The progression of this series makes me think of the Harry Potter series. The first book, Maze of Bones establishes characters, tone, and pace of the series. It's very exciting and definitely grabs the reader! The second book seems like a repeat of the first, so you aren't quite as in love with it, but it is still a very good read, but then the plot gets more complex moving forward through the rest of the books in the series. The characters grow and become more relatable and life-like. From what I've seen, the late elementary/middle school group that it is set to target really seems to enjoy the books. And it is not so bad for adults either :o)

This whole series could be a very good classroom tool to study writing styles, history, fact vs. fiction, etc. There is a lot that could be done with it, which also makes it a fun read for me! ( )

by Andrew Murphy

Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson is the fourth in a series of books called the 39 Clues. This series is about a brother and sister who are challenged to find 39 clues hidden around the world and the person who possesses all of the clues will become the most powerful person in the world. Unfortunately there is a twist 5 other teams are also looking for the clues and they are much older and far more skilled. In this particular book 12 year old Dan and his 14 year old sister Amy fly to Egypt in search of the 4th clue they’ll soon come to find that this will be the hardest and most complicated clue yet because Egypt is full of danger. They must remember the advice they were given at the beginning of the search, don’t trust anybody and the place where the clue is hidden may not even exist anymore.
I really enjoyed this book because I really like Egypt because of all of the tombs and pyramids and there was a lot of that in this book. Also another unique thing that I like about this series is every book is by a different author. This particular one was by Jude Watson she is one of my favorite authors because she writes a lot of action adventure stories. I also really liked this book because it is so unpredictable, almost every chapter there was a twist that I didn’t see coming and the cliffhangers at the ends of the chapter always left me wanting more. I enjoyed the concept of the story because when I first started reading the book it reminded me of something I would think of, I mean I know it would be dangerous but I think it would be so cool to go on a gigantic trip around the world looking for clues. Plus the main characters are very close to my age so it’s easy to relate to them and that makes the story seem more real to me. The author did such a great job in every aspect of this book. The main characters are really easy to relate to because the author incorporated into them thoughts and personalities very similar to kids their age that I know. For me, 12 year old Dan is a lot like me because he always wants to do all this crazy stuff and he really doesn’t think about what he’s doing before he does it which is a lot like me. However, unlike me, when he does stuff without thinking it usually works out for him. encourage anyone who likes to read to read this book and not only this book but the whole series. I think anyone who like action will love it.

4th installment in The 39 Clues series, this episode finds Amy and Dan in Egypt looking for the 4th clue. They team up with a guide, Theo, whose mother was a friend of their grandmother Grace who, years ago, left a message for them with her. A message that lead them on a scavenger hunt throughout Egypt.

Crocodiles and ruthless souvenir sellers are more dangerous than being chased by other Cahills. At one point, Dan & Amy are stranded at night on a small island on the Nile. Surrounded by man-eating crocodiles they, once again, barely escape with their lives.

I really wish the books would come out more often. At this pace it will take the better part of 13 years if volumes are only published once every 3 months. ( )

Dan and Amy Cahill are still on the hunt for the 39 clues. They have faced one betrayal after another. Now they have reason to suspect that their grandmother was as evil as the other’s in their extended family. They and their au pair Nellie are headed to Egypt to try to find the next clue in the hunt. Here they find that friends aren’t what they think and enemies might not be total enemies. I personally enjoy these mysteries. I wish they were all out at once so I could go from one to the next. I will have spaced them out so far that I will need to go back and read the first through the last at one time. This was a little more difficult to figure out the clues. Jude Watson did a great job of bringing the culture of Egypt to life for the reader. Nellie once again surprised me. She started out in the first book a little bit ditzy. I now believe that that was what we were led to believe and she will continue to play a greater role in each book to follow. I Can’t wait to read the next book which I should have in a couple of weeks. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 as I found some of the twists and turns to be a little bit confusing. Still I would recommend this book. ( )

Another fun book in this series. I like that we are starting to get to know all of the contestants better. This one has some background about Irina. I'm glad to see Dan and Amy learning to work out their differences and help each other more. ( )