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Breakaway

I received my copy from the publisher

breakaway

By: Jeff Hirsch

The 39 Clues – Unstoppable bk 2

Amy and Dan are on the run. For some reason J Rutherford Pierce is determined to destroy them. He will do this any way he can and as owner of a huge media company he is effectively targeting them in the press, any medium of press. This is a war that has been waging for years and the Cahill’s thought they were done with it all after the last time. This time the stakes are higher, Pierce has found the secret to the serum and he is planning to use it to dominate the world. The Cahills and their friends can not let this happen no matter what, they have found the ingredients they are hoping will prove to be a counter-serum and are racing against time to find things that may not (shouldn’t) exist anymore.

Amy is taking things hard this time around. She feels it is her responsibility as Grace left her to be head of the family. She begins to cut everyone off determined to allow them to escape from the danger that seems to go hand in hand with the Cahill name. Dan is at his wits end, this is becoming tiring and part of him wants nothing more than to stop, but his sister is the world to him and when she seems to betray him he is in a place he never believed he would find himself. The story remains action packed though somehow a little frustrating. Almost as if the whole thing is being dragged out too long. The relationship between Amy and Jake in its off again on again way is more frustrating than anything else. Yes I still wan to see how this ends and see Pierce get his comeuppance but I just don’t want them to take too long to get the end. You really just want the Cahills to catch a break.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 06 February 2014

Format: Hardback 192 pages

Categories: Adventure, Family

ISBN 13: 9780545521420

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of the page

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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Nowhere to Run

nowhere-to-runBy: Jude Watson

39 Clues Unstoppable series bk 1

Dan and Amy Cahill finally think it’s over and they can go back to having a normal kind of life, or at least as normal as can be. Then strange things start to happen, men attack them out of nowhere and suddenly their whole lives are under attack. A tiny mistake has lead them to a terrible catastrophe that could endanger the whole world. At first they think there is no way what they think has happened could possibly have happened, but when they put everything together, there is no way around it. Someone has stolen the serum and that someone will stop at nothing to rule the world and if that means getting rid of Dan and Amy permanently then thats what they will do. The Cahill’s find themselves on the run, just to survive before they can go on the offensive.

It is possible that you could think the 39 Clues franchise has run it’s course, but this takes it to a whole other place. The thing they spent so long fighting against is actually happening, from an unexpected direction. It will be interesting to see how this new enemy effects the group dynamic. Amy has relationships to work through as well as the responsibility of being the head of the family and she wants to protect as many people as she can, but that isn’t really possible. Dan has to decide if he really wants in this still. Loads of favourite characters are here, both good and bad ones as well as a new and powerful enemy. This enemy fights differently though, this enemy throws the media under his control at the problem meaning the Cahill’s have to fight this battle on two fronts, the one that paints them as tearaway, wealthy brats and the real fight.

It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 03 October 2013

Format: Paperback 192 pages

Categories: Adventure, Family, Crime

ISBN 13: 9780545521376

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of the page

 

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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Day of Doom

I received this from the publisher.9780545298445By: David Baldacci

Cahills vs Vespers bk 6

It is now the end. The Vespers have all they need to build Archimedes Doomsday Machine. The Cahill’s don’t have their hostages back and the world may be about to end. Amy, Dan, Jake and Atticus are determined not to give up, it is simply not in their nature. Vesper One has managed to get more hostages and disable air transport, the problem the Cahills and their friends face is that they aren’t the only ones on the way to Vesper One’s location, Isabel Kabra is travelling on the same train. When Cahills are in involved it isn’t over until it is over, and this group are determined to save the innocents or die trying.

A fitting conclusion to the series. Amy and Dan continue to find strength in each other, and in teasing each other. Amy has had some bad moments in the series and yet she still manages to step up and be the leader of the ragtag bunch of youth. Dan faces his own dilemmas – is his dad really alive and should he actually take the fames serum? Jake and Atticus have become more than solid additions but an integral part of the story, somehow they manage to fit into the Cahill family. Friendships are put to the test, relationships are started and heartbreak is no stranger in this story. They are put through the ringer and those that come out the other side prove that bravery is valuable and family is a strong bond.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 04 April 2013

Format: Hardback 336 pages

Categories: Adventure, Crime, Family

ISBN 13: 9780545298445

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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Trust No One

I got this copy from the publishers9780545298438Cahills vs Vespers bk 5

By: Linda Sue Park

The blows have been coming hard at Dan and Amy, there have been loses and now there is betrayal. Someone close to them turns on them and it shakes Amy to her very core. Then there are the threats not only to the hostages but deliberate attacks aimed at against Atticus. Atticus will not leave the Cahills, he just won’t run away no matter what anyone says and it is his and Jake’s connections that get them closer to the next target. Then they hand over something they realise they really shouldn’t have, will they be able to get it back? Will they be able to prevent the Vesper’s from winning?

