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The Copernicus Legacy #1
The Forbidden Stone
Bestselling author Tony Abbott's epic new middle grade series, the Copernicus Legacy, begins with The Forbidden Stone , a thrilling adventure packed with puzzles, intrigue, and action. Fans of Rick Riordan and Ridley Pearson will love this first book in an exciting series that takes the reader all over the globe in a race to find pieces of a mysterious hidden past—before it's too late.Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca fly from Texas to Germany for the funeral of an old family friend. But instead of just paying their respects, they wind up on a dangerous, mind-blowing quest to unlock an ancient, guarded secret that could destroy the fate of the world.Supports the Common Core State Standards
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2014
187 people are currently reading
4041 people want to read
About the author
Tony Abbott
210 books404 followersTony Abbott (born 1952) is an American author of children's books. His most popular work is the book series The Secrets of Droon, which includes over 40 books. He has sold over 12 million copies of his books and they have been translated into several other languages, including Italian, Spanish, Korean, French, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, and Russian. He has also written the bestseller Firegirl.
Abbott was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952. His father was a university professor and had an extensive library of books which became one of Abbott's first sources of literature. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Connecticut where he went through elementary school and high school.
Abbott attended the University of Connecticut, and after studying both music and psychology, decided to study English and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor's degree in English literature. He attended the workshops of Patricia Reilly Giff to further develop his writing after college.
Abbott currently lives in Trumbull, Connecticut, with his wife, two daughters, and two dogs. Tony had one brother and two sisters.
Abbott was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952. His father was a university professor and had an extensive library of books which became one of Abbott's first sources of literature. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Connecticut where he went through elementary school and high school.
Abbott attended the University of Connecticut, and after studying both music and psychology, decided to study English and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor's degree in English literature. He attended the workshops of Patricia Reilly Giff to further develop his writing after college.
Abbott currently lives in Trumbull, Connecticut, with his wife, two daughters, and two dogs. Tony had one brother and two sisters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews
December 9, 2013
I got a copy of this book from the publisher for free through Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.
The Forbidden Stone is the first book of six in The Copernicus Legacy. It follows the adventure of four friends, Wade, Darrel, Lily and Becca after they receive a strange coded message from their 'uncle' Henry shortly after the man's death. When Wade's father Roald travels with the children to Germany in order to attend the funeral they find another strange message left by their uncle and a couple of dangerous people that would stop at nothing at finding them and eliminating the group from discovering the truth and the rest of the mysterious relics.
Ah not even sure where to begin. I did enjoy the story, but I enjoyed it after the 50% of the book. I thought the first half dragged a little bit and then the second half was more fun and took off on a high adventure.
I was a little confused by how old these kids are. I felt like the clues and the resolution that they came up for them was a bit complicated and might feel like that to some children reading this. Unless it was meant for the oldest middle-grade children because I myself had to go back and reread their findings a couple of times to make sense of it. Also they relied heavily on phones and an Ipad at times. I guess I am still trying to get use to the fact that kid's use Ipads these days.
I liked the fact that they mixed in astronomy into the book, at least the part that was believable. There was a bit of a history and astronomy lessons in there and I found myself really enjoying that part. It was amazing to realize how much I remember from the time I took astronomy classes myself.
I liked that the book took off and became more exciting after the first half. It did draw me in and I did have a hard time putting it down in the end. Even if the ending might have been a little unbelievable (their escape especially) - it's still a book that is filled with adventure and excitement for the right group of kids. I love how it emphasizes the friendship between the four children, and there is even a bit of puppy love going on that I found adorable. Overall I am looking forward to more adventures from Wade, Darrell, Lily and Becca - since the book ended with a mini cliffhanger, it seems that there are more relics to discover and more danger to dodge.
The Forbidden Stone is the first book of six in The Copernicus Legacy. It follows the adventure of four friends, Wade, Darrel, Lily and Becca after they receive a strange coded message from their 'uncle' Henry shortly after the man's death. When Wade's father Roald travels with the children to Germany in order to attend the funeral they find another strange message left by their uncle and a couple of dangerous people that would stop at nothing at finding them and eliminating the group from discovering the truth and the rest of the mysterious relics.
Ah not even sure where to begin. I did enjoy the story, but I enjoyed it after the 50% of the book. I thought the first half dragged a little bit and then the second half was more fun and took off on a high adventure.
I was a little confused by how old these kids are. I felt like the clues and the resolution that they came up for them was a bit complicated and might feel like that to some children reading this. Unless it was meant for the oldest middle-grade children because I myself had to go back and reread their findings a couple of times to make sense of it. Also they relied heavily on phones and an Ipad at times. I guess I am still trying to get use to the fact that kid's use Ipads these days.
I liked the fact that they mixed in astronomy into the book, at least the part that was believable. There was a bit of a history and astronomy lessons in there and I found myself really enjoying that part. It was amazing to realize how much I remember from the time I took astronomy classes myself.
I liked that the book took off and became more exciting after the first half. It did draw me in and I did have a hard time putting it down in the end. Even if the ending might have been a little unbelievable (their escape especially) - it's still a book that is filled with adventure and excitement for the right group of kids. I love how it emphasizes the friendship between the four children, and there is even a bit of puppy love going on that I found adorable. Overall I am looking forward to more adventures from Wade, Darrell, Lily and Becca - since the book ended with a mini cliffhanger, it seems that there are more relics to discover and more danger to dodge.
September 3, 2016
I'm a huge fan of the 39 clues series. I found them to be interesting, educational, and move quickly enough to keep me interested even when I got super busy. Unfortunately, once they switched to the Cahills vs Vespers thing I lost interest. When I saw this and started reading some of the reviews, I got excited that I may have found my next series that would include the mix of adventure and history that I missed. I'm glad that I wasn't disappointed.
Summary:
The basics of this book is the set-up and first adventure of Wade, Lily, Darrel, Becca, and Roald. Roald (father to Wade and Darrell who are stepbrothers) end up with a mysterious note that sends them along with cousin Lily and friend Becca to find the 12 vital parts of Copernicus' astrolabe (a time-traveling device). In this first installment, the five travel from the United States to Germany and continues through international destinations. Each place gives them a small clue (that you can help figure out) to travel to the next place. The forbidden stone is the first artifact that the group finds.
My thoughts:
Overall, this gave me what I wanted. There is a lot of action with historical and scientific facts throughout. The characters are not extremely well developed, but I feel that we will get to know them better as they continue to work to solve puzzles with one another. I also really liked that the father played a significant role within this book. He is not absent while the children run off into dangerous situations. Finally, the fact that there is a lot of cooperation is really nice for a middle grades book. The relationships aren't perfect, but they don't hate each other and try to make each other miserable, especially the step brothers. I look forward to the next book in the series and hope that it doesn't drop off like 39 clues did.
Summary:
The basics of this book is the set-up and first adventure of Wade, Lily, Darrel, Becca, and Roald. Roald (father to Wade and Darrell who are stepbrothers) end up with a mysterious note that sends them along with cousin Lily and friend Becca to find the 12 vital parts of Copernicus' astrolabe (a time-traveling device). In this first installment, the five travel from the United States to Germany and continues through international destinations. Each place gives them a small clue (that you can help figure out) to travel to the next place. The forbidden stone is the first artifact that the group finds.
