funstm
Written on Feb 16, 2017
This was fast paced and action packed and it was wickedly good. Unlike Alex Rider it's not overly sad and unlike Cherub - I like the main characters. As a reader, I relate to Amy but I love Dan's way of looking at things. They're a great team. Nellie, the au pair, is hilarious. She's laid back and loyal and can speak a seemingly million different languages. The rest of the Cahill family kind of suck, but what's an adventure story without a villain? Or ten? The plot is riveting - the mix of fiction and history is fascinating and I flew through this and the next one in the series. They're not particularly long - but then this kind of book never is - or at least never feels like it is. I can't wait to read the rest. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
This was a great start to a new series. I love Amy and Dan. I felt for them at having lost their parents and then their grandmother and having only Aunt Beatrice to look after them. I felt even worse for them as they struggle to trust everyone they meet. It's kind of like A Series of Unfortunate Events in a way, everyone's out to get them. At least they have Nellie (which in itself reminds me of Alex Rider and Jack) - although she is kind of absent in a lot of their adventures. As a child reading this I wouldn't think much of it - as an adult I can't help but thinking those poor children. Grace kind of seems like a jerk having palmed them off to Beatrice. Plus it's not like she actually looks after them - she hires nannies. It's kind of ridiculous. And she could've provided them some sort of security - I mean it's not like Beatrice is going to continue to look after them when she was forced - why would she when Grace isn't around anymore to keep her in line?
Anyway. I like the mystery of the 39 clues - what they are, what the ultimate goal is, etc. I like how they work to gain the first clue and how their different skills play a part.