The Puzzling World of Winston Breen

Fun book combining the puzzles of Encyclopedia Brown with the long-form story like the Hardy Boys. It's aimed at the pre-teen set, although the younger end of readers (say, 7- or 8-year-olds) might find one scene where Winston's family is held hostage a bit terrifying. The book is filled with brain teasers, few of which have much relation to the plot. I look forward to reading the next two books in the series (especially for the humor of wise-guy Malcolm!).

I had two quibbles with the book, though. The first was that one of the final mysteries required remembering something written about in barely a single paragraph earlier in the book; that seemed a little unfair. The second I'll preface with spoiler tags, although I don't think I'm show more giving anything from the plot away: Late in the book, a letter is found, addressed to the four children of Mr Fredericks, except they are not listed in birth order -- instead, it's the youngest, who also happens to be the one child we know, followed by the others in birth order. That just seemed very strange to me. If I'm at the target age for this book, I suspect I would have noticed the first quibble, but I doubt I would have noticed the second.

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LT Haiku:

Kid-friendly book of
puzzles that takes place in a
town-wide treasure hunt. show less

Winston Breen finds puzzles everywhere, even on pizzas, and solving them is what he does best. But when his sister uncovers mysterious wooden strips with words and letters that even Winston can't figure out, the entire family is obsessed. It turns out the strips are part of a scavenger hunt that a town patriarch set up for his children. If all four sets are put together, they will lead to a ring worth thousands of dollars.
Cooperating seems like a no-brainer to Winston, but to solve the puzzle, the group has to overcome mysterious threats, mutual mistrust, 25-year old clues, and participants who will do anything to keep the treasure for themselves.
Chock full of puzzles to solve, some involving the mystery and others Winston runs into show more along the way, this treasure hunt will keep readers challenged right to the end. show less

An almost-perfect chapter book for kids in 3rd-7th grade. The title character is amusing and has the usual issues...an annoying sister, following directions at home, and hanging out with fun pals. He also has an insatiable urge and ability to solve puzzles. Each chapter has actual puzzles that the reader can solve as well, with answers provided in the back of the book. In this first book of three, The Puzzling World of Winston Breen, Winston finds himself in a group of adults trying to find a treasure possibly worth millions. The clues take him around town and interacting with a variety of characters. I was not expecting the ending to become quite so serious, but it wraps up nicely. I'm happy to know there are two more books to read in show more this series. show less

Squeezing in one last book for the year!

Winston loves puzzles. A LOT. Enough so that there are several just dropped into this book, in addition to the ones better integrated into the story. I can see upper-elementary and lower-middle school readers enjoying this mystery, where Winston and his sister (and a few random thugs and the town's librarian) are searching for treasure. The extraneous puzzles don't slow the story up too much; it's enough that it's important to the character and that's why we're seeing it, but it gives the book a more obvious gimmick than just "hey, a mystery, with ciphers!"

Winston loves his puzzles and this book is full of them. He inadvertently stumbles upon a treasure hunt when he buys a present for his sister in a second-hand shop. Turns out the treasure hunt was devised by puzzle lover himself. There is a twist in the end, that puzzle lovers will probably see ahead of time. Along the way readers are treated to many puzzles. Honestly, they are mostly given in places readers can easily stop to solve, so they don't interfere with the story.

Think "The DaVinci Code" for middle school readers and you'll have a pretty good idea of how this novel works. However, unlike "DaVinci Code" or "National Treasure," you won't have to be well versed in the arcana of cryptography, art history and the Catholic Church to enjoy it. All you need is a mind that takes pleasure in logic puzzles and Encyclopedia Brown. Lots of fun.

It was a lot of fun; he did a great job of integrating the puzzles into the story, which itself was engaging and well-written. Even if you just plan to skip over the puzzles and read it for the narrative, you won't be disappointed. Unless you really wanted to read Hamlet. Although Hamlet doesn't have pizza.

(Disclaimer: I know Eric through the National Puzzlers' League)