The kids and I first started listening to this series about 8 months ago during a trip to Michigan. I hadn’t any clue what to expect, and only knew the obvious: it’s a series written by a whole collection of popular children’s authors. Still, I had to wonder it was any good.

I suppose the main skepticism I felt going into the first book, Maze of Bones, was this:

“If this series is so great, why haven’t they made a movie or miniseries about it yet?”

Isn’t that terrible? I hate that I’m a product of the Netflix age! [Note: Apparently Steven Spielberg bought the rights in 2008 and sold them to Universal Studios in 2013; every attempt at production has so far been scrapped.]

In all honesty, we loved that first book but eventually got bored with the series momentarily somewhere around Book 7, The Viper’s Nest, distracted as we were by Percy Jackson and a little bored with the same-old clue hunt that didn’t seem to provide answers—at least not series-wide answers that implied there’d be light at the end of this long tunnel. We eventually came back with Book 8, The Emperor’s Code, which finally did start tying up some loose ends. Following that with Book 9, Storm Warning, finally gave us answers about the Madrigals and the Man in Black (or Gray, depending on when you meet him).

By this point, we were actually excited to listen to this, Book 10, Into the Gauntlet, which is by far the most interesting and the most informative book of the entire series. Not only does it serve as the virtual climax to the series (even though Book 11, Vespers Rising, is still out there), it also answers the one questions that’s been nagging at me this entire ride:

“Do we seriously have to watch these kids collect 39 clues, when they’re averaging less than one per book!? This series is going to go on forever!”

No, Amy and Dan Cahill are only one team of many, and although every single clue they pursue is also being hunted by most if not all of the other teams, it turns out that those other teams have also been finding their own clues separately. Thus, Amy and Dan’s 8-9 clues, when added to the other group’s total, make up the full 39—leading to this book’s amazing climax.

I think it’s pretty smart for the authorial team to have worked it this way, keeping many of the clues secret, lest some dumb child take the whole thing for real and try to mix and drink the ingredients (mercury included), hoping to garner some magical power! Only one living person (well, fictional character) knows the full formula, and he destroys the recipe when he finds it. But wait a sec: since he’s got a photographic memory and all, I wonder if….

This book made all the others in the series worthwhile, though it’s not a standalone, and you’d have to read all the others to appreciate it fully. I’m glad we have, and we definitely look forward to Vespers Rising. There are several other shorter series within this 39 Clues universe, so I think we’ll pursue them as well, for as long as my kids remain interested.

There is plenty of violence in these books (some minor cursing in them, most often from Nellie), but they’re otherwise clean, wholesome fun. I’m glad we finally tried them out, and for that reason, part of me hopes they never get made into films!

©2024 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)