39 Clues Cahills vs. Vespers: The Medusa Plot

39 Clues Cahills vs. Vespers: The Medusa Plot
by Gordan Korman

Hello, loyal readers!  I’m sorry that I’ve been MIA for about a month.  It’s been a CRAZY month!  I moved into a new home and have been keeping super busy with everything that comes with that.  I also went to a librarian conference and had tons of fun.  But hopefully things will settle down and I’ll be able to bang out some more reviews on what I’ve been reading (because I have been).  So without further ado…

After Amy and Dan found the secret to the 39 Clues, they thought their troubles would be over.  Far from it.  There are other powerful, cunning families and groups who want that serum for themselves.  The Vespers are one such group.  They nearly perfectly execute the seamless capture of Cahills around the world.  3 intended victims escape – Amy, Dan, and Ned – while 7 are captured and held.  The leader, calling himself Vesper One, promises to kill one captive every day that Amy, Dan and the other Cahills do not act on his command.  Vesper One’s command?  They must get for him Caravaggio’s “Medusa” – a famous painting.  The youngest Cahills from all branches must now work together to save their relatives and loved ones from this cruel group.

We are back again with this illustrious family and their powerful sway on the world.  I admit, I am hooked.  Fans will not be disappointed with this continuation.  The only thing that confuses me is the passage of time.  Suddenly it seems two years have passed – it hasn’t been two years since the last 39 Clues book was published.  It also seems that these characters have been cast – instead of the other agents you met along the way while playing along online, there are actual photos in the book of our characters and videos in the online experience.  They just seem too old in my mind.  But the energy is there and the book is definitely engaging.  I know this is one series I will see through to the end.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

The 39 Clues: Vespers Rising

The 39 Clues: Vespers Rising
by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordan Korman, Jude Watson

Warning!!  Contains spoilers for the 39 Clues series!!

What Amy and Dan found at the end of the clue hunt was not what they thought.  They thought there’d be rest, peace, family unity – or at least the beginning of that.  What they actually discovered were more secrets and dangers.  In Vespers Rising, the faithful scribes of the clue hunt introduce their fellow clue hunters to the Vespers, a secret society that has wanted Gideon Cahill’s secret for as long as his children have been hunting it.  They start in 1507 with Damien Vesper, an almost friend of Gideon Cahill, and the first of many horrible fires that the family would come to suffer throughout the generations.  Then we learn more about Madeleine Cahill, the founder of the Madrigals.  Then we see Grace’s debut onto the scene, guarding her family’s secrets from the dangerous Vespers.  And then finally Amy and Dan are back and they are introduced to the viciousness of the Vesper family.  The secrets they have to protect and guard now – will they ever have a normal life?

Oh, where to start.  I wished I enjoyed reading this book.  There were parts I did enjoy.  But I think maybe I’ve just been with Amy and Dan for too long, and I don’t care about them as much as characters any longer.  I found the reading experience choppy, as the four parts are written by four authors with very different styles and strengths.  I find myself wondering if I’ll start reading the Cahill vs. Vesper books when they come out, or if it’s too much of the same and not enough suspense or surprise.  I’m sure there will be twists and turns, but it’s just not fun any more.  Part of the reason it might not be fun for me anymore, though, is that I’m limited in the online experience now.  The newest “mission” is only accessible by adding the cards from the book.  Not cool if you borrowed the book from a library.  I also can’t do some of them because I haven’t purchased the card packs and therefore didn’t find all of the “clues.”  It’s kinda frustrating to say the least.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner
by James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in an elevator not knowing anything about who he was or where he is.  He’s come into some sort of colony of teenage boys.  This colony also happens to be in a maze that the boys have been trying to solve for years.  Even just being there a few hours, the other boys notice there’s something odd about Thomas.  One boy usually comes through the elevator every month.  But the very next day after Thomas arrives, a girl comes through the elevator bearing a strange note that signals that everything the boys knew is about to change.  Thomas doesn’t understand, but he has an inexplicable desire to be a Runner – one of the boys who goes out into the maze to try to solve it.  But there may be a problem – the maze may not even be solvable.

This book has sat on my shelf for months.  Twice.  I finally picked it up… and I didn’t like it.  I mean, it wasn’t poorly written or anything, but it typically appears on bibliographies for reluctant readers or male readers.  Since I am neither, I may have just not been the right audience.  It reminded me of what I remember from Lord of the Flies, but that’s a book I never finished either, and I tried to several times growing up.  The Maze Runner is also a frequently recommended for people who don’t know what to read after they’re done with The Hunger Games trilogy.  I can see why – dystopian lit. with teenage protagonist and nearly impossible odds.  Still, this is not a trilogy I plan on finishing.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie, read by Jim Dale

I imagine that almost everyone knows something about the story of Peter Pan.  Even if you’ve never read the book, you’ve probably seen one of the many movie versions that have been made over the years.  So I’m not going to take a long time to describe the story.  Peter Pan is a boy who will never grow up. One evening, he takes 3 children – Wendy, John and Michael – to Neverland with him and they help him defeat the nefarious Captain Hook.  The end.