My thoughts:
Overall, this gave me what I wanted. There is a lot of action with historical and scientific facts throughout. The characters are not extremely well developed, but I feel that we will get to know them better as they continue to work to solve puzzles with one another. I also really liked that the father played a significant role within this book. He is not absent while the children run off into dangerous situations. Finally, the fact that there is a lot of cooperation is really nice for a middle grades book. The relationships aren't perfect, but they don't hate each other and try to make each other miserable, especially the step brothers. I look forward to the next book in the series and hope that it doesn't drop off like 39 clues did.
April 13, 2014
This is the start of what promises to be a very fun series. It reminded me of Indiana Jones or even The DaVinci Code, with a group of kids and adults piecing together information to find a lost invention of Copernicus. There were a few lucky coincidences, but not as many as I'd feared, and the historical and scientific information was presented very naturally, with no big info dumps.
January 4, 2016
3.7 stars actually
It was a very good journey, with funny characters, many adventures and lots of twists and turns. I loved Wade and all the other characters were amazing too basically (also, was I the only one who shipped Lily and Becca?)
The bad thing was that it reminded me so much of the 39 cules. The only difference was that this had magic involved. I felt I would have enjoyed it WAY more if I hadn't read 39 clues yet, it felt more predictable now.
The cover was really cute though and oh my, this book had some pretty good descriptions. It was a good, light and funny middle grade read.
Recommended but only if you haven't already read the 39 clues
~Mary
It was a very good journey, with funny characters, many adventures and lots of twists and turns. I loved Wade and all the other characters were amazing too basically (also, was I the only one who shipped Lily and Becca?)
The bad thing was that it reminded me so much of the 39 cules. The only difference was that this had magic involved. I felt I would have enjoyed it WAY more if I hadn't read 39 clues yet, it felt more predictable now.
The cover was really cute though and oh my, this book had some pretty good descriptions. It was a good, light and funny middle grade read.
Recommended but only if you haven't already read the 39 clues
~Mary
May 14, 2015
I love books aimed at middle school kids. They are exciting, adventurous, and generally fun to read. I use them the same way you eat raspberry sorbet between courses. They cleanse my literary palette after reading too many complicated or long books. You can open them up, start reading and just let your imagination take over.
This was probably not my best choice for doing the aforementioned "cleansing". The basic story was fine: A few friends and one parent travel from the US to Germany to attend a funeral for Uncle Henry. The circumstances surrounding the death seem suspicious and they finally discover the deceased was part of a centuries old line of "guardians" to a well kept secret of Copernicus. This leads them into a trek through Italy followed by Guam in search of a relic. All this while being hunted down by the people who killed Uncle Henry - they too are searching for the relic.
I had two issues.
One is fairly standard - this is the first in a series and rather than book one being a story unto itself, it is like the first section of a much larger story. That would have been good to know before starting it.
The second issue I had was the author's writing style. It bounced from first person to third, and the first person could at any point be one of the kids. I can handle this if it's from chapter to chapter, but in this case I could be reading the next paragraph and it's no longer Darrell's point of view, it's Becca's, or Wade's, etc. It was quite annoying.
Perhaps the target group for this book will not consider the writing style an issue but the book being part of a series may be. It's hard to get a kid to read these days. Since this isn't one full story followed later by another full story in the same world, I don't know that you might be able to keep kids interested that long. I could barely stay interested for as long as it took to finish. It really should have been compressed into half the length.
I may or may not pick up the next in the series later on. It wasn't an overly compelling story but it was still good. I'll give it a few months and if I remember anything about the story at that time, then I'll get it.
This was probably not my best choice for doing the aforementioned "cleansing". The basic story was fine: A few friends and one parent travel from the US to Germany to attend a funeral for Uncle Henry. The circumstances surrounding the death seem suspicious and they finally discover the deceased was part of a centuries old line of "guardians" to a well kept secret of Copernicus. This leads them into a trek through Italy followed by Guam in search of a relic. All this while being hunted down by the people who killed Uncle Henry - they too are searching for the relic.
I had two issues.
One is fairly standard - this is the first in a series and rather than book one being a story unto itself, it is like the first section of a much larger story. That would have been good to know before starting it.
The second issue I had was the author's writing style. It bounced from first person to third, and the first person could at any point be one of the kids. I can handle this if it's from chapter to chapter, but in this case I could be reading the next paragraph and it's no longer Darrell's point of view, it's Becca's, or Wade's, etc. It was quite annoying.
Perhaps the target group for this book will not consider the writing style an issue but the book being part of a series may be. It's hard to get a kid to read these days. Since this isn't one full story followed later by another full story in the same world, I don't know that you might be able to keep kids interested that long. I could barely stay interested for as long as it took to finish. It really should have been compressed into half the length.
I may or may not pick up the next in the series later on. It wasn't an overly compelling story but it was still good. I'll give it a few months and if I remember anything about the story at that time, then I'll get it.
January 2, 2019
My favourite part was when Wade's father got back to all of them after being caught by the police for breaking into a cemetery, and when they all made it out of the cave alive, and with the next relic that they had been looking for. My leas favourite part is how mean Galina Krause is to the kids as they try to get the relics, because she isn't much older than them. I'm not sure if it even explained why she was as mean as she was, and to other people, the ones who work for her, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2014
Did not like. At all.
I hated the writing. I hated the ellipses. Oh the ellipses. Nobody should ever use that many ellipses in a book. It was awful. Turn a page. Ellipse. Read a paragraph. Another ellipse. THERE WERE TOO MANY ELLIPSES.
"Darrell, on the other hand..." (page 176)
"The tram made another s-l-o-w stop. Three passengers got off. Probably going to sleep. How much longer...?" (page 177)
"'Are you ready?' she whispered. 'This exact kind of dagger is called a pug...pugnale...pugnale Bolognese-'" (page 179-180)
"Her heart stopped. 'Yes...?'" (page 183)
"'Uh-huh. Really? Was anything...I can't right now, we're in... we're out of town. Yes. Yes. Please. As soon as I can. Thank you.'" (page 185)
"'In case...of what?' asked Lily.'" (page 148)
"'This is like...,' Lily started, then stopped when she flashed her light on the walls below. 'Uh-oh...'" (page 148)
"'Oh my gosh,'" said Lily, staring out the window as the station receded. 'What...what...what are we going to do?'" (page 199)
"'Don't get caught?' Lily frowned. 'Ohhhh, man...'" (page 199)
DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?! I ASSURE YOU THAT I DID NOT INSERT RANDOM ELLIPSES. THIS IS HOW THE BOOK WAS PRINTED.
Not only this but there are multiple grammatical sentence structure errors throughout the book. It was choppy.
