* * * WARNING — POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!! * * *

Things are heating up for the Cahills, thirteen year old Dan and his older sister Amy. One of their own ancestors, a Cahill now known as The Outcast, has recreated three of the world’s worst disasters and appears to save the worst for last and if Dan and Amy can’t stop him, he’ll recreate a nuclear disaster that could destroy the entire world.

But what the Cahills don’t realize until too late is that The Outcast has used these disasters as a distraction. His real plan has been in the creating of a ‘natural’ enemy genetically coded to destroy only those with Cahill DNA. It looks as though there is no way out for Dan, Amy, and the rest of the Cahill clan.

These 39 Clues books are a lot of fun – they are like Jason Bourne stories for middle-grade readers (Danger! Action! Excitement!) – and they offer just the appropriate amount of danger (and solutions) for young readers.

When the series first began I eagerly read the first few books.  Since then there’ve been a number of branches of the series’ (The Clue Hunt; Cahills vs Vespers; Unstoppable; Doublecross) and I didn’t bother to keep up.  Mission Atomic, by Sarwat Chadda, may be the last book in the last series.

I’m years late reading this book but because some of the primary action centers around the Chernobyl disaster, it seemed very topical once again (as I read this book the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was in the news again as the Russians took over the plant in their invasion of Ukraine).

I think it’s an interesting notion, to add a bit of history in a middle grade reader action title.  I can imagine any number of young readers suddenly knowing more about events such as the sinking of Titanic, the destruction of the Hindenburg, hurricane Katrina, and the Chernobyl disaster than the average student because of books like this.

The was exciting and fun, even if it stretched my willing suspension of disbelief, but then this book isn’t meant for a 60 year old reader, it’s meant for those middle school students, and I think many would really enjoy this book and this series.

Looking for a good book? Mission Atomic, the fourth book in the 39 Clues series, Doublecross, by Sarwat Chadda, is an action thriller that will grab the attention of young readers and manages to sneak in some history along the way.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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Mission Atomic

author: Sarwat Chadda

series: The 39 Clues: Doublecross #4

publisher: Scholastic Inc.

ISBN: 9780545767514

hardcover, 256 pages

Ronan Truelove is just an ordinary thirteen year old, with very ordinary parents – or so he believes, until one day when his mother ‘abducts’ him from school and tears off on a high speed car chase. His father, she informs Ronan, has been kidnapped, and those kidnappers are now after Ronan as well. Kidnapped? His boring, nerdy dad?

Ronan’s mother is not the ordinary soccer mom that Ronan thought.  She is actually a member of an ancient, sword-wielding order of knights known as the Blood Guard, bound to protect the Pure – a specific number of individuals on whose shoulders lie the fate of the world.

Suddenly Ronan understands why his mother had him enrolled in after-school classes of gymnastics, martial arts, survival training, etc.  He has been groomed to take on the mantle of a Blood Guard!

His mother sets him off on his own and he joins forces with two unlikely individuals – Greta, a girl from his school who he never really liked very much, and Jack, a teenaged pick-pocket.  His mother’s parting words were ‘trust no one’ – but Ronan will need to rely on his own instincts and trust his companions in order to avoid the decidedly evil organization out to kidnap him.

This book is an exciting adventure tale. Secret organizations and spies, swords and the supernatural – this hits all the right marks to draw in a lot of middle grade/YA readers. Ronan is precisely the kind of protagonist a lot of young readers would fantasize themselves as being (like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson) – someone who thought they were ordinary but are part of something much larger and only just now learning about it. His partners (like Hermione and Ron or Grover and Annabeth – to stay with the previous two examples) are more than just sidekicks, but integral to his ability to achieve his goals.

The action is pretty much non-stop from the very first page and author Carter Roy really does a fine job of building the story amid constant chases and character development.

I enjoyed this a lot and have actively sought out subsequent volumes in the series (sadly, it’s only a trilogy as far as I can tell).

Looking for a good book? The Blood Guard by Carter Roy is a fast-paced, high-action story for middle grade and YA readers that should be recommended for anyone asking what to read after reading Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Blood Guard

author: Carter Roy

series: The Blood Guard #1

publisher: Two Lions

ISBN: 1477847251

hardcover, 320 pages