We had fun working on this together.

I bought this for my 11 year old granddaughter who devoured it. She can't wait for the next in the series to come out.

Got Book 1 for my 10 year old daughter. She read the entire book in days, joined the website, and talks about these a lot. She keeps asking me to get her all 39 books - she really loves this series. Previously loved the Daisy Meadows books and still likes Nancy Drew. Hope the next few in the series come out Soon. I love to encourage her reading, and this book brings in educational subjects including travel and history. We highly recommend this book.

I thought this was a great concept and idea but when i recieved the book and found out it was written for children under 10 and not mid teens i was not as interested. The book read exactly how i thought it would so it was a little boring with 2 dimensional characters. Great for kids learning to read but not for children who are at the reading level of Harry Potter or above.

My son devoured this book!!! For a child that hates to read, he read the book in one weekend and exclaimed, "I can't wait for the next book!" What music to my ears!!! My son read the book, entered his trading cards on line, worked out the puzzles and had a ball!! I wish all books would thrill and excite him the way that this one did!! Kudos!!!

The first book in "The 39 Clues" series is fast-paced and basically entertaining, and might even get your kids thinking. That being said, if Scholastic intends to draw readers in and keep them going for the entire 10-book run, they'd better give some attention to the following things:

1. The story needs to stand on its own. If the reader (or listener) never touches the game cards or accesses the website, it shouldn't make a difference.
2. More consistency in the characters. Dan can't be a boy genius in one paragraph and blurt out an ignorant comment in the next.
3. Amy and Dan can't continue to be this clueless. A few basic supplies like a flashlight, lighter, penknife, and French pocket dictionary would have been cheap, easy to find, and gotten them out of most of the scrapes they found themselves in.
4. The biggest problem: predictability. Amy and Dan get on the right track, find a clue or lead, have a long conversation to work out the puzzle, then turn around to find that a competitor has followed them, has been listening to them, and is stealing the clue from them! Good grief, kids, post a lookout, get some phones or walkie-talkies, create a diversion, cover your tracks! If this pattern continues in the second book, I'm out of here.

I bought the book and set of cards for my son's 9th birthday. We started reading the book together and are finding it to be a very fun bonding experience for us. I normally strictly limit computer time but have found myself giving him extra time so the two of us can work together on the puzzles and the website game in general. While the puzzles are easy (deciphering an A=1, B=2 code, following a maze, etc.) they are new to my son and give him exposure to different ways of approaching a book, online game and trading card, and there is a mix of hard and easy puzzles that gives him a sense of success and a sense he can achieve the harder ones. We are enjoying the book and the cards and look forward to the next installment.

I bought this book for my 9yr old son, who hates to read. i thought it would be something to interest him, and catch his imagination....especially since there is an online game! but he came to me and said "He doesn't get it!".... It does seem quite complicated, we started to play the online game(which was actually quite fun), but there is an awful lot to read and I ended up reading it for my son.
I think this book is great for kids who like Harry Potter etc...but overwhelming for kids who haven't read anything like this before.

The story, this book being the first of ? installments, centers around two adolescents, left alone in the world when their grandmother dies (their parents previously died in a fire). They are working against several other extended family member groups and individuals to find 39 clues and solve a mystery that will lead them to the family's "power", and I assume fortunes.

The story is simplistic, with most story angles never adequately explained. The characters are contrived, with a noticeable effort to making the family all-inclusive to every known racial, ethnic, and religious group in the world.

The story reminded me a bit of The DaVinci Code, from both the puzzle solving aspect as well as the "family secret" and "prominent people in the family" angles. There are also similarities to the Harry Potter series and other books/series published over the last several years.

Unlike the books to which this bears a similarity, The 39 Clubes (The Maze of Bones, Book 1) seems to be quickly thrown together and lacks overall story and character development. It is an "okay" read, but nothing memorable.

