The Name Of This Book Is Secret

The Name of this Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

The characters in this first book of the Secret series are just barely normal enough to be believable. One more step and they would be in the realm of fantasy. They are weird, but believable. Max Ernest and Cass are friends, except when they are not. They try to solve riddles and problems. There is something to do with people with synesthesia. Smells, colors and words all get associated. They uncover some bad guys and their alchemy that lets them live to extremely old age. However, there is some human sacrifice involved. They meet Owen who is stuttering attendant. Or maybe he's spy with an Irish accent. Or maybe just somebody that is good with accents that can help at times. Max Ernst has two names because his parents could not agree on the proper name. All his hairs are the same length. He is great at solving puzzles. He has some condition, but nobody knows what it is. Cass is a survivalist. She has a mom and "two grandpas". She does not know about her dad. The audiobook narration is great, with various effects and accents to go with the story. 

The 39 Clues, Book 6: In Too Deep

The 39 Clues, Book 6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson

In the sixth 39 clues books, the heroes explore Australia and Indonesia. There are surf "attacks", gliding in escapes and many bits of action. The kids uncover more about their parents deaths, but have even more challenges trusting people.

The 39 Clues, Book 5: The Black Circle

The 39 Clues, Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman

The fifth 39 Clues book takes place in Russia. They need to travel to various cities to find the clues. Their super-rival also happens to be Russian, and will work at anything to stop them. This time they create some sort of alliances with other families and take the advice of a mysterious friend. There is plenty of action to keep things interesting.

Beyond the Grave (The 39 Clues, Book 4)

Beyond the Grave (The 39 Clues, Book 4) by Jude Watson

In book 4, the heroes journey to Egypt in attempts to find clues. They make and break allegiances as they seek to find the clues.

The 39 Clues, Book 3: The Sword Thief

​This 39 Clues book takes them to Japan. They almost don't make it. Their competition manage to incapacitate an airline employee and call them for "special screening" in order to take their boarding passes and jump on the plane. Luckily, their uncle helps them to fly privately. They do some investigation and then get ready to set out for the next clue. This book didn't seem to be centered around the nuances of a well-known historical figures as the previous two were.

The 39 Clues, Book 2: One False Note

The second 39 clues books takes a turn towards the arts. They discover that artists from Mozart to Rembrandt were all part of the family.  In this book, the clues are centered around Mozart. Our heroes travel to Austria and Venice as they attempt to uncover more information. There are even an additional set of catacombs. This book continues the adventures of the Cahills as they compete to find the clues. The two children have many near misses as they try to beat others to the clues. The book is short and sets things up for the next one in the series.

The 39 Clues, Book 1: The Maze of Bones

A brother and sister's parents have been dead. They have been living with various caretakers, but have been most close to one relative, Grace Cahill. After she dies, she promises her relatives either a million dollars or a chance to search for an answer through 39 clues. The children opt for the clues, even though it can lead to death. They enlist a babysitter to help them on the travels. Their "evil" relatives are also on the quest and manage to show up just as they discover something. There are many narrow escapes from death. They also discover that the are related to just about every important historical character. In this book, the focus is on Ben Franklin and a conclusion in the Paris catacombs. The book is nice and short and loaded with action.

The Goldfinch

Goldfinch centers on the life of a New York City boy, Theodore Decker who loses his mother in a museum explosion. He is with his mom, dreading a visit to the principal's office. However, they decide to visit a museum and his life changes. There is an explosion. His mom dies. An old man gives him a ring on the way out and he decides to take a painting. His dad had previously left his family, leaving him a ward of the state. He remembers an elementary school friend and goes to live with them. He also traces down the partner of the guy that gave him the ring and becomes friends with him. (He is also attracted to the girl that was with the old man.) He learns about the antiques business. Months later, his alcoholic, gambler dad picks him up and takes him to Vegas. He is pretty much left alone. He befriends Boris who also lives with his rarely present father. They have a lot of fun drinking and taking drugs.
Theodore's father has some gambling issues and dies after driving drunk. Theodore decides to go back to New York, and ends up going back to the antiques man. The story skips past his time in college and has him back working in the antique shop. He puts things in order financially by passing off remakes as antiques. He has a few chance encounters, discovers his childhood friend is dead and eventually becomes engaged. He runs into Boris, goes to Europe, gets the stolen painting back, kills some people, and loses the painting. He is on the brink of suicide, then decides to turn himself in. Just then Boris appears. He has collected money for reporting the location of the painting (and also uncovering others.) He uses the money to fix the antique fakes, calls off the engagement, and then pontificates at the end of the novel.
The novel is set in the hear and now and attempts to be realistic. However, there are just too many coincidences. There are so many "chance encounters" in Manhattan. Most seem to happen right when needed. Boris seems to come out of nowhere exactly when he is most needed in Theodore's life. The boys also seem to get along pretty well when they are inebriated, yet others get knocked out. You could just about call it "magical realism", except the "magical" is mostly coincidental. The end of the novel also goes on with some random thoughts that seem out of character with the rest of the novel. The story is a "coming of age" for a boy that seems to lose everything again and again, but still manages to bounce back. There is also a bit about art.