When I first heard that The 39 Clues series was doing a reboot, I was pretty excited. After all, The 39 Clues is one of my all-time favorite series with some of my favorite authors and favorite characters.
For those of you who don’t know, The 39 Clues is a multi-author series which features two kids named Amy (14) and Dan (11). In the first series, they realize they are members of the most powerful family in the world. The source of their families power is hidden throughout the world in the form of thirty-nine special clues. The person to find all of them will be the most powerful person ever.
Of course, Amy and Dan aren’t the only ones looking for the clues. In an intense race all across the globe, Amy and Dan face up against ex-KGB agents and ruthless killers. When that was done, they thought they could relax…
Not quite.
Unfortunately there is another family known as the Vespers who also want the clues. And they’re smart; really smart. Amy and Dan are going to have to be at the top of their game if they’re going to outsmart the Vespers.
Click here to learn more about The 39 Clues.
Summary
Luckily, The Medusa Plot is written by my favorite kids author, Gordon Korman, so you know it’s going to be good. Unfortunately, a lot of Cahill’s are kidnapped by the Vespers, and Amy and Dan have to act fast to try to keep them alive.
The Vespers are run by a Council of Six. The highest up on the council is Vesper One, supposedly the evilest dude on the face of the earth. He gets in contact with Amy and Dan and texts them what they need to do to satisfy him.
A weird part of the book is that Amy and Dan are now two years older, and Amy is dating a boy named Evan. I don’t really like this at all, although the romance factor is certainly popular among a number of readers.
Vesper One sends Amy and Dan on a chase to Florence where they have to steal Caravaggio’s “Medusa” from the Uffizi museum. This isn’t an easy task at all because the museum is very heavily guarded with tons of high tech security.
Amy and Dan are not alone, however. The Vespers only captured seven Cahill’s, so Amy and Dan still have plenty of help, including Jonah, Hamilton, McIntyre, and even Ian Kabra. Even though Evan isn’t a Cahill (at least not that we know of), he is devoted to Amy and agrees to help out.
Even though Amy and Dan perform heroically in trying to steal the Caravaggio from the museum, it is not enough for Vesper One. Nellie gets shot, with a clear threat of death. Will Amy and Dan let the hostages die? Or will they make an even bigger mistake by being Vesper One’s perfect pawns?
Review
This is a really good introduction to the new series. I think this series is a good followup to the original (although nothing can match it) and will be very captivating for many kids.
The Vespers are a good addition to the series because, similar to the clue hunt, we are left scrambling to try to discover who the different Vespers might be. It keeps the mystery of the series going and leaves Amy and Dan having to fight a new and realistic villain.
As I said earlier, I don’t really think the romance with Evan is a good idea because later in the series it turns into a battle between Evan and another guy. Although a lot of clue hunters liked that, it is becomes somewhat reminiscent of the “modern” young adult books that I hate. I think a lot of girls like the romance, but a lot of boys will probably be turned off by it.
Even so, this is a really solid book. I expected so with Gordon Korman’s name on the cover, and he doesn’t disappoint. Amy and Dan go through a bunch of crazy adventures in this book and we even learn more about their characters. So yeah, it’s really good. This is a good place to start The 39 Clues series if you don’t want to go all the way back to the first book. Kids around seven to thirteen will love this book.
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