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September 14, 2009
39 Clues (Even Though I Was Only Looking for One)
I can’t read everything.
This is a difficult truth I have to face every single day of my life. I don’t really want to read everything, of course (my finger guns are pointing at YOU, Danielle Steel), but almost.
When the 39 Clues series started being published this past spring, the hoopla was all about the collectible cards and website, which doesn’t really interest me on a personal level. You’ve got to give those crazy-fantastic marketers at Scholastic their props, but I figured if the series needed a game in order to sell, it probably wasn’t very good. I ordered a couple copies of the first book and assumed it was going to be one of those things I’d never take time to read.
At first, the kids kind of ignored the books, and I was disappointed I’d bought two copies. Then it was like one day sometime between the publication of the second and third book, Deep Thought decided it was time for the children to all want these books at once, and it was so. They’ve been after them quite rabidly ever since.
Now the interesting thing about getting your 39 Clues books from the library is that you do not get the collectible cards that come with the books. When the books come in, I take the cards and put them out at the children’s desk for whatever child comes along and wants to take them, which is another way of saying, “After five minutes, the cards are never seen again.” And I have never heard a kid talk about the website. I’ve asked a few of them about it, and several of them didn’t have any idea that there even was a website. This led me to believe that there was something more to these books than the marketing, and then I heard Linda Sue Park would be writing book nine. So I went ahead and got the audiobook of the first book, Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (whose name, I learned from the audiobook, I have been mispronouncing for years now) to see what all the fuss was about.
And, hey, it was pretty good.
The series is based on the same formula that made The Da Vinci Code an international bestseller: take some historical information, add some stuff you made up that sounds plausible, throw in a conspiracy theory, and stir until it turns into money. In this case, when main characters Amy and Dan Cahill’s grandmother dies, her will reveals a clue that leads various members of her family on a quest to become the most powerful person in the world or some-such. Being orphans makes it easy for Amy (the bookish one) and Dan (the techie one who can anagram in his head, i.e. the showoff) to slip off and start having all kinds of adult-unsupervised adventures. The historical element turns out to be Ben Franklin, a long-lost Cahill who seems to have left all kinds of puzzles and clues for his descendents to decipher. Yadda, yadda, yadda, the kids have a big fight in the catacombs under Paris and then mess around with some lightning.
Now, I remain the last person on Planet Earth who has not read The Lightning Thief (which I know, I know—but I let you people talk me into reading The Hunger Games. You know what that got me? A big, fat cliffhanger with no publication date for the third book. Thanks.), but I respect the rabid fandom his Percy Jackson series has inspired. Still, it was a surprise to me how deftly Riordan handled the material here. The POV is third-person, limited mostly to Dan and Amy, although we do get a few scenes they are not privy to. This works on a number of levels. Mostly, it gives the reader a choice of which character to identify with (Amy!). Also, it heightens the suspense and keeps the pace snappy. And the plot surprised me a few times—generally because it was kind of out of left field, but still.
A couple elements of the book struck me as derivative. The Cahill family turns out to be divided into four houses… I mean, BRANCHES. One is very means-justify-the-ends. The one Amy and Dan are part of is Griffindor. I haven’t learned much about the other two in this first book, but if one isn’t kind and the other smart, I will be disappointed. The story also involves a lot of houses burning down and people dying in fires. Amy and Dan’s parents died in a house fire, in fact, just like the Bauldelaires. I guess you could say that parents and all kinds of other people are always dying in house fires, and I suppose that would be true, but I still think that if they were going to Go There, they should have at least asked Mr. Handler to write one of the books. It’s totally his kind of thing. Ah, well.
The other day I was talking to a kid in the library about the first book, and when he realized that I had not yet read the rest of the books that have been published (four now), he refused to speak to me about it anymore until I got caught up. So I put book two, One False Note by Gordon Korman (who, okay, I love, which is another reason I caved on getting started with this series), on hold.
Posted by adrienne at September 14, 2009 08:02 AM
Comments
Oh, thanks for the RYE-or-dan pronunciation. Madison will be happy to know that.
Posted by: Deb at September 14, 2009 05:46 PM
So a different author writes each installment of a series? That seems like an odd recipe for disaster and dissatisfied authors.
Posted by: chuck at September 14, 2009 07:40 PM
Deb, I had cause to use the correct pronunciation today at the library, but I stumbled all over it. It's going to take me a while to relearn what I thought I knew there. I've consulted the author pronunciation guide for other authors, but it never occurred to me that I could mispronounce "Riordan." The same thing happened to me with Kenneth Oppel.
Chuck, Having different authors write books in a series is pretty common with tie-ins (Spongebob Squarepants or Scooby Doo chapter books, for instance), but it's rarer for a series with a continuous plot like this one. What's unusual about the authors in this series is that it mixes established children's authors (for instance, Riordan is a crazy bestseller, Korman is a moderate bestseller, and Park won the Newbery Medal) with authors like Jude Watson, who writes Star Wars tie-ins. A colleague told me that there is a qualitative difference between the first two books in the series and the second two; I'll be interested to see if I agree.
