The Readers and Writers Paradise

The real scoop on middle grade books.

Daniel Johnston

The 39 Clues Book 8: The Emperor’s Code by Gordon Korman Review

by 4 Comments

Note: This article was originally written almost four years ago.

Yesterday, March 6th, 2010, was a big day for the readers here on The Readers and Writers Paradise: Book 8 of The 39 Clues, The Emperor’s Code was released! I was especially excited for this book, because it was written by Gordon Korman, who is, as most of you probably know by now, my favorite author.

And I have to say this was by far my favorite book in the series as of right now. In a live webcast back on December 2nd, 2008 (seems like it was just yesterday), Gordon said that with the series being multi-author, with everyone’s creativity piling up on top of each other, by the eighth or ninth book, it would be awesome.

Certainly, his predication came true. As for writing style, this book was clearly written in a different writing style than his other books (I know; I’ve read all of them). It wasn’t just Korman writing the book; the writing style of Rick all the way back from September 2008 is still showing in this piece.

I really love the writing style—I think it’s the perfect way to write The 39 Clues series. I don’t really like book three or seven, because of the writing style of Peter Lerangis, but really everyone else has followed suite from Rick and Gordon back in the first and second books.

The plot? Well, at the end of the seventh book, Amy and Dan discover the secret of their family branch: Madrigal. As you can expect, much of the book is centered around that topic.

First, Amy, Dan, and Nellie travel to China in search of the old Janus clue (yep, Jonah Wizard makes his long awaited rebirth into the series). In the Forbidden City, Dan finds a sheet with an equation of the different branch symbols in bottles added together equals the Cahill symbol, along with a Chinese message that later proved important.

Unfortunately, Amy starts voicing her thoughts that maybe their parents deserved to die, and Dan storms off. Then, he is captured by the Kabra children, Ian and Natalie. They dump him in a pile of trash, where he is found by Jonah.

Jonah claims he’s making phone calls to Amy and Nellie and trying to track them down. However, when Amy and Nellie ask him if Dan is with him, he lies and says he isn’t, and was never making calls. When Dan meets Jonah’s mom, Cora Wizard (the leader of the Janus branch), it becomes apparent that the Wizard family is just trying to use him. They even claim Dan is from the Janus branch! Unfortunately, that prompts Dan to respond with the following:

“Janus? I’m no Janus! I know exactly what branch I am!”

“I’m a Madrigal!”

The well-kept secret of who the Madrigals are is finally out, and people will be hunting Amy and Dan down even more.

Dan flees and leaves a message for Amy and Nellie. He did not give a location, as he would have to keep moving. Both decide the next clue is on Mount Everest, and meet each other in the hanger of a plane specially designed to go to the top of Everest. At first, the pilot refuses to take him, but Nellie puts her “boss” on the phone to talk to the pilot, who suddenly agrees to take them.

Nellie later claims it’s her uncle; obviously not true. They also see Nellie pick a lock with masterful skill, and we get to see part of a phone conversation between her and her boss. In her thoughts, she also reveals she has a secret objective. Amy and Dan are once again doubting her more and more.

When they get to the top of Everest, they see that Eisenhower Holt and Ian are already near the top. Amy grabs the vial containing the clue at the peak, but it slips from her hand, as she tries to grab it, she realizes that Ian is about to fall two miles into death. Instead of saving the clue, she saves Ian. Luckily, it was hidden in the secret Chinese message:

“That which you seek, you hold in your hand,
Fixed forever in birth,
Where the Earth meets the sky.”

Because the paper they are holding is made out of silk, the first line means it’s silk. Fixed forever in birth means it’s frozen, which means its raw silkworm secretion, and where the earth meets the sky means it’s hidden on Mount Everest.

Dan also finds an impression of Anne Bonny, a famous woman pirate in the Caribbean. This tells them that’s where the next clue is located.

The secret code in this book is made from the coded letters:

“Madrigals are behind everything. They lay out the path the others will walk. The end is coming.”

What I make from that is the Madrigal’s plant the clues and leads for others to find, and obviously that the contest is coming to an end. There are numerous examples of the Madrigal’s making leads, such as Nellie “accidentally” placing them into secrets (she’s obviously not from one of the four branches, the way they talk about her), and at the beginning of book eight, the Man In Black making sure Amy and Dan saw a certain movie which showed the Janus crest at their next destination. They certainly are the most powerful.

