THE 39 CLUES (BOOK ONE): THE MAZE OF BONES -- Rick Riordan

Scholastic -- hc
New York -- ©2008 -- 220pp
ISBN: 0545060397

Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents.

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In typical YA fashion, this book tends to teach as much as it entertains, and it does a fair amount of both. Nothing wrong with that.

I did, though, find that the book bogged down a bit here and there. Trying to do too much perhaps? Too many people to keep track of and include in this 'race' for the clues?

The good-hearted, down-trodden brother and sister team (each with unique skills needed to find and solve the clues) quickly become the team to beat. They are chased, attacked, and assisted by other members of their extended family -- each trying to get to the clues as well.

But take note -- the clues (plural) I am referring to are mini SUB clues to the main clue. And this book only covers one clue. That's right, we can already see the game plan on Scholastic's part here! A guaranteed 39-40 book series! (Okay...I've since learned that it's a planned 10 book series. Not quite so bad, but still attempting to sell books that aren't even on the market yet!) This particular hard-cover book comes complete with a set of playing-card-type clues and a computer log-in code so that the reader can try to discover clues on-line and win prizes. Typical gimmicking from Scholastic and it may work ... or readers may get bored waiting for each new book.

We'll see how it develops.

I was entertained enough by the reading to try the next book in the series, but I do rebel against a planned series like this ... trying to sell a series of books in advance.

ETERNALS -- Neil Gaiman

Marvel Publishing, Inc -- hc
New York -- ©2007 -- 256pp
ISBN: 0-7851-2541-8

Graphic Novel
Illustrated by John Romita, Jr.

The super-powerful (but not super-hero) beings, known as Eternals, have been living 'normal' lives, forgetful of their powers and history. Their nemesis is returning and their duty to protect is needed, but first they have to remember who they are.

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Most people I know, who are comic/graphic novel readers, respond with a sort of reverence when you mention the name Neil Gaiman. I'm not as familiar with his work as many are, but when I saw this book in a nearby library, I picked it up, based soley on his name.

I'm not sorry I did. It wasn't a bad book at all, but it certainly didn't have me feeling as though I were in the hands of the Grand Master.

This hardcover book is actually seven comic books together in one binding. The first three of those books were interesting. Intriguing. but then it got messy. Confusing. A little boring, actually.

I'm glad I didn't spend any money on it, but just as glad that I gave it a read.

THE UNVISIBLES -- Ian Whybrow

Holiday House -- hc
New York -- 2003 -- 184pp
ISBN: 0-8234-1972-x

Oliver Gasper finds an ancient magazine with a 'disappearing' formula in it. Desperate to dodge a French test, he tries it out . . . and it works! The problem is, somebody's stolen the magazine and Oliver can't remember the words he needs to get back again. Fed-up with being trampled underfoot and trapped in bus doors, Oliver turns to Nicky Chew for help. Nicky's the most invisible visible boy in school, staying out of trouble so the teachers never notice him. Together they set out to find the missing formula. But will Oliver ever be seen again? [from Goodreads.com]

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I'm conflicted with how to rate this book.

I was so looking forward to reading this -- my boys nad I really enjoy the couple of picture books of Whybrow's and based on those, along with the fantasy nature of this, I was looking forward to a really great time.

At times this book didn't disappoint, but just as often, it was ever so dull. I'm quite certain that my 11 and 9 year olds wouldn't make it through this. They'd be too bored at the dull moments.

Surprisingly, this has not been American-ized. This, too, causes difficulty in reading. While I'm more than passingly familiar with many British slang, it definitely slows down the reading process to have to 'translate' some of it.

School Library Journal writes:

There is considerable body humor and some crude language. Some of Oliver's
pranks verge on criminal. He commits physical assaults, pulls a fire alarm, and
impersonates a male teacher making inappropriate personal comments to a female
staff member (the man loses his job as a result). For fantasy with a
self-discovery theme, steer readers to Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books
(Harcourt).

and I would entirely agree. This isn't as funny as the author is trying to make it, nor is the mystery quite as exciting as it's hoping to be. Sadly, this is simply fair.

WILL IN THE WORLD: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare -- Stephen Greenblatt

W.W. Norton & Company -- tpb
New York -- ©2004 -- 407pp
ISBN: 0-393-32737-x

Bringing together little-known historical facts and little-noticed elements of Shakespeare's plays, Greenblatt makes inspired connections between the life and the works and delivers "a dazzling and subtle biography" (Richard Lacayo, Time). Readers will experience Shakespeare's vital plays again as if for the first time, but with greater understanding and appreciation of their extraordinary depth and humanity.

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A very read-able book.

Most people familiar with literature are aware that despite being an incredibly popular writer, Shakespeare left very little information about himself. Here, Greenblatt accumulates all the previously written information about Shakespeare and combines it with a well researched history of the era. He draws likely scenarios (for instance: it is likely that as a young boy, Shakespeare attended a performance of a morality play by a traveling company -- Will's father was bailiff (mayor) of Stratford and ordered payment to be made to two traveling theatrical companies. The first performance, known as the Mayor's Play, was one in which the bailiff was expected to attend. Records show that in other similar situations, the children of the bailiff were often in attendance. Hence, likely that Will had been exposed to theatre at this time).

Greenblatt makes a good argument in all cases and even debunks a few previously alluded-to scenarios, offered by other writers.

We still can't know for certain how Will Shakespeare lived and loved, but we can continue to draw likely situations based on the history of the era that we do know. This book does it as well as any that I've read.