But what I really detested about the book was the characters. Every single one of them was a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. I don't care if Becca is slightly insecure. She's still a Mary Sue. Somehow, all of them are smart in some way but then they don't know what a substitution code is? How old are they? In what universe does a fully grown adult allow children to coerce him into flying all of them to a foreign country? In what universe, will ANYBODY be able to find five tickets on a plane to Europe in ONE DAY? The universe practically revolves around them. Becca was the worst. She knows five languages. She knows all type of history facts. She knows science. She knows friggin' everything. She's quiet. She's nice. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HER. Lily might not be smart, but she is a "fantastic researcher". But please explain to me how she can get WIRELESS IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY SO EASILY. DID I MISS THE MEMO ABOUT HOW SHE GOT 4G IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY? IT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE THERE. DID YOU KNOW THAT? WOULD YOUR PARENTS BE WILLING TO PAY FOR WIRELESS? OH YEAH OF COURSE THEY WOULD SINCE THE ENTIRE FRIGGIN' UNIVERSE REVOLVES AROUND THESE FOUR KIDS. DID I MISS THE FACT THAT SHE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO CONNECT TO WIFI IN A TAXI? I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT TAXI'S IN EUROPE DO NOT COME WITH WIFI. AIN'T NOBODY GOT MONEY FOR THAT. PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME. HOW IS HER LAPTOP OR TABLET NOT DEAD YET? HOW? Wade is annoying. He knows science and is just as smart as Becca, but then he always feel as if she is superior. Darrell isn't supposed to be smart, but then of course he also knows some of the lovely facts that would benefit them on their journey. It doesn't make any logical sense. They are said to be smart but then do some of the stupidest things I have ever read. If you are trying to maintain secrecy and "stay off the grid" as you have said, DON'T POST BLOG POSTS ABOUT THE ADVENTURE. I'm pretty sure that if they KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE and WHAT YOUR PHONE AND SUCH IS, the they can PROBABLY FIGURE OUT YOU HAVE A BLOG. Secondly, WHO WIELDS A DAGGER AND TAKES IT OUT IN PUBLIC. AGAIN, SECRECY. If you take out a very expensive-looking, dangerous weapon, what normal person isn't going to notice? Please gain some common sense.
The plot is inane. Again, since the world REVOLVES AROUND THESE CHILDREN, they can do anything without getting in trouble. They somehow have endless pockets and can come up with fantastic plans that miraculously work. Paired with the terrible writing, the book dragged to the point that I stopped just past the halfway point. I had to force myself to read it. I applaud myself for getting that far.
Lastly, before I finish this lovely rant, the scientific facts are wrong. I appreciate the research, but use more accurate sources.
I hated the writing. I hated the ellipses. Oh the ellipses. Nobody should ever use that many ellipses in a book. It was awful. Turn a page. Ellipse. Read a paragraph. Another ellipse. THERE WERE TOO MANY ELLIPSES.
"Darrell, on the other hand..." (page 176)
"The tram made another s-l-o-w stop. Three passengers got off. Probably going to sleep. How much longer...?" (page 177)
"'Are you ready?' she whispered. 'This exact kind of dagger is called a pug...pugnale...pugnale Bolognese-'" (page 179-180)
"Her heart stopped. 'Yes...?'" (page 183)
"'Uh-huh. Really? Was anything...I can't right now, we're in... we're out of town. Yes. Yes. Please. As soon as I can. Thank you.'" (page 185)
"'In case...of what?' asked Lily.'" (page 148)
"'This is like...,' Lily started, then stopped when she flashed her light on the walls below. 'Uh-oh...'" (page 148)
"'Oh my gosh,'" said Lily, staring out the window as the station receded. 'What...what...what are we going to do?'" (page 199)
"'Don't get caught?' Lily frowned. 'Ohhhh, man...'" (page 199)
DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?! I ASSURE YOU THAT I DID NOT INSERT RANDOM ELLIPSES. THIS IS HOW THE BOOK WAS PRINTED.
Not only this but there are multiple grammatical sentence structure errors throughout the book. It was choppy.
But what I really detested about the book was the characters. Every single one of them was a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. I don't care if Becca is slightly insecure. She's still a Mary Sue. Somehow, all of them are smart in some way but then they don't know what a substitution code is? How old are they? In what universe does a fully grown adult allow children to coerce him into flying all of them to a foreign country? In what universe, will ANYBODY be able to find five tickets on a plane to Europe in ONE DAY? The universe practically revolves around them. Becca was the worst. She knows five languages. She knows all type of history facts. She knows science. She knows friggin' everything. She's quiet. She's nice. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HER. Lily might not be smart, but she is a "fantastic researcher". But please explain to me how she can get WIRELESS IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY SO EASILY. DID I MISS THE MEMO ABOUT HOW SHE GOT 4G IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY? IT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE THERE. DID YOU KNOW THAT? WOULD YOUR PARENTS BE WILLING TO PAY FOR WIRELESS? OH YEAH OF COURSE THEY WOULD SINCE THE ENTIRE FRIGGIN' UNIVERSE REVOLVES AROUND THESE FOUR KIDS. DID I MISS THE FACT THAT SHE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO CONNECT TO WIFI IN A TAXI? I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT TAXI'S IN EUROPE DO NOT COME WITH WIFI. AIN'T NOBODY GOT MONEY FOR THAT. PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME. HOW IS HER LAPTOP OR TABLET NOT DEAD YET? HOW? Wade is annoying. He knows science and is just as smart as Becca, but then he always feel as if she is superior. Darrell isn't supposed to be smart, but then of course he also knows some of the lovely facts that would benefit them on their journey. It doesn't make any logical sense. They are said to be smart but then do some of the stupidest things I have ever read. If you are trying to maintain secrecy and "stay off the grid" as you have said, DON'T POST BLOG POSTS ABOUT THE ADVENTURE. I'm pretty sure that if they KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE and WHAT YOUR PHONE AND SUCH IS, the they can PROBABLY FIGURE OUT YOU HAVE A BLOG. Secondly, WHO WIELDS A DAGGER AND TAKES IT OUT IN PUBLIC. AGAIN, SECRECY. If you take out a very expensive-looking, dangerous weapon, what normal person isn't going to notice? Please gain some common sense.
The plot is inane. Again, since the world REVOLVES AROUND THESE CHILDREN, they can do anything without getting in trouble. They somehow have endless pockets and can come up with fantastic plans that miraculously work. Paired with the terrible writing, the book dragged to the point that I stopped just past the halfway point. I had to force myself to read it. I applaud myself for getting that far.
Lastly, before I finish this lovely rant, the scientific facts are wrong. I appreciate the research, but use more accurate sources.
August 5, 2016
I received an advanced copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway - Thank you!
This was like reading The DaVinci Code for kids! Lots of adventure, sophisticated clues to follow, and some history lessons too!
Four middle school friends head to Europe with one of the children's father to attend the funeral of the father's college professor. The professor was a close family friend and was thought of as and Uncle. One of the boys, Wade, has an astrology map that the professor had sent him as a birthday present. This map ends up containing clues to locations of objects and a secret society that protects the objects, Copernicus used for a special purpose (don't want to give too much away) Of course there are bad guys that are also trying to locate these objects.
Lots of excitement, mystery, and suspense. The children are great kids and role models - thank you Mr. Abbott for that. You do have to suspend belief at the end of the book because it couldn't possibly happen, but that's ok - the story is great fun to read and in my opinion will be a great new series.
I often pass the middle grade books I win from Goodreads on to my child's Middle School Lit teacher to share with her classes, but I think I might just have to keep this one!
This was like reading The DaVinci Code for kids! Lots of adventure, sophisticated clues to follow, and some history lessons too!
Four middle school friends head to Europe with one of the children's father to attend the funeral of the father's college professor. The professor was a close family friend and was thought of as and Uncle. One of the boys, Wade, has an astrology map that the professor had sent him as a birthday present. This map ends up containing clues to locations of objects and a secret society that protects the objects, Copernicus used for a special purpose (don't want to give too much away) Of course there are bad guys that are also trying to locate these objects.
Lots of excitement, mystery, and suspense. The children are great kids and role models - thank you Mr. Abbott for that. You do have to suspend belief at the end of the book because it couldn't possibly happen, but that's ok - the story is great fun to read and in my opinion will be a great new series.
