39 Clues: The Maze of Bones

The Maze of Bones by, Rick Riordan. ISBN-13:978-0-545-24365-0

Book one in the 39 Clues series is an action-packed, page gripping adventure that will send readers racing out to pick up the next book featuring the Cahill siblings. Amy and Dan Cahill find each other as annoying as any brother and sister do. But a string of outrageous events helps them to realize that all they have in this world is each other. Years before, Amy and Dan's parents both died in mysterious fire. Now, with the death of their grandmother, Grace, the two are plunged into a mysterious challenge that might just alter the course of human history. Amy and Dan better act fast, because there are other teams searching for the clues-- teams that are willing to do anything to get what they want. The heroes are believable and their sibling bickering makes them easy to relate to. The villains are devious, dastardly, and dangerous. The humorous story is fast-paced, exciting, and full of suspense. Rick Riordan has written a story complete with fires that burn down houses, bombs that blast museums, lightning charged mysterious goo, historical facts that are actually interesting, skeleton filled catacombs, people burning millions of dollars, and a cat who likes red snapper. It will be fascinating to see how book two relates-- while Riordan mapped the storyline for the ten book series, other authors will write the projected nine remaining books. Luckily, readers, who are left in a lurch at the end of the first book, can immediately go pick up the next book and decide for themselves. The book contains collector's cards, which contain clues relating to the puzzle. Scholastic has also developed a website where students can play the game and enter to win over $100,000 worth of prizes.