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.