This book had pace, action and interesting character development. Amy goes through a big arc in this book. Things happen and it is nice to see her age shine through. Dan also goes through quite an arc as well, he has his own agenda for his own very good reasons. They both suffer from darkness in this one and their fragility really shines through. Atticus and Jake are give the opportunity to be the strong ones in this book, it makes the partnership stronger. Also Hamilton and Jonah are dealing with the consequences of their previous actions, Jonah in particular.

This was a good and solid addition to the series, it left me really wanting to find out what they do next.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 06 December 2012

Format: Hardback 336 pages

Categories: Action, Adventure, History, Family

ISBN 13: 9780545298438

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page

Category:

Fiction 8-12

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Shatterproof

I received my copy from the publisher.9780545298421By: Roland Smith

The 39 Clues series – Cahills vs Vespers bk 4

Amy, Dan, Atticus and Jake are still jet-setting around the world at the beck and call of Vesper one. This time he is sending them after one of the worlds biggest diamonds – the Golden Jubilee. Jonah and Hamilton are pursuing their own leads. All have to be careful of every step and who is following them. Everything these youngsters do, every rule they break is in order to save their family members. Things are getting trickier as they find themselves on Interpol’s Most Wanted List. The family members who are being held hostage have not given up hope, they still plan for escape, maybe this time they will find their chance.

This next instalment of the series keeps up the pace of previous books, the conflict is pretty much what you would expect. It is nice to spend some time following Jonah and Hamilton and the thing that happens to them gives some depth and change to their characters. The problem is that it is starting to feel a bit same old same old, I really want something to change, something to actually go the kid’s way. It isn’t till the end that things begin to grab at your attention, this is when things start to change up a little. The ending though does pull you back in and leaves you with the desire to find out what happens next.

Publisher: Scholastic US 

Published: 06 September 2012

Format: Paperback 336 pages

Categories: Adventure, Crime, Family, Historical

ISBN 13: 9780545298421

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page

Category:

Fiction 8-12

Tagged with:

The Dead of Night

By: Peter Lerangis

Book 3 Cahills vs Vespers

Atticus, Dan’s best friend has been kidnapped. The Cahill’s weren’t expecting that. Atticus isn’t a Cahill, he is however a guardian and while they aren’t really sure what that means they do know their lives are linked together, so they aren’t about to let Atticus go without a fight. Atticus may be alone and not sure what is going on but he isn’t out of the fight. He is a smart boy with a trick or two up his sleeve. Atticus and Jake become allies with the Cahills and the good guys start to get little victories, they may not seem like much but every little thing counts.

Meanwhile Ian Kabra is pursuing his own thing and the crew at home base may have finally had a breakthrough on the location of the hostages.

The action just keeps going in these books and part of you wonders how long Dan and Amy can keep doing this. The uneasy alliance with Jake (Atticus is far more willing) is a great addition. It gives us a character from the outside whose perspective is a little different. Atticus is fun, his intelligence helps Amy and pushes her whilst his style, as Dan says, makes history more interesting.

The little snippets that exist at the centre of all the action give the story a depth and ground the adventure in reality. I want to know what happens next. I want Dan and Amy to win and then I want to see them have some fun.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 05 April 2012

Format: Hardback 336 pages

Categories: Adventure, Family, Action, History

ISBN 13: 9780545298414

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of page

Category:

Uncategorized

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Operation Trinity

By: Clifford Riley

The Cahill Files bk 1

A coveted work of art has been hunted by the Vespers and protected by the Cahills for hundreds of years. Van Eyck’s altarpiece has been the target of a record number of theft attempts.