There's already a review that is negative about this series for being a blatant marketing scheme. While I was a bit put off at first by the whole book series/trading cards, now that we've bought the book and a few card packs, I'm a huge fan. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series helped ignite my 10-year old son's passion for reading. He's now half-way through Maze of Bones, and thoroughly enjoying it. He's noted on the calendar the date the next book will be released. I have to admit I'm reviewing the book without having read it myself yet, but based on the number of times my son has read me excerpts, I'd say it is succeeding with the target audience.

As for the trading cards, well, 10-year old boys love trading cards - Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, and so on. These cards are different though. They have puzzles on them that the reader has to solve. They're not that tough - they seem simplistic to me as an adult - but for my son, they're challenging enough that he feels a sense of accomplishment when he solves them, but not so challenging that he's had to enlist parental help very often. The web site provides hints. We did have a problem entering one card. We sent e-mail to support and the problem was quickly fixed. I was pleased when my son noticed a clue hidden in the book. I believe the puzzles have him looking at the books much more analytically.

I'm hoping (as is Scholastic) that by including different authors in the series, my son will be encouraged to read other books by these authors as well. I see this as a win-win situation. Anything that gets kids to read is OK by me.

I think this is a brilliant marketing move on Scholastic's part. I try to teach my kids to be informed consumers, and understand when they are being manipulated. Everything is about branding and marketing in our culture, and here is a case where someone got it right, and is marketing a quality product in a very effective manner. Kudos to Scholastic for coming up with such a unique and engrossing series!

I'm sure from reading the other informative reviews, you know what the plot line is already, so I won't be redundant. But I will tell you that I really think this series -- and all the items that accompany it -- is going to be the next "in" thing for kids in the 8-13 age group. And I think that's a good thing. The books draw kids into reading (anything that draws kids to books is way cool!), and the website that goes with the series is pretty neat: kids sign up and get to be a member of the Cahill family and look for clues. (You can check out the website yourself at www.the39clues.com). I'm not crazy about the chance to win money, but that's just me...I don't think money should be a huge motivating force for kids. They've also put out collectible trading cards, so you can tell the marketing team was working overtime here.

I purchased the Maze of bones for my nephew (age 10) and a friend's daughter (age 12) and they are both crazy about the book and the whole concept, so it crosses gender lines, which I like.

If you have kids in this age group, I'd recommend this. It's fun and may cultivate an interest in reading other mystery series.

I was reminded of both The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter books as I read Maze of Bones. First of all, it's an addictive read. Second, it is a mystery with multiple clues involving famous people, like Dan Brown's book. Last, like J.K. Rowling's famous books, it is about a group of people separated into four different branches, or houses; and about children saving the world.

The plot involves the diverse, far-flung Cahill family, which has been the most powerful family in history. Anyone important in history was probably a Cahill, including Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte and, especially, Benjamin Franklin. The source of the Cahill's power has been lost over time. The 39 Clues is about the search for that source, by a group of Cahill relatives vying against each other to find the answer. The clues are found all over the world.

Penniless orphans Amy and Dan Cahill enlist the help of their teenage au pair, Nellie, to find the solution to the mystery. The kids seem like real people, and you root for them against their mostly despicable relatives. Amy is a painfully shy, stuttering 14-year-old; Dan is a precocious 11-year-old who loves collecting things. Although they often fight, the siblings help each other during the many dangerous adventures collecting the clues.

Maze of Bones is the first of 10 books in this new Scholastic series, which also has an elaborate supplemental contest where readers can try to come up with the answers to the clues themselves. The book comes with six game cards that you can use to get clues online. There are 350 cards in total, so the series is also a card-collecting game for kids.

But if you just want to read Maze of Bones, it's certainly worthwhile. It's fast-paced, full of fascinating people and has an interesting mystery. I recommend it, and look forward to the second book.

Before I dive straight into the review, let me tell you where I'm coming from. I'm seventeen. I do realize that I'm outside of the intended age range of this book, but I read and enjoy many other children's series. Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors, so my mother, out of the kindness of her heart, saw his name on the cover of The 39 Clues and decided to pick it up for me.

