Daniel Johnston

The 39 Clues Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis

January 20, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

When The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis first came out all the way back in early 2009, I was stoked. I had already read the first two books in The 39 Clues series, the last one being One False Note by Gordon Korman, and the series was progressing along well. Great story, great mystery, and great characters. What more could you want?

The 39 Clues is a multi-author series written by super popular, bestselling authors about orphans named Amy and Dan Cahill. When their grandmother Grace dies, they learn they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is scattered throughout the world in the form of thirty-nine different clues. Whoever finds all the clues will become the most powerful person in history.

Amy and Dan, of course, are not the only ones who want the prize. Their treacherous, back-stabbing relatives will do anything possible to find the clues first.

As with all books in The 39 Clues series, I finished The Sword Thief the very day I got it. Although it was an interesting book and moved the plot along, I remember not being very satisfied with the book.

Summary

At the end of One False Note, Amy and Dan find samurai swords by the location of the clue. They take the hint and head off to Japan. Before they are able to get there, however, their cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra, manage to trick them and leave them stranded in the airport.

After that, Alistair Oh offers to help Amy and Dan and create an alliance. After all, Alistair has resources in Seoul, Korea, and he has wisdom and age. Amy and Dan do not fully trust him, but they agree to work together for the time being.

Amy, Dan, and Alastair realize that the clue is hidden in the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a great Japanese warrior and son of Thomas Cahill, the founder of the Tomas branch.

The Holt family, however, are also hot after the clue and manage to trap them in a subway. It looks as though it’s about to curtains for the Cahill kids, but Alastair rescues them before they end up being hit by a train. We get to see the human side of the Holt kids as they balk at the idea of killing Dan and Amy.

Unfortunately, the three of them accidentally go into the abode of sword-wielding Yakuza, or Japanese warriors. Nellie, their au pair, is able to save them, along with Ian and Natalie Kabra. Amy, Dan, and Alastair agree to form an alliance with Ian and Natalie. The reason for that is partly because Amy has sort of a crush on Ian, and Ian is acting as though it’s reciprocal.

The clues point to Korea, and the six of them go to Alastair’s house. We learn more about the Ekaterina branch and about Bae Oh, Alastair’s uncle and leader of the Ekaterina branch. After Alastair’s dad died, he lived miserable years under his uncle. On the plane ride to Korea, however, he learns for the first time that Bae Oh arranged for Alastair’s father to be murdered.

At Alastair’s house, he shares some of his own information with the others. We learn a lot more about the clue hunt, specifically that the thirty-nine clues are thirty-nine elements that when mixed together will create a sort of philosopher’s stone. They travel to the mountain Pukhansan, and Dan tricks the others regarding the location of the clue.

The end is an interesting and treacherous tale, where we learn the true intentions of Amy and Dan’s relatives. Will Ian and Natalie steal the clue, or will Amy and Dan outsmart them once again? More importantly, will Alastair Oh survive?

Review

Like I said before, I consider this to be one of the weakest books in the series. Although Gordon Korman talked about how he used The Maze of Bones as his bible in writing One False Note, Peter Lerangis clearly did not do the same. The book is written in a very different style from the rest of the series. The other books are written in an exciting, detached, and realistic way. This book is much more relaxed, the tone is more informal, and it is not nearly as action-packed. Plus, it is kind of difficult to understand. As a result, the book loses some of its educational value and I don’t remember any of the historical information, very different from the author books.

Although some of my friends who were reading the series at the time told me that they liked the break from the action, all of them stopped reading after this book. None of my friends who started the series actually read the fourth book. Plus, books one and two were both #1 on the bestseller list for a long time. This book was on the bestseller list, but did not hit number one. None of the subsequent books in the series did, either.

There are some good parts to the way Lerangis writes, though. He introduces a possible romance between Ian and Amy that has continued throughout the series to the current books with different boyfriends and hints of crushes. This was the subject most frequently discussed among clue hunters during the Cahills vs. Vespers arc, and was in my view a valuable addition to the series.

This book has some good information about the clue hunt that moves the story along, so it’s a must for dedicated clue hunters going back through the early books to read. Overall, however, the writing is not nearly as good as in the rest of the series and on its own I would not recommend it.

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 subscribe through email below to get the scoop on books.

Swindle by Gordon Korman Review

January 17, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 8 Comments

Swindle by Gordon Korman has become a modern classic. I was in fifth grade in 2008 when it first came out, and Gordon Korman was coming to visit my school! In preparation, our librarian had us read some books by Gordon Korman, and I was instantly hooked!

