lesserjoke 's review for:

Click Here to Start by Denis Markell

3.0

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I like how this middle-grade adventure novel manages to educate readers about America's Japanese internment camps while maintaining its lightweight tone, but the characters make a few too many lucky guesses that happen to pan out, especially for a treasure hunt that's supposed to be meticulously planned. There are just so many spots in this narrative where the trail could / should have gone completely cold, and not enough explanation behind certain developments that verge on science-fiction (like an online escape-the-room game that only the protagonist can access, which mirrors his own life in uncanny detail). It's a story that's fun in the moment but falls apart the longer you think about its mysteries, and although there's some indication at the end that a sequel might follow to clear more of that up, I'm not sure this volume is satisfying enough to merit trusting the author for level two.

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