The 39 Clues is about the Cahill family. They're a big family. They're a very big family. They're so big, in fact, that every major person in history has been part of this family. I bet you never knew that Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin were related. Oh, yeah, and they have family members all over the world, never mind that that it's impossible to have a Korean uncle, a British cousin, and a Russian...I don't even know what she is, without any of them being married/genetically related. Okay, clearly this is a work of fiction, so I'll just suspend my disbelief for a second. No problem. Let's continue. Grace Cahill, the head of the family (or so I believe, since it's never really explained), dies of cancer, and in her will she presents a challenge to all her relatives. They can either take the first of thirty-nine clues that will lead them to the source of the Cahill family's power, or they can take one million dollars and walk away.

Enter Amy and Dan Cahill. Dan is a hyperactive, eleven-year-old math genius, and Amy is a timid, fourteen-year-old bibliophile. Amy and Dan decide to take up the challenge, despite the fact that they (a have no money and (b don't have permission from their guardian. However, they're not alone. There are six other teams who want to maim, kill, humiliate, or steal from our young heroes, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Sounds like a great premise, no? Lots of action, adventure, puzzles, clue-finding, and maybe you can even throw in a little history! Well...let's just say it didn't work out quite that way.

Issue #1: The book is copyrighted by Scholastic. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means that this was a work for hire. That means someone at Scholastic said, "Wow, I have this awesome idea! Now I need to hire something to write it for me." Okay, not necessarily the kiss of death, but it's not a good omen either.

Issue #2: Every book in the series (and there are supposed to be ten) is going to be written by a different author. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's rarely a good thing either. When authors don't collaborate on a project, and instead are handed scripts, bad things happen, like plot holes, narration changes, and characters swapping gender. Trust me, not good things.

Issue #3: The plot is a mash-up of A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Mysterious Benedict Society...with all the intelligence removed. I solved all of the puzzles before they even came up. I predicted every "shocking" betrayal the moment the character said, "Let me help you." At least with A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Mysterious Benedict Society I had to think for more than two seconds to figure out the puzzles. No such luck here.

The 39 Clues also rips off plot elements from the aforementioned series. Amy and Dan's parents died in a fire that burned down their house, they were raised by an unfeeling guardian, and arson is a reoccurring theme in the book. How original. Oh, wait, A Series of Unfortunate Events did that five years ago. Amy and Dan are also unusually smart/talented in specific areas...just like the Baudelaires in A Series of Unfortunate Events and Remy, Sticky, Kate, and Constance in The Mysterious Benedict Society. Unfortunately, Amy and Dan are nowhere near as likable as the aforementioned protagonists, which leads me to...

Issue #4: I wanted Amy and Dan to die. Okay, maybe not die, but I didn't like them. In fact, I didn't like anyone in the book. Dan is utterly hyperactive, and he has less maturity than my five-year-old brother. Except when he's being all math genius-y, just about everything that comes out of his mouth is stupid. When Grace Cahill's lawyer gives him a warning about a mysterious group of people who may try to stop them, Dan jumps to the obvious conclusion--they must be ninjas. He continues this for the rest of the book. Every time Amy poses a question, he responds with the most inane answer possible, slowly driving the reader mad with his utter stupidity. Of course, maybe he's trying to be funny, but his answers would only be funny to a three-year-old with too much time on his/her hands.

Amy is so timid that at several points in the story I wanted to slap her. She's cripplingly shy and spends a great deal of time stuttering, bemoaning her inability to act in a confrontational situation, and being a push-over. Now, when I was younger I was also very shy, but I was by no means a weak person. Amy is weak, and she makes no effort to become stronger. She was not, to me, a convincing teenage girl, and instead was a cardboard character inserted to offset Dan's hyperactive personality. Dan's hyperactive, therefore Amy must be weak and timid. Riiight.

All of the characters are very two-dimensional, and none of them are likable...or even remotely interesting. The bad guys aren't scary, the good guys aren't sympathetic, and all of them are very, very boring. Plus, all the adults are either evil or unintelligent. Please excuse me while I make noises of disgust.

