glovb's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.0
Continuing from their previous adventure with the President, KC and Marshall are invited to join him at a festival. What they were expecting to be a fun reunion turned into the mysterious disappearance of KC's mother and the President. There are a few unexpected twists that keep the story engaging.
This book is an advanced early chapter book with nine chapters, sparsely scattered black-and-white pictures, and pages full of words. The setting is Washington D.C. but it is not super informative. This would not be a good book to use as historical fiction, but it could be enjoyable for some students to read if they enjoy fast-paced action and mystery.
Age-appropriateness: 8-11 yrs
This book is an advanced early chapter book with nine chapters, sparsely scattered black-and-white pictures, and pages full of words. The setting is Washington D.C. but it is not super informative. This would not be a good book to use as historical fiction, but it could be enjoyable for some students to read if they enjoy fast-paced action and mystery.
Age-appropriateness: 8-11 yrs
aftanith's review against another edition
2.0
Fun fact: The first book establishes that the Capital Mysteries universe has the same Presidents as ours until it replaces the younger Bush with the fictional Zachary Thornton. This means that Mary Kincaid, who is introduced in the second book as a middle-aged black woman, is both the first female and the first African American to become the Vice President of the United States. So that's pretty awesome.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book isn't. It's nowhere near as outlandish as the first, but still doesn't meet my expectations of Ron Roy.
I just... I don't get this series. A to Z Mysteries and even Calendar Mysteries both made sense in their plotlines; there were reasons for the kids to be the only ones investigating the mystery, or else the kids weren't the only ones investigating the mystery. And in the situations when they weren't the only ones, the adults didn't flail around ineffectually; they at least were implied to be handling themselves properly in the background. This is totally different. The children are out fighting crime for no apparent reason--doesn't anyone watch these kids?--and the people who should be doing the job are nowhere to be seen!
Allow me to *sigh* again. In the context of Ron Roy's children's books, these are sub-par, and that's exceptionally disappointing to me. I was very much looking forward to reading and loving this series, and yet here I am with this weird sci-fi, pseudo-mystery series staring the only two people in this fictional parallel of D.C. with the remotest competence. And yet they're fourth-graders!
*grumbles* So I'll just be over here, waiting for the next A to Z Mysteries Super Special.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book isn't. It's nowhere near as outlandish as the first, but still doesn't meet my expectations of Ron Roy.
I just... I don't get this series. A to Z Mysteries and even Calendar Mysteries both made sense in their plotlines; there were reasons for the kids to be the only ones investigating the mystery, or else the kids weren't the only ones investigating the mystery. And in the situations when they weren't the only ones, the adults didn't flail around ineffectually; they at least were implied to be handling themselves properly in the background. This is totally different. The children are out fighting crime for no apparent reason--doesn't anyone watch these kids?--and the people who should be doing the job are nowhere to be seen!
Allow me to *sigh* again. In the context of Ron Roy's children's books, these are sub-par, and that's exceptionally disappointing to me. I was very much looking forward to reading and loving this series, and yet here I am with this weird sci-fi, pseudo-mystery series staring the only two people in this fictional parallel of D.C. with the remotest competence. And yet they're fourth-graders!
*grumbles* So I'll just be over here, waiting for the next A to Z Mysteries Super Special.
caleb_m's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. They hide KC's mom and the president in the space suits over the apollo moon exhibit in the air and space museum so they could keep them hidden. The only way to get them back is to give those people the international space station, but the person who is with Kc's mom is a clone of the president.
More...