To be honest, The Emperor’s Code was sort of like a filler; not as much as books two, three and four, because we at least got some info from this book, and not quite as much as book six, but more like book five. Certainly this book sets the stage for the outbreak of the series that we know is happening in books nine and ten. I hope to see you on the hunt.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook Page or enter your email below to get more book reviews.

Enter your email address:

4 Lessons I Learned from 4 Weeks of Volunteering at the Library

by 4 Comments

More than four weeks ago, I started volunteering at the Spanish Fork Library. It’s a fairly small library but has two floors and a good collection of books.

I’ve been volunteering there every Tuesday since, and it’s been a lot of fun. I’m mainly reshelving stuff, so it’s a good time to listen to audiobooks and think.

I decided I was going to evaluate what it was like volunteering at the library after four weeks, and these are my main thoughts:

1. People Check Out more DVDs than Books

It’s sad, but it’s true. In the back of the library there’s a rather small section of DVDs. Compared to the quantity of books in the library, it’s nothing. Yet there are more DVDs to reshelve than books.

I guess it’s good that people are taking advantage of the public service of libraries to enjoy movies and TV shows, but it still is a little upsetting to me. Sure, I’ve checked out some movies from the library in the past. Yet it doesn’t compare to the amount of books I’ve taken out.

All indications show me, though, that people are reading more books than ever. I guess we’ve still got a long ways to go.

2. Most Kids Books are Fantasy

Inside the library is a Young Adult section. I can’t remember exactly what the sign says, but it has the picture of a Merlin-type hat and says something like Magic Corner. Sure, there are some realistic fiction books in there, but they are completely overshadowed by fantasy books. Fantasy books are also checked out much more often.

Are all kids now fantasy nerds? I don’t think so. Most kids I know don’t read that type of stuff. So it’s weird. Maybe kids who are into fantasy read more. At least that’s been my experience.

3. Being a Librarian isn’t Glamorous

It’s easy to picture a librarian sitting at her desk, her nose in a book, pausing every now and then to smile at people and give exciting book recommendations. However, that is hardly the truth.

The librarians are always busy at the Spanish Fork library. They are barely able to keep up, let alone have downtime. I sometimes have a few minutes here and there where there’s nothing to do, but definitely not enough to get much reading done. And most of my interactions with people are them apologizing for getting in my way.

I’d guess being a school librarian is a little more exciting, but in a public library it is a pretty tedious job.

4. Books are about more than Writing and Reading

When I think about books, I first think about writing them (I process I absolutely love), and then people reading them (something I love or not depending on the book). But there’s a lot more that goes into a book.

Once it’s written, then it has to be sent to publishers. Then it has to be chosen, a contract signed. It has to go through ferocious editing. Then more editing. It has to get a cover design. Then more editing. It has to be marketed. It has to be printed, shipped off to book stores. And then who knows if anyone is going to buy it.

My Aunt is an editor, so I know a little about that part of the process. Me; I’ll stick with writing and reading. After all, this is The Readers and Writers Paradise 🙂

Thanks so much for reading this article. If you want to get more articles about books from me just enter your email below. You can also check out my Facebook Page.

Enter your email address:

Ungifted by Gordon Korman Review

by 12 Comments

My favorite childhood author was Gordon Korman. So it was interesting to read one of his most recent books Ungifted, now that I’ve passed the phase of passionate attachment towards his books. And I must admit I liked it.

Summary

Ungifted is about a troublemaking 7th grader named Donovan Curtis. He’s the type of kid who does things like rolling expensive bronze globe’s through glass doors. In fact, it’s that very action that gets him in trouble with the Superintendent of Schools when it accidentally wipes down a multi-million dollar statue in the middle of a basketball game, wiping out use of the gym totally and costing the district an exorbitant amount of money.

The Superintendent is furious and intends to give him serious consequences; something Donovan and his family can’t afford right now, with his sister pregnant and her husband in a dangerous war overseas. But somehow it gets mixed up, and instead of his name being put down for big trouble, it gets put on the list of new gifted students.

This is great: Donovan avoids trouble and gets to go to a school which has many advantages over his own, such as being kept in much better shape, encouraging students to have laptops and cellphones during school, and soft talks instead of getting in trouble. One problem: Donovan is ungifted.

The book is about Donovan’s adventures towards the class, which are quite entertaining. It is told in the first person, and each chapter switches the narrator, whether it be Donovan, his teachers, classmates, or sister. This is a good format for a book like this, and can’t help but remind me of No More Dead Dogs, although this book is not quite as funny.

