Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The 39 Clues - Books 5 & 6

The 39 Clues: The Black Circle
Title: The 39 Clues: The Black Circle
Author: Patrick Carman
Publication Date: 8/11/2009
Pages: 168
Date Completed: 11/16/17

Title: The 39 Clues: In Too Deep
Author: Jude Watson
Publication Date: 11/3/2009
Pages: 206
Date Completed: 11/26/17

Summary: The Cahill hunt for clues continues through Russia and the Pacific.

The 39 Clues: In Too Deep
What I Thought: Part of me finds it baffling that we are still reading this series. It's just so....bad? That's not the right word. Ridiculous. That's the word. These books are no masterpiece literary works. And, yet, they are so fun and crazy. They are short and make for perfect road trip books for us. Sometimes we get weighed down with long books and we never end up finishing them. These audiobooks are only about four hours each, so that's much more manageable for us and still leaves us plenty of time for podcasts. 

I'll be honest...I slept through a lot of book five, The Black Circle. I got bad food poisoning or something on the way home from a wedding in Philadelphia so I was in and out of consciousness that whole drive back. What I did hear was...not super historically accurate. I mean, that's not the point of these books, but I'm not someone who you want to challenge on the end of the Romanov line or even something like the Amber Room, both of which played prominent roles in the story. Plus, Amy and Dan literally left their one adult chaperone on another continent. Not a chance. Did Carman just not want to write Nelly's character? Kevin's big complaint was that not even fake facial hair would make a adolescent look old enough to drive a car. This one was, I think, our least favorite of the series thus far.

Thankfully, book six had some redeeming qualities. Nelly the nanny was back and we also got a fun new uncle. We're continually confused how all the characters know to be in various countries, but that's the kind of logic you have to be willing to suspend for these books. We liked this one. It had some of the original fun that has kept us coming back over and over. Plus, it really does seem like the whole expedition is working its way toward something concrete...finally. 

I just put a hold on the audiobook for book seven so we can listen to it during our Christmas travels. We'll keep reading, I'll keep reviewing, and those crazy Cahill kids will keep having ridiculously impossible adventures. 

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Will I Re-Read: No, but we're still trucking along with the series.

A Reduced Review: These crazy kids just keep running all over the world getting into all kinds of trouble...and we just keep listening.

No comments:

Post a Comment