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stephspresso's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
alittleoverdue's review
5.0
How a bookish children's librarian like myself hadn't read this one yet, I don't know, but glad to have amended that gap in my reading. Had this book come out when I was a kid, I would've loved it (and may have even been the main character: bookish, slightly nerdy, and a fan of puzzles and mysteries). I got a particular kick out of this book as an SF bay area resident and enjoying all the subtle and less subtle references to SF and its literary history. If I have any minor quibbles, it's the dialogue and conflicts between the kid characters seems a bit too neat and unrealistic. (Also, that teacher is super creepy, but I guess I'll learn much more on that in the sequel, which I'm definitely reading). Can't wait to share this and read books in the series.
annhan11's review
3.0
Fun audio book for family road trips. It got a little long in the end but was enjoyable and the narrator was great.
lattelibrarian's review
4.0
This was such a fun, fast-paced books that do a great job of including all members of the family and giving them all personalities. Emily's parents have a goal to live in every state in the United States, and after the first couple states, Emily and her brother are rather tired of living out of boxes and leaving behind schools and friends. So when Emily arrives in San Francisco, she's both excited and sad--excited for Griswold's games, yet sad at the fact that she'll eventually have to leave. But her upstairs neighbor is pretty nice, and he knows all about codes and ciphers, just like her. And so the two are thusly intertwined.
And those codes and ciphers come in handy, especially now that Emily has found Griswold's latest, unreleased game. Yet solving this mystery may also help save his company--and her life. This was a great, fast-paced mystery that made you think, and helped you learn about new ciphers and talking in code. Middle grade mysteries are some of my favorite novels, and this one is absolutely perfect for book lovers. Each character is fleshed out and lovely and great and I highly recommend this!
Review cross-listed here!
And those codes and ciphers come in handy, especially now that Emily has found Griswold's latest, unreleased game. Yet solving this mystery may also help save his company--and her life. This was a great, fast-paced mystery that made you think, and helped you learn about new ciphers and talking in code. Middle grade mysteries are some of my favorite novels, and this one is absolutely perfect for book lovers. Each character is fleshed out and lovely and great and I highly recommend this!
Review cross-listed here!
nancy_97's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was a fun read, about friendship and solving puzzles/ scavenger hunts with many exciting twists and turns. I initially picked it up so that I could recommend it to a younger family member and wanted to read it so we could talk about it together, but I really enjoyed it.
ali_enza's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It’s adorable and has so many fun moments and it’s also full of literary factoids and fun information. It really makes me want to go to San Francisco and explore the literary history.
I thought the characters were cute and had some great growth for such young protagonists! I thought they were charming and that the adventure fitting for them. The adventure itself was fun and the clues entertaining. I would definitely love to read the next book in the series!
Also I wish the game Book Scavenger was really a thing! I would play even now!!
I thought the characters were cute and had some great growth for such young protagonists! I thought they were charming and that the adventure fitting for them. The adventure itself was fun and the clues entertaining. I would definitely love to read the next book in the series!
Also I wish the game Book Scavenger was really a thing! I would play even now!!
tchkdz65's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this Mark Twain nominee. Great mystery book for 4th-8th grade readers.
bkezele's review
5.0
Hidden books, ciphers to decode, puzzles to solve, a scavenger hunt played world wide, and a dash around a city to answer the question: What happened to our favorite author?! This was hands down my favorite 4th grade book I read this summer. Honestly, it was so good that I would’ve happily read it as an adult.
msmolly27's review against another edition
3.0
Love the idea of the puzzles and the hunt, but personally struggled with the believability of the kids vs adult conflict.