I often pass the middle grade books I win from Goodreads on to my child's Middle School Lit teacher to share with her classes, but I think I might just have to keep this one!
January 9, 2017
When i read the tittle i thought that this was a copy of harry potter ha! I couldn't be more wrong!! This turned to be a mix between harry potter, the mommy (movie), national treasure (movie) and a lot of twist that you read on dan brown's books!!!
And i loooove it.
And i loooove it.
January 27, 2014
For more of my reviews, visit Books For YA!
From astronomy to geography, to time travelling and world history, the first book in Tony Abbott's newest middle grade series, The Copernicus Legacy: The Forbidden Stone, has it all. It's like National Treasure kids edition and in book format. It is an exhilarating fast-paced and globe-trotting adventure with lots of puzzle-solving, intense escape scenes and treasure hunting that all ages will surely love.
Wade, Darrell, Lily and Becca's plans for spring break doesn't include travelling to four countries, running away from bad guys, solving puzzles and collecting 12 parts of an ancient instrument. But ever since they found Uncle Henry's coded message, all their plans has changed. Now, with the use of their smartphone and their knowlegde about astronomy and foreign language, they have to find and protect the 12 relics from Copernicus' invention before an organization of international bad guys gets it and change the balance of the universe.
"The sky is where mathematics and magic become one."
I finished The Forbidden Stone in one sitting and that is a huge compliment, by the way, because I don't do that quite often. I think, if there is a checklist of qualities of a good middle grade novel, this book will checked almost all of it if not everything. It just sucked me in the moment I started reading it.
All the main characters were funny, charming and relatable. Wade, is an astronomy nerd (like me) who's great with numbers and word puzzles. Darrell is Wade's funny and always hungry stepbrother, who's a tennis pro and is great with music (or so he thinks). Lily is Wade's girly cousin who is very tech-savvy. And last, but not the least, Becca, Lily's friend and Wade's crush, is a well-read girl who knows, at least, four different languages. I love how this four kids interact with each other - Wade and Darrell's brother bond, Darrell and Lily's cat and dog relationship; Wade and Becca's blossoming puppy love. It feels so natural and I think a lot of kids will relate and identify with them.
The pacing was good, the suspense was great, the mystery was awesome, and the plot was well-researched. I was really impressed with how much information about history this book has and how well it was written. The historical facts were seamlessly woven into the story without bombarding me with information unlike other books.
Overall, The Forbidden Stone is a great start to The Copernicus Legacy series and I will definitely look forward to the next books to come. I would recommend this to everyone especially to all the middle grade kids who likes adventure, mystery, astronomy and history.
From astronomy to geography, to time travelling and world history, the first book in Tony Abbott's newest middle grade series, The Copernicus Legacy: The Forbidden Stone, has it all. It's like National Treasure kids edition and in book format. It is an exhilarating fast-paced and globe-trotting adventure with lots of puzzle-solving, intense escape scenes and treasure hunting that all ages will surely love.
Wade, Darrell, Lily and Becca's plans for spring break doesn't include travelling to four countries, running away from bad guys, solving puzzles and collecting 12 parts of an ancient instrument. But ever since they found Uncle Henry's coded message, all their plans has changed. Now, with the use of their smartphone and their knowlegde about astronomy and foreign language, they have to find and protect the 12 relics from Copernicus' invention before an organization of international bad guys gets it and change the balance of the universe.
"The sky is where mathematics and magic become one."
I finished The Forbidden Stone in one sitting and that is a huge compliment, by the way, because I don't do that quite often. I think, if there is a checklist of qualities of a good middle grade novel, this book will checked almost all of it if not everything. It just sucked me in the moment I started reading it.
All the main characters were funny, charming and relatable. Wade, is an astronomy nerd (like me) who's great with numbers and word puzzles. Darrell is Wade's funny and always hungry stepbrother, who's a tennis pro and is great with music (or so he thinks). Lily is Wade's girly cousin who is very tech-savvy. And last, but not the least, Becca, Lily's friend and Wade's crush, is a well-read girl who knows, at least, four different languages. I love how this four kids interact with each other - Wade and Darrell's brother bond, Darrell and Lily's cat and dog relationship; Wade and Becca's blossoming puppy love. It feels so natural and I think a lot of kids will relate and identify with them.
The pacing was good, the suspense was great, the mystery was awesome, and the plot was well-researched. I was really impressed with how much information about history this book has and how well it was written. The historical facts were seamlessly woven into the story without bombarding me with information unlike other books.
Overall, The Forbidden Stone is a great start to The Copernicus Legacy series and I will definitely look forward to the next books to come. I would recommend this to everyone especially to all the middle grade kids who likes adventure, mystery, astronomy and history.
February 15, 2014
More like 4.5 stars.
This is one of those books that lies in the sweet spot right on the edge of Middle Grade and Young Adult--a spot I happen to really like.
Wade and his stepbrother Darrell find a coded message in their dad/stepdad's email while hanging out in his astronomy lab. Their dad says the message must be a game at first, but they discover the sender, a family friend they call Uncle Henry, has been killed. What ensues is a tromp across the globe, narrow escapes from baddies, and much clue-finding.
The characters are all very distinctive and likable. Wade is smart and shy, Darrell rambunctious and loyal, Becca (Wade's cousin) the brain who learns to love adventure, and Lily is laid back and a bit snarky. (At first I thought Lily was going to be shallow and annoying, but her phone/tablet obsession gives her ninja level Google Fu and I thought the author did a great job of making her relevant.)
This is one of the few MG/YA novels where there is a parent playing a true role and actually adventuring with the kids, and it was a great balance.
The bad guys are really bad, and the mastermind of the group made me think of Lara Croft - albeit her evil twin sister.
The writing is very good, easy to read but not dumbed-down. The pacing is great. For once, I didn't find myself completely annoyed that this was *obviously* a first book in a series. Enough was actually accomplished to make me feel like a story was told, as opposed to many first-book-in-a-series that feel like they're just the first few very long chapters of a very long book, which seems to be a common issue with books at this level.
I could, possibly, gripe a bit about how easily things happened, though. Oh, you need to get from Texas to Germany for a funeral? There just happens to be a flight at exactly the right time! Need someone who can speak Italian--oh, Becca knows like four different languages!
The thing is, this is exactly the kind of book where stuff like that really does make the story more fun. You can suspend disbelief because the story is pure adventure. I recently read a book at this age level that was technically a post apocalyptic dystopian and the author attempted this kind of feel, and it drove me nuts. This book, however, plays that kind of thing as a strength--it's the right genre with the right cast of characters to pull it off.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this. Particularly for middle school boys.
This is one of those books that lies in the sweet spot right on the edge of Middle Grade and Young Adult--a spot I happen to really like.
Wade and his stepbrother Darrell find a coded message in their dad/stepdad's email while hanging out in his astronomy lab. Their dad says the message must be a game at first, but they discover the sender, a family friend they call Uncle Henry, has been killed. What ensues is a tromp across the globe, narrow escapes from baddies, and much clue-finding.
The characters are all very distinctive and likable. Wade is smart and shy, Darrell rambunctious and loyal, Becca (Wade's cousin) the brain who learns to love adventure, and Lily is laid back and a bit snarky. (At first I thought Lily was going to be shallow and annoying, but her phone/tablet obsession gives her ninja level Google Fu and I thought the author did a great job of making her relevant.)