The common refrain of kids about Swindle is, “I finished it in three days!” Well, guess what; I finished Swindle the very night I got it! By the time Gordon Korman came to my school, everyone was in love with him, and tons of kids I know have read it.
Swindle has sold millions of copies and spawned follow-up books Zoobreak, Framed, Showoff, and Hideout. It has also been adapted into a movie by Nickelodeon (which I thought was rather subpar, especially compared to the book, by the way). So why is Swindle so popular? What makes this one of the best-selling kids books of recent times?

Also check out the video trailer on Scholastic’s website. It’s quite well done.

Summary

Swindle starts off with the main character Griffin Bing and his best friend, Ben Slovak, camping out in an old abandoned mansion. It was going to get knocked down the next morning, and Griffin had come up with a plan to protest by having some of his fellow seventh-graders camp out with him at the building.Tons of people said they were going to show up, but ultimately, he and Ben were left alone.

While exploring the house, Griffin finds a 1920 Babe Ruth baseball card. His father is an inventor who has fallen on tough times recently, and his family is facing the possibility of having to move away. Griffin is greatly upset by this. He doesn’t want to be separated from his town. Mainly, though, he doesn’t want to leave Ben.

Griffin is hopeful that the baseball card will be able to solve his family’s financial woes. After all, he’s heard of old baseball cards selling for a lot of money, and this card is still in good condition. When he takes it to Palomino’s Emporium, a shop owned by S. Wendell Palomino, the collector tells him and Ben that it’s actually a knockoff of the card from the sixties. Griffin is crestfallen, but sells it for $120.

A couple of days later, Griffin is furious to discover on TV that S. Wendell Palomino (now nicknamed “Swindle”) had swindled him out of an original 1920 card that was worth $974,000! $974,000 would mean the world to Griffin; not only being able to stay in Cedarville, but it would also put his parents constant arguments about money to rest forever.

Griffin can’t stand it when adults take advantage of kids. As Korman says, “The main theme of the book is kids taking matters into their own hands.” Luckily, Griffin is known as “The Man With the Plan” around town because he’s constantly making crazy and adventurous plans to accomplish whatever goal he wants to. In this case, he knows that if he wants that card back there’s only one thing to do: He’s going to have to steal it back.

To steal the card back from this thief is going to take the best plan of them all. Swindle has a tough guard dog named Luthor, a high-tech security system, a fence, and a safe. Griffin knows he and Ben can’t do it alone. Griffin compiles a team of people from his school whose talents he believes he can use to complete the heist.

Griffin and his team go to work trying to outfox Swindle. It comes down to an incredibly exciting ending, with the police eventually intervening. This book creates lots of exciting questions. Do they get the card back? Will Griffin’s family have to move away? What are the ethical consequences of what they’re doing? Who will ultimately win in the battle of Griffin and his friends versus Swindle?

Review

This is a great, action-packed book. The characters are interesting and each have their own personalities. Griffin and his friends are regular, independent kids trying to make their way in the adult world. They also have an enemy named Darren Vader who forcibly joins their team and no surprise causes trouble. The team has to be extremely intelligent and good at what they’re doing if they want to snag the card.

This is a very original story, although it is the kind of theme that could be expected from Gordon Korman. Griffin isn’t about to let a crook like Swindle make off with what was his baseball card. Griffin has never seen an object he considers immovable, and although his team may seem to be made up of a bunch of random kids, he has carefully chosen them for the skills that possess that will be necessary to the heist. Swindle may have the baseball card under very careful guard, but that’s just another challenge to be solved for The Man with the Plan.

Kids just love Swindle. I’ve spoken to lots of kids who have read it, and that’s the only impression I’ve gotten. I highly recommend it, and all the books in this series.

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 subscribe through email below.

The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note by Gordon Korman Review

January 15, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 3 Comments

In One False Note, Gordon Korman continues the exciting series, The 39 Clues. In the first book, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, we met Amy and Dan Cahill, two young kids who suddenly find themselves in a hunt for the most powerful secret in the world. Unfortunately, they are up against their vicious relatives. Relatives like Irina Spasky, who is an ex-KGB agent and stores poison in her fingernails.

The 39 Clues is a multi-author series and Gordon Korman is a great person to write the second book in the series. He is an amazing author, lately becoming an expert at writing adventure books.

I was extremely excited for the release of One False Note all the way back in 2008, and watched the premier video (which was an hour long) probably a dozen times. As usual with Gordon Korman, the book did not disappoint.

Summary

At the end of The Maze of Bones, Amy and Dan end up finding a piece of music written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They track his footsteps to Vienna, Austria, where Mozart lived.

The sheet music is a special clue because it is different than the actual piece. The extra notes are a hint!

Unfortunately, however, when Amy, Dan, and their au pair, Nellie, are traveling to Vienna, they are attacked by the rival Holt family. Amy and Dan’s cat Saladin ends up eating the music in the confusion. Luckily, Dan has an amazing photographic memory, and is able to reproduce the music.

Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna “Nanneral” Mozart, is also a big part of the story. She had a diary that everyone believes has some secret information about Mozart that will be useful in the hunt. Their cousin, Jonah Wizard, is one step ahead of them, however, and snags the diary before they do. Amy and Dan manage to create a diversion, however, and get it back.

Amy and Dan of course have no idea how to read German, but their au pair Nellie does! She knows a bunch of languages, and her knowledge is coming in handy. When she reads the diary, however, she learns that a few pages of the diary with the important information were ripped out.

Feeling down on their luck, Amy plays the secret notes that were on the sheet music. A woman comes up to her and tells her that the notes are actually from another song called, “The Place Where I was born.” Amy and Dan therefore decide to go to where Mozart was born in Salzburg. Unfortunately, their competitors also have the same idea, and end up getting trapped in the catacombs yet again by their uncle Alastair Oh. It is a very exciting scene and also very well written.

Amy and Dan are not above taking part in the more underhanded parts of the clue hunt, and steal from Alastair Oh a clue that leads them to Venice, Italy. Jonah Wizard is already there, and they follow him into a Janus stronghold. There we learn more about the Cahill family and learn that each of the four branches (Janus, Ekaterina, Lucian, and Tomas), each have their own strongholds that they conduct clue hunting out of.

Amy and Dan’s time in the Janus stronghold is extremely exciting. They manage to steal a vital piece of information, but can they survive with the entire Janus branch after them? Eventually it comes down to a battle between Amy and Dan and their vicious Lucian cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra. Will Amy and Dan win the clue, or will their rich cousins take it for themselves?

Review

One False Note is an excellent book that shows to me the epitome of the excitement of The 39 Clues series. The book is exciting and also moves the plot along. It has good character development and lets us know more about the family. Korman is not quite as good as developing relatable characters as Riordan, however.

This book also gives a lot of interesting historical information. I still remember stuff I learned in it. I learned about a bunch of new and exciting places and cultures. I read this more than five years ago, and I still remember the descriptions of the waterways of Venice.

Although any of The 39 Clues books could technically be read on their own, I’d recommend reading The Maze of Bones first. For people just getting into the series, it would probably be best to start with the current Unbreakable arc, but this would be a very good book for a kid who enjoys the more recent books. It may not be quite as exciting as when the series first came out, but they are still very captivating books and will be read for years to come.

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 subscribe through email below.

Inviting Guest Reviewers!

January 14, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

Hi everyone! I just wanted to do this post to invite anyone who wants to to do a guest review on my blog.

A guest review is where you write a review for someone else’s website. I would love for people to guest review. It would give my readers a different perspective on books, and it would help me get to know people in the book community better.

What’s in it for the person who does the guest review? Well, you get access to all of my readers. You can link to your own website, and then my readers will check it out. Plus, my website’s been around for a few years, and has a lot of Google “linkjuice.” A link from my site will help yours climb in the rankings.

I wish I could do more guest reviews on other people’s websites. However, I’m a senior in high school and barely even have the time to run my own site.

Here are a few guidelines:

The review has to be about a book around the ages of 9-12, preferably in the upper range of that.
The review cannot be about a book that doesn’t have too many other-worldly elements (a few are okay!)
The review has to be at least 600 words, and no more than 1500

That’s it! So, if you want to join The Readers and Writers Paradise community, just send me a message via the contact form below.

Animal Farm by George Orwell Review

January 13, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 3 Comments

There sometimes comes along a book that influences people’s perspectives, that makes its mark politically and in society. Rare is it that one author has two books, but the great writer George Orwell, author of 1984 and Animal Farm. The latter is what I will be reviewing today.

Animal Farm is a small book, but tells a full story of revolution and corruption, patterned after the story of the Soviet Revolution. The animals in the farm are unhappy with how their owner is treating them, and thus, inspired by a vision of a wise horse called Old Major, start a revolution. Animals starting a revolution? But banding together, they manage to drive their owners out, taking control of the farm for themselves.

They have to do hard work, but it’s great now because they are free, enjoying the fruit of their own work, not doing it for any humans. The pigs assume the leadership, but Napoleon and his adversary Snowball always disagree on everything and it can only be decided on by a majority vote. Everyone lives in harmony and happiness. The old owner of the farm attempts to reclaim it, but the animals are dedicated, and heroic acts manage to drive them out.

A big fight breaks out about the building of a tower. One of the pigs says it will be good and will reduce the work to 3 days a week. Naturally, the other pig opposes it – citing as a reason that they have the upcoming harvest and need to work on that. Snowball, the one in favor of the tower wins out among the populace, but he is not as crafty as Napoleon, who trains several puppies into vicious dogs and sicks them on Snowball, driving out of the farm.

After that, Napoleon becomes more and more corrupt. The majority of the animals are illiterate, stupid, and trust Napoleon. Originally there had been a list of commandments in the barn, and Napoleon continually changes them (such as allowing animals to drink, sleep in beds, and, eventually, stand on two legs). When anyone questions it, the change is attributed merely to their bad memory. Everything that goes wrong is blamed on Snowball.

Napoleon decides that the building of the tower is a good idea after all, explaining his change by saying that it was his idea in the first place and Snowball had stolen it from it. It keeps getting knocked down and is never completed, however. Napoleon has them work harder and harder and get less and less food. They do not believe conditions are getting worse because of the lies Napoleon’s spokesman, Whymper, who claims that productions of all food is going up and they just don’t remember what it used to be like. At the end of the book it is revealed the animals on Animal Farm do more work and get less food than any other farm in the country.

They also kill many animals, claiming them to be Snowball’s accomplices. Before long, what was established as a free civilization after a revolution against humans leds to a leadership that is worst than the first. Near the end of the book, the pigs come out standing on two legs. The sheep have always bleated: “Four legs good, two legs bad,” but as the pigs come out, they now sing: “Four legs good, two legs better.” The pigs have quickly turned into semi-human, even sitting down with humans and playing card games with them.

What the book is supposed to represent is how corruption grows and relies on a stupid populace and manipulates them. This happened in many socialist societies at the time the book was first published, and serves as a warning. Although of course humans are smarter than the animals and would not be fooled so easily, the pigs (or the leaders) would also be smarter too. This book is based off the Soviet revolution and the consequent slavery that occurred among the people.

I think the book is a little bit of a stretch, but it is still intriguing. Although people like to draw parallel’s to today’s society, I do not support such views, but it rather serves more as a warning. My mind was a little messed up after reading it, but not too bad. It’s a fun book to read. One thing is that in animal nature their animal instinct for food would probably trump anything Napoleon told them, but it’s really an allegory.

At 97 pages, it’s a small book, but it contains a lot of ideas and actions and cannot really be described as short. His writing style is good and factual, which is why it’s called a fairy tale (as explained in the Introduction). It is definitely a book written for its time and a time that could come again. One of the reasons we don’t have to worry about such things today is because of books like this.

Overall, it’s a good book to read and I’d recommend taking a look at it, for the entertainment value but mainly for the educational information about socialism.

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 join my FaceBook Fan Page get email updates for more book reviews below.

The 39 Clues Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan Review

January 10, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 6 Comments

I remember very clearly the first time I held in my hands The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan. It was September, 2008, more than five years ago now. I was in sixth grade, and I was super excited for the new series The 39 Clues.

After all, my favorite author, Gordon Korman (who had just come to my school a few months earlier), was involved in the series and was going to write the second book. The plot sounded super interesting, plus the series was supplemented by an exciting online game where you could collect clues, do missions, and even win prizes. Plus, all my friends were reading it.

Most of my friends dropped out of reading the series after the first couple of books, but after five years I’m still with it! The series has honestly grown kind of long-in-the-tooth now; certainly nothing like those exciting times when we were all trying to figure out the mysteries of this exciting new world.

Still, for young kids the series is still going strong with the new subseries Unbreakable, with mostly the same cast of characters but new villains and new adventures. For kids who like the later 39 clues books and want to play catchup, the Maze of Bones is a good place to start.

Summary

In the Maze of Bones we meet Dan and Amy Cahill, the main characters. They are orphans under the care of their aunt, Beatrice Cahill. Beatrice doesn’t take very good care of them, however, and merely hires au pairs to look after them.

Unfortunately, their cool grandmother Grace Cahill recently died, and Amy and Dan are attending the funeral. Grace was awesome and Amy and Dan used to spend the weekends at her house. They are sad because there isn’t going to be any fun in their lives anymore.

Amy and Dan are called with Beatrice and other relatives into a reading of Grace Cahill’s will. In a video Grace recorded, she makes an astonishing announcement. The Cahill’s are a very powerful family and the source of the family’s power is divided into 39 clues. Anyone who collects these clues will become the most powerful person in the world. Grace gives her descendants a choice: A million dollars or one clue.

Amy and Dan aren’t sure what to do. They feel as though perhaps Grace wanted them to enter the challenge, but they also don’t want to be stupid and give up $2 million. They realize, however, that Beatrice will find a way to steal their money if they choose to accept it. Amy and Dan are miserable and want something different. They choose the clue.

Amy is 14 and Dan is 10, quite young to start a quest. Beatrice is extremely upset with their decision to enter the clue hunt and runs out of the room, saying something about disowning them. There are in total six teams who enter the race for the clues.

The clue reads: RESOLUTION. The fine print to guess, Seek out Richard S______. No one seems to know what that means, but the teams start going out in search of the clues.

Amy and Dan team up with their relative Alistair Oh to try and figure out the clue, and they realize that Richard S. must be a reference to Poor Richard’s Almanac. They look for it in Grace’s library, but there is a fire and Grace’s mansion burns down. They barely make it out alive with Grace’s cat Saladin.

Realizing that the clue has to do with Benjamin Franklin, they head to Boston. Their au pair, Nellie, agrees to drive them there. Unfortunately, the other teams are also in Boston, and the Starling triplets try to kill Amy and Dan. Unfortunately for them, they end up wounding themselves.

Amy and Dan are smart, but are they smart enough to beat people like Irina Spasky, an ex-KGB agent who has poison in her fingernails? What about the Holt family, a group of muscular brutes? Or Ian and Natalie Kabra, rich and also carrying poison. How will they fare against Jonah Wizard, a rap star with more fans and money than anyone needs?

Amy and Dan also realize there are family branches. The branches are Tomas, Ekaterina, Lucian, and Janus. Amy and Dan have no clue what branch they’re in, a problem that haunts them through the end of the series.

The hunt eventually ends up taking Amy and Dan to Paris, and the French catacombs. It is a very exciting and thrilling story.

Review

The Maze of Bones is a great introductory book to the series. It sets the stage and gets everyone excited for the adventures that are to come. It does a good job of character development; with Amy and Dan’s conniving relatives, and also of Amy and Dan. Amy and Dan are very relatable. They have no resources in the hunt but their own smarts. They are innocent people placed into a dangerous game.

The writing style of this book is a little more informal than the other books, and I consider that a good thing. Every author has their own style, and Riordan certainly has a good one. Another good thing about the book is that it contains a lot of good historical information. I still use information that I read The 39 Clues to this day.

I consider the main strength of this book to be that Riordan is able to combine exciting action with character development. Usually you hear of plot-based stories, or character-based stories, but this book is both. I think that is the main thing missing from the later books, where the characters of Amy and Dan are still good, but nowhere near the captivating level in the earlier books.

Part of the excitement of reading The Maze of Bones at the time was that it was the first book in a new series, there was an online game, everyone was reading it, and we were going to have to wait to find out the secrets. Yes, it tormented us at the time, but it was actually a great thing!

There is no question that reading The Maze of Bones now is not as captivating as in the past. You don’t have the community surrounding the earlier books anymore, and there isn’t nearly the same excitement with all the books out. After all, people who have read the latest book, Nowhere to Run, already know that Amy and Dan come out okay in the end.

Also, in September, 2008, the books were coming out every three months. One False Note was in December, and The Sword Thief followed in March. It was manageable, therefore, to read all of the books. Now, however, they’ve been coming out at the same rate for five years. There were ten books in the original series, a connecting book, six books in the second series, and now a third series that is churning out more books.

Most of the books are about 200 pages long, so to play catchup and read all of the old books is a possibility, but it’s unlikely unless you or your child is a very prolific reader.

Either way, The Maze of Bones is a fantastic book. If you or your child is really addicted to The 39 Clues, then reading The Maze of Bones is good idea. It will be a good book to read and you’ll probably like it a lot. Most likely, though, you’ll peter out a couple books after that unless you’re a big 39 clues lover.

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 check out my Facebook Page or subscribe through email below.