I'm taking a class about series books, so I decided to pick up the immensely popular (its readership has doubled with the publication of each of the five books) Secret series (or Pseudonymous Bosch series), because it seemed right up my alley--snarky in a Lemony Snicket way, clever in a slightly gimmicky way (chapters that start with negative numbers, or insert chapter fifteen in the beginning of the book), and tons of kid appeal--crafts and science projects in the appendix, not to mention secret codes! I'll get into all of the reasons I loved the series after I read the fifth and final book (which I haven't read yet, since my library hasn't cataloged it yet... argh!!). But for the purposes of this review, I'll discuss the first book, The Name of this Book Is Secret, which focuses on smell. Each book focuses on a different sense (#1: smell, #2: sound, #3: taste, #4: sight, #5: touch).

The two unlikely heroes of the Secret series are Cass and Max-Ernest (Pseudonymous Bosch takes great pains to tell us that these are NOT their real names, which he has changed to prevent the dangerous and mysterious Midnight Sun Society from gaining too much information. Cass is so named (by Bosch) because of legendary seer Cassandra Trelawney, who often predicted disasters. This is because Cass is a "survivalist," someone who likes to be ready for imminent danger and peril. Max-Ernest becomes her friend. He, like Cass, doesn't fit in at school and has no friends. He is named Max-Ernest because his parents couldn't decide what to name him (Max or Ernest), ultimately causing a rift in their marriage, in which they divorced but decided to live in the same house, neatly divided in half. One day, Cass is visiting her grandfathers' antiques shop, when a mysterious briefcase is dropped off by a probate real estate agent. She claims that it belonged to a recently deceased magician (the kind that pulls a rabbit out of a hat, not the Gandalf kind). In it is something called the Symphony of Smells, a collection of vials of different scents, which can be added together to make various combinations, or even be used to communicate. Cass also comes across the magician's notebook, which references "the Secret," which the Midnight Sun believes to be the secret to immortality. The Midnight Sun, led by the the youthful-looking and attractive Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, will stop at nothing to get their hands on the secret. Cass and Max-Ernest get recruited by the Terces Society, and they race to prevent the Midnight Sun from learning the Secret and carrying out their evil plans.

Likable characters, fun writing, and questions that actually get answered. I'll definitely be recommending this one (although I won't really need to, since it's so popular!).

Ages 9-12