This is one of the few MG/YA novels where there is a parent playing a true role and actually adventuring with the kids, and it was a great balance.
The bad guys are really bad, and the mastermind of the group made me think of Lara Croft - albeit her evil twin sister.
The writing is very good, easy to read but not dumbed-down. The pacing is great. For once, I didn't find myself completely annoyed that this was *obviously* a first book in a series. Enough was actually accomplished to make me feel like a story was told, as opposed to many first-book-in-a-series that feel like they're just the first few very long chapters of a very long book, which seems to be a common issue with books at this level.
I could, possibly, gripe a bit about how easily things happened, though. Oh, you need to get from Texas to Germany for a funeral? There just happens to be a flight at exactly the right time! Need someone who can speak Italian--oh, Becca knows like four different languages!
The thing is, this is exactly the kind of book where stuff like that really does make the story more fun. You can suspend disbelief because the story is pure adventure. I recently read a book at this age level that was technically a post apocalyptic dystopian and the author attempted this kind of feel, and it drove me nuts. This book, however, plays that kind of thing as a strength--it's the right genre with the right cast of characters to pull it off.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this. Particularly for middle school boys.
February 23, 2014
I am glad that my local public library system recommended this book to me. Though the 4 kids in the book are supposed to be middle grade students, they sound and act more like high school seniors or young adults. These are brainy kids who know lots of science, math, history, and literature and one of the girls is an expert internet user.
Wade's dad is an astronomy professor. Roald, the dad, is divorced from Wade's mom who lives in LA (Roald and Wade live in Texas) and remarried to very smart Sara. Darrell is Sara's son by her ex Thai husband and he and Wade are more like brothers than stepbrothers. Lily is their smart cousin and Becca is her brainiac friend who speaks multiple languages. The thing I love about this book is that there is none of the stupid, snarky conversations or relationships you see in typical middle grade/YA books. This is so refreshing! Smart kids who like each other and get along out on an adventure with a professor Dad they love and respect. I love it.
It all starts when Wade takes Darrell into Roald's office and they see a mysterious coded email on his computer. Soon the boys, Roald, Lily and Becca (who are staying with them instead of going on a trip to France when Lily's mom gets sick) are on their way to Berlin, Germany due to the death of Roald's old professor, the one who sent the mysterious email. Before long, they are searching for clues in crypts, running for their lives across Europe, and in Guam battling true evil.
I won't go into the story too deeply but the conversations are interesting, the science superb, the clues baffling, and the story thrilling. This is just so well done. I now have to read the series! If you like mysteries, excitement, astronomy, and really smart young adults who can get along with each other and have an adventure with their dad (usually we have the kids on their own in most stories), you'll love this. Think of it as a DaVinci Code for young adults and more than a few adults who love a good mystery.
Wade's dad is an astronomy professor. Roald, the dad, is divorced from Wade's mom who lives in LA (Roald and Wade live in Texas) and remarried to very smart Sara. Darrell is Sara's son by her ex Thai husband and he and Wade are more like brothers than stepbrothers. Lily is their smart cousin and Becca is her brainiac friend who speaks multiple languages. The thing I love about this book is that there is none of the stupid, snarky conversations or relationships you see in typical middle grade/YA books. This is so refreshing! Smart kids who like each other and get along out on an adventure with a professor Dad they love and respect. I love it.
It all starts when Wade takes Darrell into Roald's office and they see a mysterious coded email on his computer. Soon the boys, Roald, Lily and Becca (who are staying with them instead of going on a trip to France when Lily's mom gets sick) are on their way to Berlin, Germany due to the death of Roald's old professor, the one who sent the mysterious email. Before long, they are searching for clues in crypts, running for their lives across Europe, and in Guam battling true evil.
I won't go into the story too deeply but the conversations are interesting, the science superb, the clues baffling, and the story thrilling. This is just so well done. I now have to read the series! If you like mysteries, excitement, astronomy, and really smart young adults who can get along with each other and have an adventure with their dad (usually we have the kids on their own in most stories), you'll love this. Think of it as a DaVinci Code for young adults and more than a few adults who love a good mystery.
July 6, 2014
I may have to start a shelf for treasure hunters type of books. It is becoming a genre in itself. It started with 39 clues which I welcomed as a needed change from Fantasy, but is becoming more and more prevalent. Now Abbott, the Droon series author, has taken a stab at it. It is real good in that it is science based which is a nice change. 39 Clues and its spinoffs had a chemical formula as the item they needed to hunt down, but was really historical based. This seems more science based. It is with Copernicus as the head of the Guardians which is based on something Copernicus presumably invented. We have a bad guy who is a woman, with strong hints that she might not be human. We have professors scattered all over the place, as well as scientists. Of course the main heroes are the 4 kids who are dragging a grownup along with them, father and step father to the two boys. He conveniently disappears when the kids have adventures then reappears when a grownup figure is needed. The 4 kids are definitely the main characters. Personally, I found this much more compelling than Patterson's Treasure Hunters which will be another endless series I suppose. This one seems to have a definite close episode in mind which will be when the time traveling astrolabe will be reassembled. It is rather similar to the 39 Clues series, including an online site for additional games and clues I guess. I definitely enjoyed this and am looking forward to the next title. I don't think this is going down as a classic of kids' fiction, but it is a fun read and does a good job of hitting all the ethical points (love is the most powerful emotion on earth, etc.) So far the baddies are pretty one dimensional but there are hints that they might get a bit more rounded out too. Recommend, especially during lazy summer days when you get those marvelous infuriating kids in who have read 3/4 of your collection! I suppose it hits Common Core by mentioning scientific topics and various historical events.
July 10, 2014
This book promised me adventure, secret codes, clues, and a relic hunt. This book delivered. It was a lot of fun relic hunting along with the main quartet. It was often easy to figure out what was being hinted at (well, it is a book intended for a younger audience!), but when my ideas were confirmed I got goosebumps and had to take breaks to calm myself.
The narrative was easy to follow without being off-putting for older readers. The story was fast-paced and entertaining making it hard for me to put the book down. A nice blend of escaping the bad guys, solving the clues, and researching history maintained the reader's interest.
My only problem with this book was the cast. Although, all four kids were very important, to me it felt like Wade was the main character and, as the main character, I didn't like him much. He was too serious, introspective, and not as excited as I would expect a teenage kid on a very important relic hunt. Darrel was my favorite among the four and I think that if Wade had some of his humor or enthusiasm, Wade would have been much more likable.
Also, at the beginning it felt like the characters were designed to be convenient to the story. Everyone was presented with a certain specialty which easily solved some of the earlier clues. Later in the story, however, because of that very reason, two of the characters were reduced to being sidekicks.
Additionally, I felt that it wasn't really required to show the point of view of the antagonists. All I could get from that was that they were ruthless and wanted to achieve their goals by any means necessary (no surprise there).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm really looking forward to its sequel(s). And I hope to see more of Darrel (hopefully as the team's defender!)
The narrative was easy to follow without being off-putting for older readers. The story was fast-paced and entertaining making it hard for me to put the book down. A nice blend of escaping the bad guys, solving the clues, and researching history maintained the reader's interest.
My only problem with this book was the cast. Although, all four kids were very important, to me it felt like Wade was the main character and, as the main character, I didn't like him much. He was too serious, introspective, and not as excited as I would expect a teenage kid on a very important relic hunt. Darrel was my favorite among the four and I think that if Wade had some of his humor or enthusiasm, Wade would have been much more likable.