Young Matheus is sent to serve as an altar boy at Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, he didn’t expect anything like this to happen with his life, nor did he think his mother’s family safeguarded a huge secret. When the unrest spreads Matheus discovers he has been selected by his mother to protect the altarpiece and though it costs him he does his duty.

Then we follow the artwork to WW2 where the Nazi’s are being used to take the altarpiece and this time it is young Grace’s responsibility to save the masterpiece. This is a task she will do more than once in her lifetime and not just from the Vespers but also from members of different Cahill family branches.

This is a fun addition and a stand alone volume that throws a little more history at us. It is also a great way to give us a little more insight to Grace – who is such a fascinating character. An action packed book broken up into smaller stories. This is great as a filler for 39 Clues fans waiting for the next installment.

Publisher: Scholastic US

Published: 05 August 2012

Format: Hardback 144 pages

Categories: Action, Adventure, History, Crime

ISBN 13: 9780545431439

Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on side of the page

Category:

Fiction 8-12

Tagged with:

Cahills vs Vespers – Book Trailer

I think the 39 Clues are a great series, written by some wonderful children’s authors. If you haven’t gotten your kids on to them yet, or read them yourselves then here is a taste from the second series – Cahills vs Vespers.

You really do need to read the first series first though.

Welcome to the Cahill family, if you think you can cope.

Category:

Book Trailers, Fiction 8-12

Tagged with:

Medusa Plot

By: Gordon Korman

Cahills vs Vespers Series bk 1

Dan and Amy Cahill thought, hoped, things could go back to normal now the hunt for the 39 clues is over. They’ve heard about an old rivalry with the Vespers though, so Amy prepares against the possibility that things aren’t really over. One day distress calls start coming in from all over the world as Cahills from all the family branches go missing. They have been kidnapped by the Vespers. Now Amy and Dan have only days to fulfill a strange quest or the hostages will be killed. No-one knows what the Vespers goal is, only that they have made it abundantly clear they are playing to win. It is going to take all of Amy and Dan’s skills to get to the bottom of what’s going on, the question is what will it cost them to do so?

The first of the Cahills vs Vespers series and in some ways it is as if you never left the clue hunt. In other ways it is quite different. The alliances between the different branches formed by the younger generation during the hunt are still newly formed and shaky, though the kidnappings have given them reason to hold on.

The pace is fast, the family tension still there despite the need to work together. It’s interesting watching the characters develop as the game around them has changed.

Amy and Dan prove they still work well together but the previous hunt has taken a toll on both of them. So much responsibility has been thrust on them so young and Korman has started to show how this may shake out. They are a little older and a lot harder than they were and this is obvious in some of the choices the young Cahills make. You know why they do these things and at the same time hope they don’t make decisions that mean they have no lives outside the family. The introduction of a boyfriend for Amy and a friend for Dan give the story depth. Korman has done a great job of setting things up for this series.

This book is easy and fun to read, and the action never really lets up. If this is any indication I think we can safely assume this series is going to be as awesome as the last.

Can’t wait for the next one.

Publisher: Scholastic

Published: 01 September 2011

Format: Paperback 256 pages

Categories: Adventure, Family, Siblings

ISBN 13: 9780545298391

Purchase: here or use Booktopia logo link on side of page

Category:

Fiction 8-12

Tagged with:

One False Note

By: Gordon Korman

The 39 Clues Bk 2

 

The first clue has been found by the team least expected to find it, Amy and Dan Cahill. Amy and Dan as just as surprised as everyone else. With their Grandmother’s final message too them echoing in the back of their minds, ‘to trust no-one’, they head of to Vienna with their au-pair Nellie and the cat Saladin. They follow the coded piece of Mozart’s sheet music believing what they hold is the key to the next clue. Closely on their trail though are their power-hungry relatives. It is difficult to know if the direction they are heading in is one that will lead to victory or a trap but they are determined to keep going.

This is another fun adventure with our favoured underdogs and their scheming, dysfunctional family. An engaging story woven thorough with interesting bits of historical information. Can you follow the clues like Dan and Amy? Further information is revealed on-line when you enter the new book codes, allowing continued intrigue and fun even once you’ve finished the book.

 

Publisher: Scholastic

Published: 02 December 2008

Format: Paperback 174 pages

Categories: Adventure, Historical

ISBN 13: 9780545060424

Purchase: here

Category:

Fiction 8-12

Tagged with:

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