Add your rating See all 53 kid reviews. Orphans Amy and Dan belong to a rich and powerful family related to nearly everyone important in history. When their grandmother dies, she leaves 39 clues, spread across the planet, to a treasure that will make the finder immensely powerful.
So all the relatives, none of them decent or honest except Amy and Dan, of course , compete to find and solve the clues while trying to eliminate their competition. This proposed book series 10 physical books followed by 29 online-only installments , each by a different author, includes cards plus a code for a Web site with an online game with cash prizes.
Taken simply as a story, this first book is pretty good. Sure, you have to park your disbelief at the door and give up on any expectation of realism.
That done, it's loads of fun, with action, mysteries, and clues. It's clearly intended to make money, and a little more baldly than most. But as long as the writing is good and the story is fun, who cares? And Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, knows how to pace a story. The second installment keeps moving like the first -- from Vienna to Salzburg to Venice this time.
And it keeps you guessing about how the clues will fit together. But the brother-sister team seems less likable here. Dan won't stop whining about how boring he thinks Mozart is and the two won't stock bickering.
It overshadows their talents and makes you wonder how they're able to stay ahead of the competition. The book starts and ends with fun flourishes and twists but it also gets to the heart of what the four Cahill branches are really fighting over -- and it's not all that original. Also, the puzzles leading to the clues are confusing and the romantic subplot feels clumsily put together. Dan and Amy Cahill work their way through Egypt in the fourth installment.
Lucky for them their grandma has left numerous hints around Cairo and the tombs. Once again this installment doesn't hold a candle to the first in the series. There's no logical flow from one clue to the next and the way the kids figure out some of the puzzles makes no sense. It's too bad because Egypt is such an exciting place for a treasure hunt. Families can talk about marketing.
Why does the book include playing cards? Why is there a Web site and contest, with cash prizes? What do the publishers have to gain by giving away money? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase. Thank you for your support. Our ratings are based on child development best practices. We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate.
The star rating reflects overall quality. Learn how we rate. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! The 39 Clues Series. Parents recommend Popular with kids. Exciting mystery, heavily merchandised. Rate book. Helped me decide 1. Had useful details 2.
Read my mind 1. Report this review. Adult Written by Charles R. September 13, Whilst I don't like the merchandising involved in this, it does not in any way interfere with the enjoyment of the series. At first, I got all the books from the library, but they were so good that eventually I got them so we could all re-read them. This series captivated the entire family. My daughters loved the characters and the mysteries, and even my wife and I were unable to stop discussing the plot.
Some of the entries are exceedingly well written. This title contains: Educational Value. Had useful details 1.
Read my mind. Parent of a 10, 12, 14, 14, 15, and year-old Written by supermomof8 November 6, My children, all homeschooled, have read all 10 of these books.
They love the mystery, but are grounded enough to know that the behavior is not acceptable in 'real life' its just like watching a movie. The best thing about this is that my 14 yr old daughter who has never been interested in reading, to my dismay, has absolutely loved them and bought half the series herself. She and her siblings talk about the book and the mystery and the clues and I am thrilled to see her in particular, interested in reading for the first time!
Hoping to find other books that will catch her interest the way this series has My 7 year old just started reading them and is loving them too.
Helped me decide. Had useful details. Parent of a year-old Written by lkoslosky August 10, Fun and exciting, but watch out for a few small things Here's from my 11 year old daughter first.
She says: "It's very good. I like that it has mysteries you have to figure out. The main characters care for each other and rescue each other. It's very mysterious. I love it. However, I could do without the harsh or belittling language used by most characters. The size of giftbag received will be determined by the overall dimensions of the product.
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