The Field of Wacky Inventions

Floors #3

by Patrick Carman

The final adventure in bestselling author Patrick Carman's delightfully wacky Floors trilogy!

Taking mystery and adventure to the next level.

It's not every day that a hotel loses its top floor. Then again, the Whippet Hotel is no stranger to wackiness. So when the entire floor is hoisted into the night sky by a nearly invisible airship, Leo and Remi know they're in for the ride of their lives.

But little do the boys know just how amazing their voyage will become. They are headed to the field of wacky inventions, where they will have to compete against a number of foes for an incredible prize.

It will take all of Leo and Remi's bravery, skill, and burping power to decode the outrageous puzzles hidden among the floors of Merganzer D. Whippet's newest and most peculiar construction. But they must -- because if they don't, they'll lose their beloved Whippet Hotel forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction, Mystery, Childrens, Audiobook, Middle Grade

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2013

About the author

I have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.

I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.

I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.

When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[ACS Book-finder · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun! What fun! What fun! The Field of Wacky Inventions by Patrick Carman is an amazingly fun book to read and filled with great imagination. This is the final book in “The Floors triology” by Mr. Carman and it is as exciting as the first two. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and am a little sad to see it end. While targeted for upper middle school and higher, anyone who just wants a fun book to read would enjoy this series and in particular this last book.

To say I enjoyed it is an understatement. Highly recommend!!

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided to us by Scholastic in exchange for our honest review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. No compensation was received for this review.

[Lauren Merrifield · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thoughts on this book were pretty similar to what I thought of the first two books, but all the problems I had with them, seemed to grow in this final book. There was a whole new cast of characters that I didn't get attached to, and everything was ridiculously random. Also, I felt like one of the characters was added just so that there could be a tiny bit of romance at the very end, and I thought that was completely unnecessary.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last book in the trilogy was the best in my opinion. It was fun, funny, interesting and wonderful. Even though it had many corny moments. It had a good cast of characters, many new ones as well as many old ones. The settings were also very great and inventive. Overall a great book especially for children.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read but I felt like the culmination of the contest was a bit of a let down. It felt like that was all figured out long beforehand, so what was the point. I did love all the adventures in the fields. They were really fun to read about!

[brennen · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was funny and intense

[Twinkly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final book of Floors does a full circle after Merganzer brings the top floors of his main 5 hotels. All of the owners for these hotels are present and they must compete in puzzles to become the owner of this new hotel that will be in the field of wacky inventions. Not a full 5 stars for me as honestly this book needed a lot of imagination which I lacked lol. I also felt the type of content was different than usual. These were straightforward puzzles that told you what to do instead of the typical "wacky" inventions. Some of the hotel manager characters seemed unnecessary to the plot as well

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad story. I gave it only three stars just because it was a bit of reach/rehash of previous novels. And one thing I was very saddened by was that Wippet runs a competition with all the managers. The manager to make it to the end would then run all the hotels in the world. However, one of the managers was "tricked", by Wippet himself, into falling into a hole and being disqualified from the competition. He basically opened a hole and pushed her in. I was saddened because kids will read this, and it could lead them to believe that this form of cheating is ok.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was good and had some funny parts. For the most part, I recommend this book for ages 9-13 boys and girls.My parents liked it and my teacher liked it. I would give this 4 stars because some parts were boring and some parts were cool, interesting and caught my attention.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

215 pages. This is the final installment of the Floors series. To sum it up, it is a bit wacky from start to finish. It kind of seemed like it was going on and on forever, but I guess it was pretty good. I think I liked the first one the best. Recommended for Grade 5.

[Thomas C.Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I preferred the previous two books more than this one. I understand the magical portion of a book, but I felt that the magic shifted and changed in this book from the previous two.

Even so, I did enjoy reading this series and imagining these people.

[G_lalonde]

La prochaine aventure pour Rémi et Léo est ici. Un jour, le dernier étage des hotels de Mr. Whippet se détachent et s'envole, direction "Le domaine des inventions farfelues". Mr. Whippet est à la recherche pour la personne qui va prendre en mains tous ses hotels.

[Anneka J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it, so silly and crazy

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as this was a kids' book, it kept my interest after the first CD. Very cool.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third of the series. It was a good book. Cute and quick.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun. Not as intricate as the first two, but still fun.

[Bridie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book ever I am devastated that I finish it.

[Carol Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book series

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, adventure, puzzle solving, mystery read for upper Elementary or Jr. High.

[Sharon Craft Viall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many twists and turns as we have come to expect from Merganzer. Fun read.

[August Neeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy. My only complaint is that Remi's weight is brought up a lot. When I was a kid, reading stuff like that made me really self-conscious.