Although Donovan does not quite fit in at first, he soon forms a close bond with many of the interesting characters in his school, including a kid with a 200+ IQ who wants to be in a normal school (Noah Youkilis) and a genius who takes a liking towards towards Donovan because he’s “normal” (Chloe Garfinkle). Some of his escapades include introducing Noah to YouTube and becoming star robotics driver for the Robotics Team, a fact which makes everyone greatly attached to him and wishing greatly for him not to be in trouble.

But he becomes even more valuable when he convinces his pregnant sister to teach a class on Human Growth and Development (saving everyone from summer school) by letting them touch and hear her stomach, talk about her experiences, do many tests on her, go to the doctor with her, and even be waiting outside during her giving birth.

You can’t please everyone, though, and a serious girl named Abigail Lee hates Donovan. She doesn’t think he belongs in the gifted program, nor do most other people. His homeroom teacher advises him to take a retest to get into the gifted program. He has to work hard just to get passable grades in his classes. Yet somehow he manages to pass the test. Or does someone else help him? Will the Superintendent eventually catch up to him? What will happen to the robotics team? What will his punishment be, and what will happen to his family?

Review

The book is 280 pages long, but written in a very easy style and easy to blow through. It took me about a day and a half to read it. Although I did like it, it’s a little below my age grade at this point, but it was still enjoyable. I recently read another one of his books, and that seemed a little more mature. This book would probably be good for people 4th to 7th grade.

The book is funny, but not quite as funny as we’ve come to except from Korman. It’s not really an action/adventure book, but much of it is still exciting and the narrative flows well. There is a lot of character development, and the book is really centered around an impulsive kid, which can be of intrigue.

I liked reading about some of the gifted students, and I’d like more into that subject, although I understand why he didn’t in this book. For some reason I like Korman’s modeling of those students, to the extent I feel he did it better than in the famous book Millicent Minn: Girl Genius.

I wonder if a side effect of the book is to make people feel better about not being gifted, as well as be somewhat in awe towards the main character of the book. Some parents may be concerned it would have a negative impact towards their kids, but I don’t think so. The main character is a good kid and likable, too; it’s not like he’s a jerk-he just gets into trouble sometimes.

Towards adults and older kids, I wouldn’t recommend the book, but for tweens and a little younger it will be a good read. This is more of the style of the old Gordon Korman, but puts some of the past decade or so into it as well.

The main things I like about the book is the storytelling, plot, and characters. It could be a little more exciting, and I’d like for it to have a bit more humor, but overall it’s another good book worth reading.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook Page or enter your email below to get more book reviews.

Enter your email address:

The Readers and Writers Paradise Podcast Episode 002: Interview with Erik from This Kid Reviews Books!

by 8 Comments

I am super excited to share the second episode of my podcast with you today. For the first guest ever on my show, I interviewed Erik from This Kid Reviews Books. Erik is an absolutely awesome guy and has the most popular book review blog on the entire internet. Plus, he’s already published a book! But get this: He’s only twelve years old.

A couple of years ago Erik interviewed me on his website, so it was only natural for me to return the favor. I had a great time interviewing Erik; I hope you guys enjoy the show as much as I did. Please comment and let us know what you think.

Click here to download the podcast

Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven Review

by 4 Comments

I used to love baseball. In fact, there was one year where I watched every single game the Yankees played. That, and the strength of Dan Gutman’s baseball series, made me excited to read Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven, a book about a boy who tries to use luck to make his baseball team, the Sluggers, win the World Series.

This is kind of a weird story, based on hidden magic rituals. I have mixed feelings about the book, because the theme of the book is taking the idea of superstitions and baseball to a whole new level.

Summary

Danny Gurkin is an 11 year old who absolutely loves his favorite baseball team: The Sluggers. The only problem is that they are an awful team. Year after year they endure horrible defeats.

Although Danny puts in valiant efforts to help his team by having two hot dogs with the right amount of toppings before every game, it seems to have little effect. He also has other rituals, from what he wears to where he watches the game.

Danny and his friends, however, come across bubblegum from Manchester E. Boddlebrooks, the founder of the Sluggers. Manchester’s house is about to be demolished, and they hope to find something valuable in it. The bubblegum, however, turns out to be much more valuable than they could have thought.

By chewing the gum Danny is able to change the outcome of the Sluggers games and make them play better. In fact, they are able to get all the way to the world series! But will it be enough to last the Sluggers through the season? What mysterious characters are still alive? And will the owner of the Tornados stop Danny before he can will the Sluggers to win their first victory in 108 years?

