by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Book 1: The Book Scavenger
Book 2: The Unbreakable Code
Book 3: The Alcatraz Escape
Amazon rating: 4.8/5.0, grades 4-9
Good Reads: 4.16/5
Common Sense Media: 4.5/5, age 9+
4Rbooks: 5/6, Grades 4+
Synopsis:
Emily, 12, has just moved to San Francisco with her family. Moving is second nature to Emily and her brother Matthew as her parents work from home and have a goal to live in all 50 states during their lifetime. Emily doesn’t like moving all the time and has trouble making friends. She is excited to be in San Francisco though, home to Garrison Griswold, creator of her favorite game, Book Scavenger. This is a literary geocaching game where books are hidden throughout the city and clues lead you there.
In book 1, she becomes friends with her neighbor James, and they work together to solve the puzzles, centered around a novel by Edgar Allen Poe called The Gold Bug. This become especially important to them after it becomes known that Mr. Griswold has been attacked and may not survive.
In book 2, Emily and James are involved in another mystery, this time about an unbreakable code connected to Mark Twain. Again, they hunt for clues, solve mysteries, and work together to decipher the unbreakable code and learn its secrets. Meanwhile an arsonist is setting fires throughout the city, somehow connected to the mystery.
In book 3, Mr. Griswold, with the help of a famous mystery writer, has set up a new game, “Unlock the Rock”. Invited guests come to the island prison of Alcatraz for the ultimate escape room experience. Again, there are puzzles to solve and dangerous characters to avoid before winning the prize. Due to their fame from the previous two adventures, someone is trying to sabotage them, and frame Emily’s brother at the same time.
Parental Guidance: low
There are moments of danger and mild violence throughout all three books, including a man being shot, a gun drawn on children, and an arsonist burning down buildings. In my opinion, nothing was portrayed as inappropriately graphic or scary.
Recommendation: high
I enjoyed all three of these books. The characters are interesting and believable. I appreciated all of the literary and historical references, very similar to the Mr. Lemoncello series. The concept of a geocaching game involving books was fun to imagine. I would definitely have this in my library and use it as a read-aloud or with a reading group.
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