The 39 Clues: Book 04

If you’re into books filled with mysteries, poisons, and secret passages all laced with eleven-year-old humor, then this installment is for you. And for me.

The search for The 39 Clues has brought Dan and Amy Cahill to Egypt, where they’re battling Alistair Oh’s uncle, Bae. They’re learning slowly that these clues are ingredients to a recipe, though they don’t yet know what, and that several of their fellow-contestants are willing to kill to find out.

As my kids (10, 12) and I went through this book together and came across a multitude of names and relationships, I realized that it would pretty darn hard for someone to jump into this series mid-stream. Certainly, we get to know the other families well as the series progresses, but there seems to be only minimal backstory offered up each time which can give the reader a running start back into the plot. I mean, at this point, we can just read these books one right after the other, but I imagine we would lose a lot if we had to wait several months or more for the next installment to be published.

This book continues a common theme of trust/distrust between the main kids and their fellow-competitors. Most important in this mix is Alistair Oh, the man with whom they’ve attempted alliances but who also seems to fail them right when they need him most. I honestly don’t know where this relationship with take the kids, but their experiences with Alistair seem to emphasize the importance of self-dependence and working alone (or at least working alone alongside your closest sibling).

I mentioned something similar in my review of The Lightning Thief, but this independence and “I don’t need anyone” attitude is pervasive in children’s literature these days, and it can be quite impactful in how young readers view the world. Adding to this the sense that you can’t really trust anyone, well, even more so.

Obviously, independence can be a good and healthy thing for a child to learn, yet there’s a vast difference between “I can do this myself” (confidence) and “I don’t need you” (arrogance). It all comes down to attitude, and parents can generally tell the difference. Granted, our kids aren’t in the same life-or-death struggles that the Cahill kids are experiencing, yet I think this could easily be a topic of conversation for parents or teachers as they work through this series together.

Will the children ever be able to trust Alistair Oh again? Will their self-confidence ever become overconfidence and bite them in the rear? I’m excited to find out as we continue reading this series together!

©2023 E.T.

Read More from The 39 Clues Series:

1. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (2008)
2. One False Note by Gordon Korman (2008)
3. The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (2009)
4. Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (2009)
5. The Black Circle by Patrick Carmen (2009)
6. In Too Deep by Jude Watson (2009)
7. The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis (2010)
8. The Emperor’s Code by Gordan Korman (2010)
9. Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park (2010)
10. Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2010)
11. Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordan Korman, and Jude Watson (2011)