[Boone G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked it. my favorite character was blop because he was really funny. it suprised me how mr wippet was building a hotel out odf hotel tops. i would not change the endingg because it was good.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this whole series to my 10-year-old son and he loved them, and gives this one five stars. He was sad to see that this was the end of the series, so I told him I could go find out what else this author has written. I liked the Bible verse at the beginning of the book, which was, Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The book is not a Christian book, but it's got a lot of adventure, some nice, forgiving folks, great teamwork and planning for the future, and having fun despite some fears and concerns along the way. Fabulous camaraderie during the challenge of this book. It leaves you satisfied, and in a place where your imagination can choose the rest of the adventure, even though this is the final book in the series.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this third and final installment in the Floors trilogy, Leo and his step-brother Remi are invited (?) to another one of Merganzer D. Whippet's crazy, adventure-filled, mystery-solving, puzzle-like escapades. When the roofs of Merganzer's many hotels come flying off and assemble (sort-of) to be reassembled into a brand-new hotel, Leo and all the other managers of his hotels must solve his puzzles to become Emperor of Whippet Hotels!

With crazy shenanigans that include miniature T. Rex dinosaurs, colossal roller coasters, anti-gravity chambers, and spindly ladders, Remi and Leo compete with the best of them. But will they be the only ones standing at the end of the ordeal? And, if they are, will they be the right 'men' for the job? Lots of money, management, and hotel-empire building is at stake. Does Merganzer know what he is doing? Of course he does (I think)!

The Field of Wacky Inventions takes the reader on another sit-on-the-edge of-your-seat adventure, full of wildly imaginative happenings, and wacky characters. A fitting and fulfilling conclusion to the trilogy that kids will love.

[Samantha S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the second book, I didn't have high expectations for this book. However, it surpassed my expectations. Leo and Remi are back for a third adventure: a competition to own the Whippet empire against the owners of the other Whippet hotels. This book brought out the best of Remi and Leo. In the second book, I found them a bit one note: new stepbrothers, best friends, unseperable, Leo solving all of the problems with his tools... I also had a problem with the two boys just going to the bottom of the Whippet Hotel meeting people, then never seeing them again. This book still had the "travel to different levels" concept except the stakes are higher and there are more people and levels. I also liked how in the end, Leo gets a girlfriend: an adventurous, resourceful girl named Lucy who they find on the second roof and helps them succeed. Finally, there is a spy in their midst, who works for Ms. Sparks. Although it kept me guessing at who it could be, Carman really didn't do much about the spy, which disappointed me. All in all, it was a pretty good book.

[T2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book.



Leo and Remi fly with merganser to the field of wacky inventions where a challenge takes place the winner would receive the entire whippet hotel chain. After a pancake breakfast they meet the other competitors and then the set out on their journey the head to the 1st floor of the whippet hotel where the second floor of the hotel had landed the went inside and found a zoo of tiny dinosaurs after solving a puzzle the continue on the 3rd floor. In the third floor they find a maze in the center of the third floor they find anti-gravity chamber full of wooden blocks after solving the puzzle in there the head to the next floor. They enter the realm of MONDAR a mini amusement park where the have to go on all the rides after riding two of them they go on the last on which brings them to the ground where the owner of the whippet chain is chosen

[mandyfujita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leo Fillmore is the young son of the maintenance man of the Whippet Hotel. He and other managers of Merganzer D. Whippet's hotel have been brought together for a competition. Mr. Whippet is an inventor at heart and has planned a competition for the winner to be manager of all the Whippet Hotels in New York. Mr Whippet plans to expand his horizons to Europe and Asia.

It was an interesting concept with old characters and newly introduced ones. The crazy puzzles to solve with the rewarding prizes were great experiences for the reader and the characters in the story. Sounds like they all had fun. I had fun too reading about what Leo and Remi were going through.

It is the last of the triology. Maybe Patrick Carman will come up with another triology for us to enjoy.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Field of Wacky Inventions – A Floors Novel by Patrick Carman – Trilogy complete and what a wild ride Patrick Carman delivers to his readers! I really enjoyed the originality of each of the books in the trilogy and this finale was quite fun. In this book you start off with the top of the Whippet hotel flying off, seriously, it separated from the rest of the hotel and flew off to a special location and then led Leo and his friends to quite a special competition. Imagine miniature dinosaurs with the same attitude as the large ones, riding a roller coaster through a forest, saving yourself from getting squished, burned, and lost within a few hours… interesting to read through this nail-biting adventure. This series is highly recommended.

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:

✱ Book Scavenger
✱ Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
✱ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
✱ Mr. Lemoncello's Library series