Issue #5: The book is not written in Rick Riordan's normal style. There is none of his signature humor, none of his wonderful characters, and none of his gripping narration. The 39 Clues seems like a stripped down, dumbed down version of Rick Riordan's real work (which, by the way, targets the same age group). There are no long words or complex sentences. There are very few descriptions. There is basically no humor. If Rick Riordan's normal books were Oscar-winning movies, The 39 Clues would be that made-for-TV movie that no one watches except for the kids unlucky enough to be sick on the day when there's nothing else on TV. There is no heart in the narration, and it really shows. Mr. Riordan, please do your fans a favor and never do something like this again. Please.

Of course, all these issues wouldn't really kill the book. Sure, they might turn off adult readers, and, sure, they might drive me crazy, but they wouldn't make the book anything less than it is: a fun book for kids who haven't read enough to know better. However, issue #6 is the real kicker. It's the reason that I'm bothering to write a review at all, instead of just shaking my head and ignoring the plot holes, irritating characters, and total lack of subtlety. You see...

Issue #6: Scholastic didn't publish the book to share Dan and Amy's story. It didn't publish it to appeal to reluctant readers. It didn't even publish it to make money off the books. The entire series is a not-so-elaborately constructed ruse to sell cards. The front of the book says, "Read the books. Play the game. Win the prizes." You see, if you go to www.the39steps.com, you too can be a long-lost member of the Cahill family. However, to break the codes (all of which are pathetically easy), find the clues (also pathetically easy), and "win over $100,000 in prizes*", you needs cards. Six come in each book, but there are a total of 350 cards, and some books may contain repeats. So, of course, you gotta catch `em all and make Mom and Dad spend money to buy the card packs, hoping that you'll get that uber-rare card you need to complete your collection. Then you'll spend countless hours on the very badly constructed site, playing inane games (like an airplane flying game...which has what to do with the story?) and solving codes (which just means that you have to click on the screen until something happens).

It's not that The 39 Clues is the worst story ever written. In fact, it's average for middle school readers, even if it has completely ludicrous plot elements, irritating main characters, and less-than-intelligent puzzles and plot twists. What really riles me up, though, is that Scholastic would put such a thinly disguised people of advertising on bookshelves. That's just not acceptable. So, spare yourself, your loved ones, your kids, your students, your library patrons, and please don't buy this book. Please. This is for the good of humanity.

Being the author of West's Time Machine and George's Pond as well as an educator, I often recommend reading to my son and my students. This book mesmerized my students for hours. They kept quoting unusual things held within its pages. There were many amazing things on every page that allow the reader to come back latter and experience it all again. Its loads of fun for all who dare to turn the next page. Perfect for any age.

My students love the fact that each new story by Gordon Korman and Peter Lerangis rewards real contestants big cash rewards for solving their mysteries.

This was an exhilarating adventure for kids. When the grandmother of Amy (age 14) and Dan (age 11) sadly passes away, they are left with two tempting choices. Either they can take a million dollars and call it quits or they can go on a worldwide scavenger hunt to discover the families secrets that kept them the most powerful family the world has ever known. Of course there are heirs that want the secret so they cause endless trouble for Dan and Amy.
George's Pond: Created in the Beloved Tradition of Charlotte's WebWest's Time Machine

Amy and Dan Cahill are orphans. They live with an aunt who is quite unpleasant, to say the least. When their wonderful grandma, who they loved very much, dies, their world seems to crumble. Grandma was also very wealthy.

Grandma's lawyer gathers her heirs in her mansion and offers them a choice. They can take a one-million-dollar inheritance and leave, or, instead of money, receive the first of 39 clues. The clue, the lawyer says, "might lead you to the most important treasure in the world and make you powerful beyond belief." Amy and Dan take a clue. That's when the fun begins. Some of the other family members take the clue too. This pits the children against their ruthless relatives. Things begin to get lively. As Dan and Amy put the pieces of the puzzle pieces together, they go all over the world and they learn about history and life.

This is a great book for ages 8 to 12. It's an adventure story the kids are sure to love.

Highly recommended.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson