The last book of the clue hunt, Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix, was perhaps the most exciting. By this point we had already been through nine action-packed books, and this was the last one! Here all our doubts would be answered, here the hunt for the 39 clues (which had been going on for nearly years) would be over.
For those of you who don’t know, The 39 Clues is a multi-author series in which Amy (14) and Dan (11) Cahill learn that they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is hidden throughout the world in the form of 39 special clues.
Unfortunately, Amy and Dan aren’t the only ones who want the prize. Their ruthless relatives are willing to do anything to be the first to find all 39.
Click here to read more about The 39 Clues.
If you don’t know much about The 39 Clues, then click the link above. If you’re already a veteran clue hunter, then keep reading!
Summary
At the end of the ninth book Amy and Dan learn the truth about their Madrigal identity, and agree to keep going in the clue hunt in order to unite the rest of the family. We are told the final battle will take place in England, and that is where the action continues.
At the start of the book, however, Amy and Dan are not very motivated. They receive a message from the Madrigal leaders, but are so exhausted they don’t want to read what it says. Before they have a chance to do anything, however, Isabel Kabra’s monkey comes into their hotel room and snatches it!
Luckily, Dan has a photographic memory and is able to remember the message, which tells us that the next clue is about William Shakespeare. The whole book focuses a lot on him and you really learn a lot.
Unfortunately, all the other families are also in England and hot on Shakespeare’s case. Even the Starling triplets (who got knocked out in book 1) are back. Ted and Ned are in bad health, and Sinead wants to use the serum to make them well again.
We also see a lot more of Jonah in this book. Although he attempts to pay off a woman to lie about a crime he committed, she is an old English teacher and refuses. In the end, however, she turns out to be a big fan of his and covers for him.
Amy and Dan hide out in Stratford-upon-Avon, but everyone else is following them and they aren’t able to do anything. They pretend to leave and so does everyone else, but they secretly come back to dig up Shakespeare’s grave. Unfortunately, it’s not so secret. There is secret writing on the tombstone, and everyone knows it.
The writing leads them to the Cahill Ancestral Home, a mansion in Ireland. There is the gauntlet; the ultimate Madrigal plan to force the family together. Amy and Dan are forced to admit to everyone else their Madrigal identity, but there is no time to think about it.
In the Gauntlet the Cahill’s are forced to answer questions in order to move forward, and no one can get too far ahead because a member of each branch has to touch locked doors in order to get through. Ian and Natalie are worried, because they know something nobody else does. Could their evil mother be about to join them?
This is the ultimate battle, a showdown between Amy, Dan, and the rest of the Cahill family, against the ultimate evil; Isabel Kabra. Will Amy and Dan fail? Who will get the serum? Will Isabel take over the world?
Review
This is an awesome book, perhaps the best in the entire series. At 327 pages, it is by far the longest, but that’s because it’s action-packed with a lot of stuff.
There is great character development all around in this book, and we get to see the real side of everyone; especially Amy and Dan. The action could not be any better, the action in the gauntlet keeping you on your toes.
It’s sad that with this book the series is over. The 39 Clues was a big part of my childhood, and the second and third arcs just aren’t the same as this one.
Good job getting to this point! This book is the reward for sticking through it with the previous nine books. Enjoy it!
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