Review Detail
Middle Grade Fiction
319
We're on the road to London, Australia, and Hawaii
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
4.0
Characters
4.0
Writing Style
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
4.0
Once again, Charlie is on the run. Her half brother, Dante, and former agent Milana Moon are also trying to fly beneath the radar, so setting up fake passports. It's not cheap, but then, after Charlie's hacking adventures, she can afford it. This money also allows her to occasionally travel without even needing a passport, but it's always good to have a backup. Unfortunately, too much information is out there about Charlie, some of it because of an unscrupulous analyst. Charlie is following the clues to another puzzle from Einstein's notes, and has traveled to Cambridge, England to follow up on "To find Newton's discovery, turn the tables in the Wren". While in the Wren Library, she runs into a student, Kenji, who is rather cute. Against Dante's advice, she asks him for help with the puzzle. Of course, this goes badly wrong when he takes the next clue and turns out to be the son of Yoshi Yataro, a billionaire also wanting Newton's secrets. Charlie embarks on another odyssey that takes her to London, Germany, Australia, Zion National Park, and eventually Kona, Hawaii, and causes her to find out a lot about the explorer James Cook and his troubled legacy. While I'm not entirely sold on the plausibility of the ending, it is spectacular.
Good Points
Like the other three books in the series, this has several elements that make it an exciting and intriguing choice for middle grade readers. There are a lot of number and word puzzles to be calculated if one likes to do this (I do NOT!), international travel to so many different places, and a clever and intrepid character who is flying in the face of the establishment to solve riddles that only her training and intellect can crack.
It wouldn't be a Gibbs' book without a healthy does of humor, and Charlie is able to not only fight villains, but to enjoy the puzzles and travels while she does it. Again, the ending is a bit hard to believe, but does pack a snarky punch to it.
While Charlie isn't exactly a spy, her exploits are perfect for readers who enjoy tales of espionage and intrigue like Horowitz's Alex Rider books, Ponti's City Spies, Yee and Santant's The Misfits, Maxc's Swift and Hawk, McGee's Ryan Quinn, Hale's School for S.P.I.E.S., or Bradley's Double Vision series.
It wouldn't be a Gibbs' book without a healthy does of humor, and Charlie is able to not only fight villains, but to enjoy the puzzles and travels while she does it. Again, the ending is a bit hard to believe, but does pack a snarky punch to it.
While Charlie isn't exactly a spy, her exploits are perfect for readers who enjoy tales of espionage and intrigue like Horowitz's Alex Rider books, Ponti's City Spies, Yee and Santant's The Misfits, Maxc's Swift and Hawk, McGee's Ryan Quinn, Hale's School for S.P.I.E.S., or Bradley's Double Vision series.
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