Also, at the beginning it felt like the characters were designed to be convenient to the story. Everyone was presented with a certain specialty which easily solved some of the earlier clues. Later in the story, however, because of that very reason, two of the characters were reduced to being sidekicks.
Additionally, I felt that it wasn't really required to show the point of view of the antagonists. All I could get from that was that they were ruthless and wanted to achieve their goals by any means necessary (no surprise there).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm really looking forward to its sequel(s). And I hope to see more of Darrel (hopefully as the team's defender!)
December 8, 2013
I just finished reading this title. I really liked it! I haven't read a young readers/ middle grade title in a while and I blew threw this one. The story was great! It was really suspenseful and had me guessing what the characters would do next. I liked that there were shorter chapters as I found myself saying, "Oh I will just read another chapter." 100 pages later I was cruising through this book. After finishing it I can't wait to see what book 2 holds. If you are a fan of the 39 clues series, Infinity Ring series, etc. I think that you will like this book. This book was a great start to the series and now I am ready to go on the hunt for the 12 relics myself!
September 26, 2016
This book was probably the most confusing, mind-boggling and horrible story I have ever read.
I judge a book by its cover. Literally. I happened to pick up this book and I took one look at the cover and I thought "This will be awesome."
Nope. Jamais. Never. Nun-uh.
I read this book, and as I read it, I picked up cheesy lines in the story like:
“The sky is where mathematics and magic become one.” ... and this weird word:
“Gelehrsamkeit”-- whatever THAT means.
Anyways, this book was complex for nothing, and as I said, this was just a failure of a book :(
I judge a book by its cover. Literally. I happened to pick up this book and I took one look at the cover and I thought "This will be awesome."
Nope. Jamais. Never. Nun-uh.
I read this book, and as I read it, I picked up cheesy lines in the story like:
“The sky is where mathematics and magic become one.” ... and this weird word:
“Gelehrsamkeit”-- whatever THAT means.
Anyways, this book was complex for nothing, and as I said, this was just a failure of a book :(
February 23, 2015
Very slow start (I seriously considered giving up at 10% in or so) but once the actual adventure kicked off, it wasn't bad. Cliffhanger ending, but I'm not entirely sure I wish to continue.
October 16, 2018
A good book that I expected more of. I was recommended this by Ms. Digisi, who was recommended it by Mr. Longnecker, my former science teacher, who might have been recommended it by some place else.
There is a scene that takes place in the graveyard of the Brothers Grimm. I couldn't help but be reminded of A Grimm Warning, because both books include a bookish girl whose name beings with "B" and the main character has a crush on. On the topic of Becca, I wonder what her parents do. And how she became friends with her polar opposite, Lily. And what new job did her parents get that would cause them to move from Massachusetts to Texas.
At the beginning, some parts of Lily's personality rub me the wrong way, but I end up warming up to her. The things I didn't like was that she says stuff like "Your phone is more important than your brain," and she posts a bunch of pictures without asking Wade or Darrell if they are okay with it. Bit too much Teenage Phone Addict archetype for me. Another thing about Lily is that she runs a blog, and no one ever mentions that the bad guys could track them using the blog. But I like Lily in the end.
Like most books, there are small inconsistencies with what the kid characters know, don't know, and are praised for knowing. For example, Wade is praised for knowing Galileo's claim to fame (first telescope) by his astrophysicist dad. Considering Wade's circumstances, I would be surprised if he didn't know a simple fact like who invented the first telescope.
Which brings me to the main characters ages. With some easy math, I figured out that the main villain, who is described as a few years older than the main characters, is 19. The kids are given admission to a museum for free because they are under 17. (What kind of business are they running?!) Because Lily doesn't check that no one's birthday has passed before saying they are all free, I'm guessing that they are 15-16 years old. Which means they are probably 10th graders. Which actually makes sense, because Becca was reading Moby Dick. I did read them as younger though, probably because there is very little mention of school. Although, they do feel not the same age as other 15, 16 year old characters I've read. Is the kid's age actually consequential to the story in any way? Not really. Why did I work so hard to find them? I was curious, okay?
A final complaint because I'm good at finding bad stuff, but not good at finding good stuff. I think that Laura Thompson is not identified until the Author's Note. This is mainly surprising because everyone else is introduced so well. Please correct me if she is introduced.
All in all, not bad. A fun introduction to the history of science, but beware of parts that aren't history!
P.S. I need to find more contradictory word that aren't "though" or "although".
There is a scene that takes place in the graveyard of the Brothers Grimm. I couldn't help but be reminded of A Grimm Warning, because both books include a bookish girl whose name beings with "B" and the main character has a crush on. On the topic of Becca, I wonder what her parents do. And how she became friends with her polar opposite, Lily. And what new job did her parents get that would cause them to move from Massachusetts to Texas.
At the beginning, some parts of Lily's personality rub me the wrong way, but I end up warming up to her. The things I didn't like was that she says stuff like "Your phone is more important than your brain," and she posts a bunch of pictures without asking Wade or Darrell if they are okay with it. Bit too much Teenage Phone Addict archetype for me. Another thing about Lily is that she runs a blog, and no one ever mentions that the bad guys could track them using the blog. But I like Lily in the end.
Like most books, there are small inconsistencies with what the kid characters know, don't know, and are praised for knowing. For example, Wade is praised for knowing Galileo's claim to fame (first telescope) by his astrophysicist dad. Considering Wade's circumstances, I would be surprised if he didn't know a simple fact like who invented the first telescope.
Which brings me to the main characters ages. With some easy math, I figured out that the main villain, who is described as a few years older than the main characters, is 19. The kids are given admission to a museum for free because they are under 17. (What kind of business are they running?!) Because Lily doesn't check that no one's birthday has passed before saying they are all free, I'm guessing that they are 15-16 years old. Which means they are probably 10th graders. Which actually makes sense, because Becca was reading Moby Dick. I did read them as younger though, probably because there is very little mention of school. Although, they do feel not the same age as other 15, 16 year old characters I've read. Is the kid's age actually consequential to the story in any way? Not really. Why did I work so hard to find them? I was curious, okay?
A final complaint because I'm good at finding bad stuff, but not good at finding good stuff. I think that Laura Thompson is not identified until the Author's Note. This is mainly surprising because everyone else is introduced so well. Please correct me if she is introduced.
All in all, not bad. A fun introduction to the history of science, but beware of parts that aren't history!
P.S. I need to find more contradictory word that aren't "though" or "although".
June 13, 2018
This was extraordinarily written, with lots of neat clues and such leading to the next clue and so on. I can't decide weather it's a 4 star of 3.5. Let me explain why. I really only have two main reasons. One, mysteries just aren't really my type of book. Of course, I always appreciate finding some stuff out, but in general, I tend to lean towards non-mystery books. While I was reading this, I was actually kind of busy and I didn't read the thing all in a couple shots like I do sometimes with books. This made it harder to figure out why they were doing things again. I'd be like 'Wait, why are here again?' I had to go back and re-read some parts to remember stuff. It's a lot to follow. Second, the characters weren't particularly likeable. I definitely started to appreciate them more towards the end, though. It just wasn't that 'I LOVE HIM/HER' feeling. Despite these things, I could still definitely appreciate this book and will definitely be reading the next one at some point.
