rblog

39 Clues: Maze of Bones
39 Clues: One False Note
Author: Gordon Korman
Amazon Info

Gordon Korman may not be the world's best author, but he is going to be one very wealthy author - at least judging by the sales of the "39 Clues" books at our elementary school. And, at about only 200 pages per book, he can churn these out every few months.

The story line about the members of the mysterious and powerful Cahill family is interesting, but I believe the concept is fatally flawed. Because there is one "good team" and four "evil teams" the plot (thus far) focuses on the actions of the good guys (Amy and Dan) - who go and discover all the clues (as the plot would demand) only to have the clues stolen from them at the moment of discovery. Since the other characters don't have much of an independent existence, they can do little more than jump in at the very end. Makes for a very repetitive story.

Also, the first two books only cover two clues - which means there could be 37 more books - although Matthew tells me there are only 8 more books.

On the positive side, these stories are historical fiction targeted at kids. I believe that historical fiction is one of the best ways to learn history (at least until high school), so there is value in these stories.

Recommended: For kids - but please share the books Or buy used copies from us!