This is the first time I’ve ever “read” this book.  I put “read” in quotation marks because I actually listened to it on CD.  I tried reading it once before, but the language was so heavy I didn’t make it very far.  So several months later I decided to let somebody read it to me.

The pros:

• I don’t have to wallow my way through older English.
• I was sick in bed, and this was a great way to spend 5 hours not being able to do much.

The cons:

• Being read by Jim Dale, all the voices he did for Peter Pan reminded me of voices from Harry Potter.  Captain Hook sounded like Severus Snape; Wendy sounded like Hermione Granger; Smee sounded like Seamus Finnigan.

Overall, I enjoyed the listening experience.  Having seen several film versions of Peter Pan, I appreciated reflecting on them as I listened to Barrie’s words and seeing how they were incorporated into each movie.  Ones that stuck out in particular for me?  Dustin Hoffman’s obsession with “good form” in Hook (1991).  The banter between Jason Isaacs and Jeremy Sumpter in the 2003 version of Peter Pan.  Some of the brief stage scenes as depicted in Finding Neverland (2004).  And I even feel that the 1953 Disney version stayed true to much of the story, even though none of them encompassed the blasé references to killing and death.

And now I’m in the mood to watch one.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The Name of This Book Is Secret

The Name of This Book Is Secret
by Pseudonymous Bosch

Psst.  Hey.  Can you keep a secret?  I mean really keep a secret?  Well, the author of this book can’t, which is why you can read it.  These two kids, whose names may or may not be Cass and Max-Ernest, end up discovering clues about the disappearance of this strange old magician who lived in their town.  While neither of them have ever really had friends before, they befriend each other in a quest to save one of their classmates who has been kidnapped by some strange cult that wants his brain.  But I’ve already said too much!  Go and read the book!

Well to start off, let me just say that I’m glad I knew synesthesia existed before I read this book.  Otherwise I might have thought that Bosch had made the condition up, given the tone in which s/he writes.  Secondly, I’m super-impressed that s/he was able to craft a good children’s story around this condition, because it’s really cool.  For those of you who don’t know about it, Wikipedia has a very detailed article about it.  Essentially, it’s a blending of senses – one visual stimulus might cause a person to smell something, or and audible stimulus might cause someone to see certain colors.  Very cool.  Anyway, back to the book.  While sometimes the author’s interjections could get annoying, for the most part, I really enjoyed this book.  I would definitely finish this series out.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon
by Cressida Cowell

In order to become a full-fledged member of the tribe, young boys must catch and train their own dragons as part of the initiation  Hiccup is the son of the chief, but he’s not the brawny, brainless, muscly boy that Vikings expect to lead their tribes in the future.  When it comes time to catch his dragon, Hiccup nearly doesn’t get one.  When it comes to training it, it seems like an even more futile task.  The original manual on how to train a dragon seems to lack what Hiccup needs; so he goes about writing his own manual on how to train dragons and become a Hero the hard way.  Complete with illustrations.

In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t have ever picked up this book if I hadn’t first picked up the movie, realized it had been a book first, and decided to read the book before I watched the movie.  I don’t have strong opinions one way or the other about this book.  It was cute, but not fantastic; it was kinda sloppy, but for the most part, easy to follow.  I had higher hopes for Toothless, but maybe that unfolds in the rest of the series.  I doubt I’ll be picking them up, though.  I’ve got too many books on my “to read” shelf first, physically and digitally.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Heist Society

Heist Society
by Ally Carter

Katarina Bishop is not your normal teenager; but she’s trying to be.  When she walked away from the “family business” and decided to go to boarding school, she thought it would be for good.  But when her father is framed for the theft of a very valuable, very private art collection, she is pulled back into the world of cons, heists, and thievery.  With only two weeks to prove her father’s innocence or else face some very painful consequences, Kat and her gang of highly trained con-artist friends must steal back the paintings from possibly the most dangerous thief who has ever lived.  Oh, and he’s hidden them in one of the most secure museums ever built, to boot.   Can Kat pull it off, or has she been out of this underworld too long?

This story is like a teen version of Ocean’s 11 with the character believability of Cruel Intentions.  It’s fast-paced and completely impossible.  I can easily see this being made into a movie that is very popular, but of the same terrible caliber as most movies being put out nowadays.  The book is surprisingly clean – no sex, drugs, or language, only mild violence – unless you count the basic thieving nature of the plot.  In my opinion, this book was okay, but I don’t feel a need to read the sequel when it comes out.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Incarceron

Incarceron
by Catherine Fisher

The Wars of Rage have passed and the new world has come.  There are two primary elements to this world: Protocol and Incarceron.  Protocol stipulates that everyone must dress, live, and act a certain way.  This Protocol is made to reflect a time period not unlike Elizabethan England in dress and lifestyle.  This also means that even though humans have been able to create wonderfully intelligent technology, they are rarely allowed to use it.  Incarceron is a supposed Paradise.  It’s actually a prison.  In the beginning, the idea was to put all of the criminals into Incarceron, provide them with food, education, and anything they might need, and create a Utopia.  But Incarceron was smart, and developed a mind and a will of its own.  And humans are humans.  Finn is a prisoner in Incarceron, but he remembers things that no one can explain to him.  One old man believes that he is from the Outside, and that he will guide everyone to escape.  Claudia is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron.  She has never wanted for anything.  She has been bred and educated to be the next queen of the Realm.  As her wedding to the Queen’s annoying son approaches, Claudia is learning more and more about her past.  Both Finn and Claudia have discovered crystal keys that allow them to communicate with one another.  Claudia vows to do what she can to help Finn and his companions escape this prison-promised-paradise, but that may prove more difficult than she had originally thought.

