The 39 Clues Book 5: The Black Circle
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4.5 • 84 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The highly anticipated Book Five of the #1 bestselling The 39 Clues series.
A strange telegram lures fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, deep into Russia and away from the only trustworthy adult they know. Signed with the initials NRR, the telegram launches a race to uncover a treasure stolen by the Nazis and the truth about the murder of the last Russian royal family. All too soon, the treasure hunt starts to smell like a Lucian trap. But the bait might just be irresistible . . . what will Amy and Dan risk to find out what really happened on the night their parents died?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Built around a ripe conceit wealthy matriarch scatters cryptic clues to a mysterious fortune around the globe this first installment in a projected 10-book series is tons of fun. Lead-off hitter Riordan (The Lightning Thief) mixes just the right proportions of suspense, peril and puzzles in a fast-paced read (Riordan mapped the narrative arc for all 10 volumes, but other high-profile authors will be writing for the series, too). Likable orphans Amy and Dan Cahill have moxie (plus Dan can memorize numbers instantly) and frailties (Amy hates crowds). As the siblings compete with less honorable members of the Cahill clan, all distantly related to Benjamin Franklin, to win the fortune by collecting all 39 clues (only two are found in this first book), they learn about their dead parents, each other and world history. The humor is spot on one uncle is credited with inventing the microwave burrito. The only flaw? The story does not end so much as drop off a cliff. (The second book, One False Note by Gordon Korman, is set to arrive in December.) While waiting, readers can collect cards, each of which contains evidence, and play the online game (www.the39clues.com), for which Scholastic is offering over $100,000 in prizes. This ought to have as much appeal to parents as it does to kids it's Webkinz without the stuffed animals, and a rollicking good read. Ages 9 12.