P.S. It was also particularly enjoyable guessing things and being right. I guess that's one of the advantages of a mystery. :P There were a couple points where I was wondering what happened to the last clue they were looking at since it seemed like they just forgot it. If you read this and feel like that, don't worry. I'm pretty sure they come to all of the clues at some point.
P.S. It was also particularly enjoyable guessing things and being right. I guess that's one of the advantages of a mystery. :P There were a couple points where I was wondering what happened to the last clue they were looking at since it seemed like they just forgot it. If you read this and feel like that, don't worry. I'm pretty sure they come to all of the clues at some point.
October 5, 2021
Sepertinya sudah lama sekali nggak jadi anak-anak, nemu sebuah misteri, pergi menjalankan misi, mengunjungi tempat-tempat keren, dikejar-kejar organisasi jahat, dan memecahkan teka-teki.
Buku ini adalah buku pertama dari seri The Copernicus Legacy. Premisnya adalah Wade, seorang anak belasan tahun, punya peta bintang pemberian pamannya. Suatu hari pamannya meninggal secara misterius, dan peta bintang itu ternyata ada hubungannya dengan kematian pamannya itu. Berangkatlah dia, saudara tirinya, dan 2 temannya, serta Ayahnya (tumben banget ada orang dewasa) ke Jerman, yang awalnya cuma ingin menghadiri pemakaman malah kemudian terlibat dalam misi warisan astronomer legendaris Nicolaus Copernicus.
Kalau boleh disederhanakan, buku ini adalah thriller misteri ala Dan Brown, tapi untuk taraf anak-anak. Mereka mengunjungi beberapa negara. Ada organisasi rahasia dan jahat yang mengejar mereka. Ada simbol dan teka-teki. Ada relikui yang harus mereka buru juga. Seru!
Kekurangannya paling di gaya tulisan. Ya, wajar sih, ini kan buku middle grade, jadi bahasanya sederhana banget.
Rekomen untuk yang ingin rehat dari buku-buku remaja dan dewasa, dan ingin kembali menyelami pengalaman berpetualang lewat membaca buku.
Buku ini adalah buku pertama dari seri The Copernicus Legacy. Premisnya adalah Wade, seorang anak belasan tahun, punya peta bintang pemberian pamannya. Suatu hari pamannya meninggal secara misterius, dan peta bintang itu ternyata ada hubungannya dengan kematian pamannya itu. Berangkatlah dia, saudara tirinya, dan 2 temannya, serta Ayahnya (tumben banget ada orang dewasa) ke Jerman, yang awalnya cuma ingin menghadiri pemakaman malah kemudian terlibat dalam misi warisan astronomer legendaris Nicolaus Copernicus.
Kalau boleh disederhanakan, buku ini adalah thriller misteri ala Dan Brown, tapi untuk taraf anak-anak. Mereka mengunjungi beberapa negara. Ada organisasi rahasia dan jahat yang mengejar mereka. Ada simbol dan teka-teki. Ada relikui yang harus mereka buru juga. Seru!
Kekurangannya paling di gaya tulisan. Ya, wajar sih, ini kan buku middle grade, jadi bahasanya sederhana banget.
Rekomen untuk yang ingin rehat dari buku-buku remaja dan dewasa, dan ingin kembali menyelami pengalaman berpetualang lewat membaca buku.
June 24, 2017
When my son was in 1st or 2nd grade, we read aloud Tony Abbott's entire Secrets of Droon series. It took nearly a year, but it was worth it. We enjoyed every book. Around that time, we met Tony at a children's book festival and picked up this one. My son tried to read it, but it's middle grade and he wasn't ready for it, so he put it aside.
A couple of weeks ago (and also several years later), we were looking for our next read aloud and he dug through his to-read bin and pulled it back out. We were both thoroughly engrossed. We love the characters, the intrigue, the danger, the changing geography, and all of Copernicusian (is that a word?) history. As soon as we finished we immediately dove into the second one (which is actually The Copernicus Archives #1).
Highly recommend for middle grade readers (and parents) who like a good mystery and lots of action.
A couple of weeks ago (and also several years later), we were looking for our next read aloud and he dug through his to-read bin and pulled it back out. We were both thoroughly engrossed. We love the characters, the intrigue, the danger, the changing geography, and all of Copernicusian (is that a word?) history. As soon as we finished we immediately dove into the second one (which is actually The Copernicus Archives #1).
Highly recommend for middle grade readers (and parents) who like a good mystery and lots of action.
September 14, 2017
When reading this book I was reminded of Harry Potter. If you know me you would know that is a pretty high compliment. The mix of characters was great and realistic. I enjoyed having Darrell as some comic relief. He was one of my favorites. I loved the puzzles and clues as they went on their adventure to find the relic. In middle school I would have torn through this series like I did Harry Potter, but reading it at 25 was enjoyable as well. Great idea for a series, Tony Abbott knows how to keep his readers enthralled.
April 13, 2018
When Wade, his step-brother Darrell, and their father learn that Uncle Henry was murdered after sending them a strange coded email, the trio and their friends Becca and Lily head to Germany to figure out why - only to end up on a worldwide race involving hidden relics and a dastardly ancient organization hot on their trail! Abbot delivers a fast-paced adventure full of humour and heart. Sure to please readers with its nonstop action and exciting twists!
January 26, 2020
All the elements about this book are my favorites....
Adventure, travelling around the world, suspense, history.... Everything seem so cool!
Dont take me wrong, I liked the experience, it is just that it misses a lot of details.
Nonetheless I will continue reading the series;)
Adventure, travelling around the world, suspense, history.... Everything seem so cool!
Dont take me wrong, I liked the experience, it is just that it misses a lot of details.
Nonetheless I will continue reading the series;)
Read
May 26, 2019Couldn't finished. Sat on my shelf for months.
March 13, 2017
This book was amazing and 432 pages of the book and only a week's adventure. Also this whole 12< book series started because one of the main characters was hungry. With the group of kids and a few adults trying to find all the missing relics before this organization kills them.
February 16, 2014
An entertaining read that I won't remember a week from now. Wade, Lily, Becca, Darrel, and Wade's dad go to Germany for an uncle's funeral after they receive a coded message from him. In Germany the four discover clues that show the uncle was protecting one of twelve relics that resulted in him being murdered by the Teutonic Order. This group wants the relics for the wrong reasons and Wade learns that his uncle was a guardian of an ancient secret extremely powerful. More consecutive clues lead Wade and his friends on an adventure with the young, evil Galina Krauss, leader of the Teutonic Order, in hot pursuit of them with her thugs. If you like astronomy, puzzles, maps, and mysteries then you will like this action-paced novel.
The plot is choppy at first and jumps around making it disjointed at times. I had problems visualizing scenes and some chapter transitions could have been more interwoven with the two parallel storylines. The plot starts to pull together by the end, but it barely held my interest as it sets up the action for later in the story. Once the kids are on their own and get into the clues and solving the mystery, my interest returned. The cliff hanger ending was terrific and book one is a complete story in itself. I don't mind cliff hangers when it is after the resolution. When they chop the story off in the middle of the action it reads like a cliff hacker, not cliff hanger. This one is well done.
