Book Review by Debbie Winkler
Series: The 39 Clues Series
Author: Peter Lerangis
Publisher: Scholastic Press (March 2009)
ISBN: 0545090598, EAN: 9780545090599
Page Count: 160 pages
Format: Hardcover + 6 game cards (for online game or collecting)
Target Age Group: 9 – 12
My Rating: 
the wild ride continues!
Synopsis:
Amy & Dan Cahill last clue leads them to Japan, but they are outwitted before they can even begin! Their tricky cousins, the Kabras, manage to steal their tickets – and Nellie, their au pair – and leave them high and dry at the airport. When their Uncle Alistair Oh appears out of nowhere and offers to take them to the next clue on his private jet (paid for with his microwave burrito fortune) if they will tell him where to go, they are immediately suspicious. Amy & Dan know that they cannot trust Alistair, as he has double crossed them more than once before, but they feel that they have no choice. In order to save Nellie and their beloved cat, Saladin, they tell Alistair to head for Tokyo. Alistair’s Asian ancestry comes in handy as they investigate the infamous samurai warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whose ancient stronghold may contain the next clue!
Clues in Japan lead them to Korea, where Dan & Amy, Uncle Alistair, the Kabras, Nellie & Saladin all have to join forces to foil the ninjas and other sinister characters pursuing them. Can Dan & Amy follow the clues to Toyotomi’s collection of ancient treasures? To do so, they must survive electric subway rails, ancient Japanese feuds, meeting new family members, romantic flirting from the enemy, and being buried alive!
Review:
Proceed with caution if you have not read book #1, The Maze of Bones
The characters are separated more in this book and there are a lot of other characters including Alistair Oh and Ian Kabra who play vital roles in moving the plot along so the author jumps around a lot on his points of view. You will read one chapter from Dan’s POV, then jump to Amy, then Ian, then Alistair, then Alistair’s uncle, etc. All of this helps move the plot along, but does make it a little bit more difficult to follow for younger readers and takes a little bit of the surprise out of discovering their motives as they simply tell you what is going on in their heads. I loved that some of the “villains” started to show some heart in this entry in the series. Ian starts doubting the Lucian way, which is to achieve your objective at all costs – including the cost of lives. Alistair feels guilty for trying to kill Amy & Dan and double crossing them in previous meetings as he finds they remind him more and more of his own loveless childhood. It seems that Amy & Dan have finally found some relatives who believe in them and want to help them succeed. This sets you up for a whopping shocker of an ending so brace yourself and make sure you have book #4 handy!
I think that boys in particular will enjoy this book as it is all about ancient warriors in feudal Japan and Korea. What boy doesn’t like swords and dream of having the moves and stealth of a ninja? I also think it is great that the authors are going to take the characters around the world and not just focus on Europe. It opens up a little bit of a window to young readers about areas and people that they may not consider reading about until they are older. Through Peter Lerangis’s
Content:
This book is completely appropriate for children as it was written for children. There is a lot of intense action and many of their fellow family members go out of their way to try to purposefully harm or kill Dan & Amy, but they always manage to escape. I think that this is a great series to get your children interested in travel and wondering what people are like in other areas of the world. The characters are varied and come from different geographical areas in the world and there is quite a bit of history and learning snuck in where children won’t notice it. I think this is a great series to read aloud with your child or for you to enjoy on your own and then talk about together. Also, the website is also completely safe and you can leave your child happily playing unattended for hours on this carefully monitored site. A great option for both boys & girls who enjoy adventure!
Other Recommendations :