Posted by: adrienne at September 14, 2009 09:39 PM
Adrienne. You've got to read the Percy Jackson books. Seriously. They are so freaking clever. I will read the first 39 Clues book if you will read The Lightning Thief. Deal?
Posted by: Liz in Ink at September 14, 2009 10:30 PM
I haven't read this series either--wasn't too sure about different writers and the different voices for each book. But, my fifth grader is intrigued since she LOVES Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, which is great. She's on book three now. BTW, the series is now finished, so no need to wait for The End. ;-)
If you ever have a chance to hear Rick Riordan speak, go! He is phenomenal and the kids treat him like a rock star. After reading his books, it's easy to see why the kids love him so much.
Posted by: Vivian at September 15, 2009 01:58 AM
*snicker* Yeah. I think we should ALL point at Danielle Steel.
I only read The Lightning Thief this summer, and while it was fair, I am not as rabid a fan as everyone else, for some reason. There were a lot of things in the first book that are either unexplained or not explained to my satisfaction. So, I'm good with just having read the first one.
And *I HEAR YOU* on The Hunger Games! D. just tossed it on my desk, after reading it this weekend, and said, "So, is the sequel in the library, or what?"
Oops.
Anyway, I heard so much about 39 Clues in its inception and then never heard another peep that I thought it wasn't very good. I look forward to your review - I love Korman anyway, so...
Posted by: tanita at September 15, 2009 05:41 AM
Liz and Vivian, I cave so easily to peer pressure--I'll grab a copy when I'm at the library today.
Tanita, Poor D might as well suffer along with the rest of us, eh?
Posted by: adrienne at September 15, 2009 06:34 AM
I'd never have bought the Clues books for my 12-year old son. The idea of a web site and cards turned me off. But, I'm a Scholastic author, (Tillie Lays an Egg) and my nice PR person there handed my an armful of books for my son, one of which was the first 39 Clues book. My son loved it, but it's like candy. Even he knows it's purely for fun. He totally ignored the web site and cards. I'd love to hear the numbers of who is actually using the web site. I don't know anyone!
Posted by: Terry Golson at September 15, 2009 10:07 AM
Jude Watson, author of the fourth book in the 39 Clues series, is also an award winner. She won the 2008 National Book Award for young people's literature for What I Saw and How I Lied under her real name, Judy Blundell.
Posted by: Sarah at September 15, 2009 11:25 AM
Terry, Hey, I know Tillie. :) You know, I think a clever teacher could use the books as a fun springboard to talk about Franklin and geography.
Sarah, I'll tell you what, that Jude is full of surprises. I had no idea that was a pseudonym.
Posted by: adrienne at September 15, 2009 11:40 AM
Liz, I just picked up a copy of The Lightning Thief, read the title of the first chapter ("I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher"), and was kind of won over.
Posted by: adrienne at September 15, 2009 03:26 PM
I know -- the titles crack.me.up.
Really -- they are so charming. Promise...
Now I guess I have to go get 39 Clues, huh?
Posted by: Liz in Ink at September 15, 2009 09:48 PM
I read the first two, enjoyed them, and thought, "huh, maybe they're actually going to make this work." However, when I started the third one I ran into the problem with multiple authors. The characters' personalities suddenly seemed different, and I didn't like them as much. I didn't bother to finish it.
Posted by: Rosten at September 17, 2009 11:24 AM
Liz, I have to admit it's nothing like an even trade, so no obligation. We librarians are pretty much happy when people are reading any ol' thing.
Rosten, I'm going to be interested to see. I'm still waiting for that second book on CD to come in on hold for me (also I'm in the middle of listening to A Wrinkle in Time just now).
Posted by: adrienne at September 17, 2009 08:43 PM
I've been feeling guilty about not reading Lightning Thief. 'Glad to hear I'm not the only one. The first 2 39 Clues were much better than #3 and #4. I hoping #5, which is in my son's backpack, will be great. I really like Patrick Carman so I'm hoping he's gotten the series back on track. FYI - Joe (my 5th grade son) initially thought that all 4 were equally engaging. Then, as I'm writing this with him looking over my shoulder, he thought about it and agreed about #3 and #4. He says #5 is great. I'm counting on it.
Posted by: Linda Paul at September 20, 2009 04:16 PM
1. The Percy Jackson series was amazing and the movie looks awesome.
2. I think the familiar-ness of this series is what gets kids to read them. Since each book is written by a different favorite author - more kids are willing to pick one up because soon "their" author will write one. So cool!
Posted by: The Brain Lair at September 20, 2009 06:15 PM
Linda, Me too!
Brain Lair, I am about halfway through The Lightning Thief now. It's very compulsively readable.
Posted by: adrienne at September 20, 2009 08:29 PM