The characters don't have much internal changes and are somewhat forgettable which for me was the greatest weakness in the story. If the characters are not interesting then the book becomes a nebulous mass in my memory. The characters do have distinctive traits, they just lack a interesting arc: Becca is the shy, brilliant linguistic girl; Lily is the computer researching guru; Wade is the smart scientist and astrologist; and Darrel is the musician. They don't really fight among themselves and their interactions are mainly figuring out the mystery. I'm not sure Wade's story arc. I don't think he has one. He's interested in Becca and doesn't know how to deal with it, but there's not much to even that. He and Darrell are stepbrothers but they get along better than siblings. I wanted more dynamics between characters. Something. Anything. I didn't buy Becca being that language proficient, but then I've bumbled my way around so many different countries that most of those situations in books don't read authentic to me. I needed more regarding the villain. She's one dimensional and seems more of an enchantress than anything else. I wanted more background information and suppose it will probably occur in the sequel.
This is the first in a series and I'm sure the characters will get more fleshed out in continuing books. Other reviews have compared it to Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code." Brown's mystery is in pursuit of the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity; whereas this story is the pursuit of 12 relics to construct a machine that Copernicus built. The kids speculate whether or not Copernicus messed around with history, but nothing is determined and will most likely be revealed in subsequent books. While I liked the premise, the book fell short of its potential by holding back too much plot information.
The plot is choppy at first and jumps around making it disjointed at times. I had problems visualizing scenes and some chapter transitions could have been more interwoven with the two parallel storylines. The plot starts to pull together by the end, but it barely held my interest as it sets up the action for later in the story. Once the kids are on their own and get into the clues and solving the mystery, my interest returned. The cliff hanger ending was terrific and book one is a complete story in itself. I don't mind cliff hangers when it is after the resolution. When they chop the story off in the middle of the action it reads like a cliff hacker, not cliff hanger. This one is well done.
The characters don't have much internal changes and are somewhat forgettable which for me was the greatest weakness in the story. If the characters are not interesting then the book becomes a nebulous mass in my memory. The characters do have distinctive traits, they just lack a interesting arc: Becca is the shy, brilliant linguistic girl; Lily is the computer researching guru; Wade is the smart scientist and astrologist; and Darrel is the musician. They don't really fight among themselves and their interactions are mainly figuring out the mystery. I'm not sure Wade's story arc. I don't think he has one. He's interested in Becca and doesn't know how to deal with it, but there's not much to even that. He and Darrell are stepbrothers but they get along better than siblings. I wanted more dynamics between characters. Something. Anything. I didn't buy Becca being that language proficient, but then I've bumbled my way around so many different countries that most of those situations in books don't read authentic to me. I needed more regarding the villain. She's one dimensional and seems more of an enchantress than anything else. I wanted more background information and suppose it will probably occur in the sequel.
This is the first in a series and I'm sure the characters will get more fleshed out in continuing books. Other reviews have compared it to Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code." Brown's mystery is in pursuit of the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity; whereas this story is the pursuit of 12 relics to construct a machine that Copernicus built. The kids speculate whether or not Copernicus messed around with history, but nothing is determined and will most likely be revealed in subsequent books. While I liked the premise, the book fell short of its potential by holding back too much plot information.
October 2, 2014
This review is also posted on my blog Carpe Librum
Thoughts prior to reading it:
I haven't read many middle grade books so I was excited. Although they say to never judge a book by its cover I did when I saw the cover. It looked very promising. I didn't want to read too much of the plot because I wanted to go into the book unprepared and discovered everything along with the characters. Sometimes this is the best way to read a book because by reading the synopsis it looks so promising you begin to build up your expectations only to go into the book and realize it was nothing like you expected it and become highly disappointed.
Thoughts after reading it:
I did thoroughly enjoy this book. The characters were unique and the story was told in a delightful manner. The book sneaks in history with fiction. It talks a lot about constellation and Copernicus enough to pique a child's interest. I was intrigues by this as well, me at 23 years! It left me wanting to discover more of Copernicus and to see how much of what Tony Abbot wrote in his book is real and how much is fiction. It made me want to become more familiar with Copernicus, stars and constellations. If I had kids I would definitely want them to read this.
The story is told from multiple points of view so the book never becomes mundane from having only one perspective. The villains are truly wicked and the one that seems to be closest to the top of the villains is a mesmerizing woman with cold deadly eyes. I think this book should be on your to read list. Also the book two is coming out in October so keep an eye out for that!
Plot:
Summer vacation has begun Darrel and wade find out that a dear friend of their father, Dr. Kaplan has recently passed. The more they look into the cause of his death the more they realize it was not an accident but a murdered. Dr. Kaplan arrives home to find his home invaded with Lily and Becca who are bummed that their trip to Paris got cancelled and are now both stuck at Dr. Kaplan’s home for the remainder of the summer. Except Dr. Kaplan feels like it is an obligation to attend the funeral of his dear friend but is torn between attending the funeral or staying home and caring for the kids. Of course as manipulative as kids can be Lily convinces him to use her families flight credits to go to the funeral, all of them, one adult with four kids what could possibly go wrong?
They decide to go and attend the funeral and once they arrive that is when the story truly begins. It unravels rather quickly and the things they discover are not all rather pleasant. They face many dangers, solve many mysteries and attain important clues and artifacts. Not realizing that they are being lead to something far greater than they would have ever imagined.
Thoughts prior to reading it:
I haven't read many middle grade books so I was excited. Although they say to never judge a book by its cover I did when I saw the cover. It looked very promising. I didn't want to read too much of the plot because I wanted to go into the book unprepared and discovered everything along with the characters. Sometimes this is the best way to read a book because by reading the synopsis it looks so promising you begin to build up your expectations only to go into the book and realize it was nothing like you expected it and become highly disappointed.
Thoughts after reading it:
I did thoroughly enjoy this book. The characters were unique and the story was told in a delightful manner. The book sneaks in history with fiction. It talks a lot about constellation and Copernicus enough to pique a child's interest. I was intrigues by this as well, me at 23 years! It left me wanting to discover more of Copernicus and to see how much of what Tony Abbot wrote in his book is real and how much is fiction. It made me want to become more familiar with Copernicus, stars and constellations. If I had kids I would definitely want them to read this.
The story is told from multiple points of view so the book never becomes mundane from having only one perspective. The villains are truly wicked and the one that seems to be closest to the top of the villains is a mesmerizing woman with cold deadly eyes. I think this book should be on your to read list. Also the book two is coming out in October so keep an eye out for that!
Plot:
Summer vacation has begun Darrel and wade find out that a dear friend of their father, Dr. Kaplan has recently passed. The more they look into the cause of his death the more they realize it was not an accident but a murdered. Dr. Kaplan arrives home to find his home invaded with Lily and Becca who are bummed that their trip to Paris got cancelled and are now both stuck at Dr. Kaplan’s home for the remainder of the summer. Except Dr. Kaplan feels like it is an obligation to attend the funeral of his dear friend but is torn between attending the funeral or staying home and caring for the kids. Of course as manipulative as kids can be Lily convinces him to use her families flight credits to go to the funeral, all of them, one adult with four kids what could possibly go wrong?
They decide to go and attend the funeral and once they arrive that is when the story truly begins. It unravels rather quickly and the things they discover are not all rather pleasant. They face many dangers, solve many mysteries and attain important clues and artifacts. Not realizing that they are being lead to something far greater than they would have ever imagined.
March 1, 2017
pretty good book, and I love the clues and the way they go all around the world.
Read
March 29, 2021This was a really good book, we read it for a class read aloud. It is a really magical book and the characters are really awesome!
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