39 Clues: Maze Of Bones

39 Clues

Maze Of Bones

by Rick Riordan
(based on 37 customer reviews)

39 Clues: Maze Of Bones (Hardcover)
Edition: Hardcover
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Scholastic Press


List Price: $12.99
Amazon's Price: $10.18
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
52 out of 60 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/13/08


An addictive new series

I was reminded of both The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter books as I read Maze of Bones. First of all, it's an addictive read. Second, it is a mystery with multiple clues involving famous people, like Dan Brown's book. Last, like J.K. Rowling's famous books, it is about a group of people separated into four different branches, or houses; and about children saving the world.

The plot involves the diverse, far-flung Cahill family, which has been the most powerful family in history. Anyone important in history was probably a Cahill, including Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte and, especially, Benjamin Franklin. The source of the Cahill's power has been lost over time. The 39 Clues is about the search for that source, by a group of Cahill relatives vying against each other to find the answer. The clues are found all over the world.

Penniless orphans Amy and Dan Cahill enlist the help of their teenage au pair, Nellie, to find the solution to the mystery. The kids seem like real people, and you root for them against their mostly despicable relatives. Amy is a painfully shy, stuttering 14-year-old; Dan is a precocious 11-year-old who loves collecting things. Although they often fight, the siblings help each other during the many dangerous adventures collecting the clues.

Maze of Bones is the first of 10 books in this new Scholastic series, which also has an elaborate supplemental contest where readers can try to come up with the answers to the clues themselves. The book comes with six game cards that you can use to get clues online. There are 350 cards in total, so the series is also a card-collecting game for kids.

But if you just want to read Maze of Bones, it's certainly worthwhile. It's fast-paced, full of fascinating people and has an interesting mystery. I recommend it, and look forward to the second book.

46 out of 51 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/14/08


Nothing wrong with a smart marketing strategy

There's already a review that is negative about this series for being a blatant marketing scheme. While I was a bit put off at first by the whole book series/trading cards, now that we've bought the book and a few card packs, I'm a huge fan. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series helped ignite my 10-year old son's passion for reading. He's now half-way through Maze of Bones, and thoroughly enjoying it. He's noted on the calendar the date the next book will be released. I have to admit I'm reviewing the book without having read it myself yet, but based on the number of times my son has read me excerpts, I'd say it is succeeding with the target audience.

As for the trading cards, well, 10-year old boys love trading cards - Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, and so on. These cards are different though. They have puzzles on them that the reader has to solve. They're not that tough - they seem simplistic to me as an adult - but for my son, they're challenging enough that he feels a sense of accomplishment when he solves them, but not so challenging that he's had to enlist parental help very often. The web site provides hints. We did have a problem entering one card. We sent e-mail to support and the problem was quickly fixed. I was pleased when my son noticed a clue hidden in the book. I believe the puzzles have him looking at the books much more analytically.

I'm hoping (as is Scholastic) that by including different authors in the series, my son will be encouraged to read other books by these authors as well. I see this as a win-win situation. Anything that gets kids to read is OK by me.

I think this is a brilliant marketing move on Scholastic's part. I try to teach my kids to be informed consumers, and understand when they are being manipulated. Everything is about branding and marketing in our culture, and here is a case where someone got it right, and is marketing a quality product in a very effective manner. Kudos to Scholastic for coming up with such a unique and engrossing series!

24 out of 26 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/9/08


Have Clues, Will Travel

Amy and Dan Cahill are orphans. They live with an aunt who is quite unpleasant, to say the least. When their wonderful grandma, who they loved very much, dies, their world seems to crumble. Grandma was also very wealthy.

Grandma's lawyer gathers her heirs in her mansion and offers them a choice. They can take a one-million-dollar inheritance and leave, or, instead of money, receive the first of 39 clues. The clue, the lawyer says, "might lead you to the most important treasure in the world and make you powerful beyond belief." Amy and Dan take a clue. That's when the fun begins. Some of the other family members take the clue too. This pits the children against their ruthless relatives. Things begin to get lively. As Dan and Amy put the pieces of the puzzle pieces together, they go all over the world and they learn about history and life.

This is a great book for ages 8 to 12. It's an adventure story the kids are sure to love.

Highly recommended.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

12 out of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/13/08


This is going to be the next big thing

I'm sure from reading the other informative reviews, you know what the plot line is already, so I won't be redundant. But I will tell you that I really think this series -- and all the items that accompany it -- is going to be the next "in" thing for kids in the 8-13 age group. And I think that's a good thing. The books draw kids into reading (anything that draws kids to books is way cool!), and the website that goes with the series is pretty neat: kids sign up and get to be a member of the Cahill family and look for clues. (You can check out the website yourself at www.the39clues.com). I'm not crazy about the chance to win money, but that's just me...I don't think money should be a huge motivating force for kids. They've also put out collectible trading cards, so you can tell the marketing team was working overtime here.

I purchased the Maze of bones for my nephew (age 10) and a friend's daughter (age 12) and they are both crazy about the book and the whole concept, so it crosses gender lines, which I like.

If you have kids in this age group, I'd recommend this. It's fun and may cultivate an interest in reading other mystery series.

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