Emily's Review of The 39 Clues -The Maze of Bones

The 39 Clues – The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordin

Dan and Amy are part of the Cahill family, the most powerful family in the world. When their beloved Grandma Grace dies, in her will each family member will get a million dollars or…The first of 39 clues to becoming the most powerful person in the world.

I liked this book because it has information about different famous people that are from history. It also has great settings, the first book being mainly in France and Paris. The book also has things you can relate to, such as beloved ones dying, not liking or having arguments with family. This book is quite similar to the TV programmes Survivor and the Amazing Race (with bombs and fire). It’s like The Amazing Race because it’s a big race to the finish and Survivor because Dan and Amy started with nothing and end up with…

There are more books in the series to back up the first book. What’s unusual about this series is that each book is written by a different authors these are Rick Riordan, Gordan Korman, Peter Lerangis and Jude Watson. The book also comes with cards and an online race activity (http://www.the39clues.com/), so the more you read the further in the online game you can go. The first finisher wins $10,000 in prizes. I recommend this book to people that like adventure or the programme Amazing Race.

The Wind Singer

The Wind Singer has been our shared class book for the last two terms. It is a story of three young people who are forced through circumstance to undertake a perilous journey to seek the fabled voice of the Wind Singer, in order to bring happiness to their city.
William Nicholson has imagined a world that contains a variety of cultures, described in rich engaging chapters. From the introduction to the ordered world of Aramanth; the city controlled by exams and ratings, to the simple life of the mud people living in the Underlake, to the feuding nomadic tribes of the Baraka’s & Chakas, Nicholson sweeps the reader along in a rollercoaster of action and suspense.
The characters are superb. Twins Bowman & Kestrel rebel against the tyranny of Aramanth, and together with the ‘hopeless’ Mumpo, set out to discover the voice of the Wind Singer. On the way they meet the powerless Emperor, the simple mud people and the fierce nomad warriors of the great wind driven city of Ombaraka. Ombaraka and its rival city of Omchaka are fantastic creations from the fertile mind of Nicholson and the wind battle between these two tribes was a highlight of the book.
A story moulded along the lines of all great quest adventures, the three children face seemingly insurmountable odds at every turn. Their triumphs and close escapes are well constructed and explained. The final challenge, the march of the Zars, the endless army that cannot die, proved to be a riveting affair, and the reader is enticed to find out how the three young heroes might possibly escape disaster.
The Wind Singer is the first of three books and the adventures continue in Slaves of the Mastery & Firesong. A great read for all ages the Wind Singer is one of those books you just hope that Hollywood will turn into a movie.