This book took awhile for me to get into, and even longer before I followed everything.  Fisher makes a common mistake (in my personal opinion) that I see happening in too many YA novels: you are presented with the names of far too many characters at once.  You cannot follow who they are, with whom they go, and what they know.  It can be frustrating.  But once the characters get filed away properly, the story takes over.  There are some elements which are highly predictable, and some that I didn’t see coming at all.  Fisher’s ending clearly points to a sequel (Sapphique).  In my opinion, this book is not a must-read.  But if you happen to pick it up, it will not be a waste of your time, either.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

The 39 Clues: Into the Gauntlet

The 39 Clues: Into the Gauntlet
by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Warning!!!  Contains spoilers!!

Amy, Dan, and Nellie are close.  So very close to the end of the clue hunt, they can taste it.  It’s hard to believe that only a month before, they were at their grandmother’s funeral.  Now they are racing against time and against one of the most evil women on the planet for the most powerful thing on earth.  This final series of clues takes them to London, England, and through the life of the great bard, William Shakespeare.  Of course, Amy, Dan and Nellie are not the only ones to have figured this out.  All of their enemies are right in front of their faces: Alistair, the Holts, the Kabras, Jonah Wizard, and a few surprise others, all waiting for the Cahills’ next move and waiting to take whatever they find from them.  But that’s not what Madeleine and Olivia Cahill had in mind when they began this clue hunt.  Will their ultimate goal prevail?

IT’S HERE!  IT’S HERE!  My second most highly anticipated series conclusion of the summer is sitting beside me, leaving the reader with multiple varieties of satisfaction.  The previous books, especially the 9th one, set up the story in such a way that there was really only one way it could end.  So there weren’t many surprises as a reader (save one)… but the rest of the family is in for some huge surprises.  You already know everything of course, if you’ve been reading along.  But all of the kids from each branch of the family begins to learn the unsavory truths about their families… and they begin to learn the truth about themselves.  Are they really as ruthless as their parents?

I totally give this series an “A.”  It’s a little corny at some points (which is why it’s not an “A+”), but it totally hooks you in.  And kids don’t even realize they’re learning about history and geography.  It’s crazy.  And the characters are wonderful.  The Librarianista wonders: if you’ve been reading this series, who are your favorite characters?  Mine are the Holts

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
by Brandon Sanderson

Drinks you should try once, but not get often because of the monumental amount of calories: heavy whipping cream coffee Frappuccino.  So bad for you, but so delicious.

Alcatraz Smedry has been passed from foster home to foster home for thirteen years.  No one keeps him long because he has an uncanny knack for breaking things: doors, kitchens, a chicken, etc.  On his thirteenth birthday, he receives a package from his father: his inheritance.  His inheritance happens to be a bag of sand.  The next day, a crazy old man claiming to be his grandfather (who has the uncanny knack for being late all the time), takes Alcatraz away, trying to explain to him the importance of the sand, that he’s actually part of a noble family in the Free Lands, and that the world as he knows it is ruled by evil librarians.  And since possibly the most important sand has been stolen by the librarians, they have to infiltrate the downtown library (the largest library in the tri-state area) to get them back before they are forged into dangerous lenses.  Along with Alcatraz are Sing Sing (just Sing for short), a massive anthropologist specializing Hushlander weapons, Quentin, another Smedry whose Talent is babbling, and Bastille, the Smedry’s knight.  Having learned about all of these things in a few mere hours, Alcatraz now faces dinosaurs, monsters made of paperback romances, and possibly being sacrificed on an altar of outdated encyclopedias for a family that he never knew existed and he thought had abandoned him.

This series was recommended to me by a dear friend and classmate, Julie.  And oh my gosh!  Any author who can reference Plato and Monty Python in a kids book, name all his heroes after prisons, and make arriving late into a very good thing gets an A+ in my book.  And it’s a book about librarians – that doesn’t happen too often.  Before reading this book, I had no idea what I was getting into.  Now I know that I’m part of a conspiracy to keep the Hushlands under control by controlling the flow of information.  I’m kind of excited about it, actually.  Thanks for revealing that about my duty and my destiny, Sanderson.  Too bad everyone in the Hushlands will think your book is fictional!  Mwahahaha!!

Sorry about that little outbreak, kids.  When you read the book, you’ll get the jokes.  This is a great book.  I think it would be great for any reluctant reader, anyone who appreciates quality humor, or anyone who has had a history with librarians, positive or negative.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.