Review

As I said earlier, this book is really just taking baseball superstitions to a whole new level, with the magical bubblegum and mysterious characters. The whole thing is quite eery.

The book is well-written, and we are able to identify with Danny as we feel the loses of our own sports teams. For me, though, this book was just a little too weird. I could’ve been okay if it was just the bubblegum, but the whole history of it and everything was a little too much for me. Most kids would love it, however.

This book probably won’t be very well-liked by kids who aren’t into baseball. If they are, however, it may very well capture their attention. On Amazon, there is not a single negative review for Two Hot Dogs with Everything. That’s saying something.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook Page or enter your email below to get more book reviews.

Enter your email address:

The 39 Clues Book 7: The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis Review

by Leave a Comment

I was more excited for this book than any other in The 39 Clues series. Some of you may find this surprisingly, knowing that I am one of the biggest fans of The 39 Clues, and also knowing that I really didn’t like Peter Lerangis’s earlier contribution to the series.

Why why I was so excited, then? Because in this book we learn the identity of Amy and Dan’s branch!

In case you don’t know, The 39 Clues is a multi-author series in which two kids, Amy and Dan Cahill learn that they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is hidden across the world in the form of thirty-nine clues, or chemical elements, which when put together will create a virtual superman potion.

The 39 Clues is one of my all-time favorite kids series, and I consider it was a part of my childhood. If you haven’t read it yet, then you might want to start with the latest books and then backtrack your way from the first book. If you have read it, though, than read on!

Summary

As you probably already know, there are four main branches in The 39 Clues, one for each of the children of Gideon Cahill, the patriarch of the entire Cahill clan. The Ekaterina, Lucian, Tomas, and Janus branches all want to be the first to find the clues.

Amy and Dan, however, don’t know what branch they’re apart of. That’s a problem that has dogged them throughout the entire series. The matter of Amy and Dan’s branch was the thing that intrigued clue hunters (including me) the most. We all had a pretty good idea; after all, clues throughout the series hinted that Amy and Dan were actually Madrigals, a secretive group that everyone is afraid of.

Before Lerangis tells Amy and Dan’s branch, however, he first continues the story from the last book. Irina just sacrificed her own life to save Amy and Dan, and they can barely believe that the vicious ex-KGB agent would do such a thing. Their suspicion of Nellie also continues to grow, but they little choice but to trust her for the moment.

Amy and Dan realize that Irina’s last words-“I’m with you and you’re with me and so we are all together”-were actually the words to a song called marching to Pretoria, a city in South Africa. Amy and Dan quickly discover that the clue has to do with Shaka Zulu, one of the greatest warrior kings of all time.

Amy and Dan also discover that Winston Churchill was involved with the clue, and infiltrate the Tomas stronghold. They are helped throughout the book by Professor Bardsley, a friend of Grace.

Although Amy and Dan find the clue in the stronghold, they are once again attacked by Isabel. Isabel offers them Amy and Dan a chance to join her family, but of course they decline. Isabel is about to kill them once again, but their ingenuity and the help of Professor Bardsley keeps them alive.

The Professor was such a good friend of Grace’s that he has access to her plane, The Flying Lemur. Amy and Dan, however, accidentally spill a vial full of poison onto Dan’s arm. They head to Grace’s secret house in Madagascar to get Dan some medicine.

Dan gets the medicine, but he and Amy also get far more. They find Grace’s notebook, that has the secret of their family branch. If you want, you can click here to see what that branch is. Me; I’d read the book.

Review

This book was a pretty mediocre one, to be honest. The plot itself was good enough, but the way it was written wasn’t. It literally gave me a headache to read it because a lot of it wasn’t clear. I wanted to stop and try to reread, but I just pushed on so I could get to the branch revealing.

There was some historical information in the book about Shaka Zulu and South Africa, but it wasn’t understandable at all. All that I remember is that Shaka Zulu was a great warrior of some kind and that there was recently slavery in South Africa. The slavery could’ve been a powerful moment, but it was pretty weak the way Lerangis wrote it.

The style was a little more matching the other authors than in book 3, but it still wasn’t quite there, and wasn’t really any better. In fact, it might have been worse. This book was more of a blend between his style of writing and the other authors, but it only meets halfway and is kind of like an orchestra not sure of what note to play.

Either way, this is a necessary book for any serious fan of The 39 Clues. This book contains perhaps the most important information in the whole series. I’d just skim through it and to the end. If you’ve been paying attention, I don’t think you’ll be very surprised.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook Page or enter your email below to get more book reviews.

Enter your email address: