luckyliza13's review against another edition
1.0
Probably some 10 year old kid who hates reading might like this, but I couldn't wait for it to end. And why make fun of the overweight child? Ugh. My 1st & last Patterson. (Still love his website to get kids reading, just not this series!)
archvine18's review against another edition
4.0
Thought this was a boring one but then I started loving the diversity of the characters. 39 Clues fever renewed.
book_nut's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book, but it did make me a bit sad. Kids really like this stuff?? It's not a book, it's a movie script.
imzadirose's review against another edition
2.0
Completely silly, but cute-ish book about a family of 4 kids who are treasure hunters with their parents. It was cute, for what it was, nonsensical, whimsy and fun. I'm a fan of Grabenstein and really didn't feel much of his influence in it though, a little I guess.
sean67's review against another edition
2.0
Some people are innovative and some are imitators and Patterson falls in the imitation camp, taking ideas from others and working them in his way. The trouble is his way is quite often poor.
This the idea of people, in this case young people, seeking out treasure and with an overarching themes has been done before, and it has been done better.
The writing is not only sloppy it is also insulting to young readers and treats them not like a reader but an idiot.
It has no gravitas and is full of needless pictures, the 451 pages of the copy I had could easily be said to be closer to under 300 by the time you took out all the extraneous crap.
By all means write for young people, but treat them as a reader and don't insult them.
This the idea of people, in this case young people, seeking out treasure and with an overarching themes has been done before, and it has been done better.
The writing is not only sloppy it is also insulting to young readers and treats them not like a reader but an idiot.
It has no gravitas and is full of needless pictures, the 451 pages of the copy I had could easily be said to be closer to under 300 by the time you took out all the extraneous crap.
By all means write for young people, but treat them as a reader and don't insult them.
katejones's review against another edition
3.0
I did not like the overenthusiastic audiobook narrator. See sample on Amazon..
Found the book a weird mix of very mature subjects (dead parents, kidnapping) and childish ones (barf jokes). The plot was interesting enough to listen to the whole thing though.
Found the book a weird mix of very mature subjects (dead parents, kidnapping) and childish ones (barf jokes). The plot was interesting enough to listen to the whole thing though.
joradora's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading this book because I was looking for middle grade books to read as pseudo-research for a book I want to write. I did not expect to love this but I did. The Kidds are the most charming family ever. The trouble they find themselves is exciting and often hilarious. It's a well paced book with great illustrations. I bought a copy for my niece as well and will be gobbling all the sequels, too.
swimminhj's review against another edition
4.0
I don't often like Middle Grade books but this one held my interest the whole way through! I can't wait to recommend it to my students!
sofialvarez's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0