The Alcatraz Escape by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Alcatraz Escape is the third book in the Book Scavenger series. Emily is still the focal point but this time several of her friends get more page time as well. The second book left it giving the readers a hint as to what the third book will be about. There is a new game afoot, and it will take place in the infamous Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. The game is intended to be fun and raise money for a local bookstore. Emily, James, and crew, along with many others who won their way into the game, travel to the island and set off on a hunt. This hunt was created by a famous recluse of an author who everyone is curious to see in person. There are elements working against the young group of intrepid puzzle-solvers and they get themselves into plenty of tight scrapes. They must work together as a team and not be torn apart but will they solve it in time?
This book was a quick and easy read like the others. It had elements of tension and excitement to find the solution using clues and each other. Jennifer Chambliss Bertman created a solid children’s book that could draw in many readers. It did keep me reading and wanting to finish. I do like the way Jennifer briefly brings information from the previous books to help set the stage but does not spend too much time on the details. The twist was excellent and I did not see it coming at all. I have said this before, I liked the weaving in of historical elements. At the end she gives a summary of what was fiction vs what was fact. I love this sort of thing. This time around though I found Emily, the main character, getting more on my nerves than the previous books. I know she is young but she had such an attitude. She was defensive, negative, pouty, and self-centered. Emily was childish, which granted she is a child, but this is why I typically stay away from books that are geared towards younger readers. There were plenty of assumptions by many of the characters without evidence. In general, the thought patterns and jumping to conclusions are bothersome. I thought this book was not as well done as the previous two. It seemed a little forced to basically create an escape room instead of a large hunt with many locations. The kickoff to the game at the prison was a little too convenient and lucky for me. There were also many more unlikeable characters without any redeeming qualities this time around. I am still not a fan of Mr. Quisling. I think this is slightly more grown-up than the other two in terms of situations and antagonists. Overall, I would say read it to finish up the series and for some more puzzles & history.
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Tag: San Francisco
Extinguishing Fires And Finding Buried Treasure With Friends
The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Unbreakable Code is the second in the Book Scavenger series. The first one was great and this one was just as good. It continues the story of Emily and her best friend James. This time they are tracking down The Unbreakable Code which has existed for over a century. No one has been able to solve it thus far. It brings together gold rush, the origins of San Francisco, and obviously solving puzzles. With a narrow escape with a fire, or two, the two code-breakers must deduce who is setting these fires, how a teacher’s past comes into play, and where the buried treasure is. Will they be able to figure it all out before it all burns to the ground? I think you should find out!
I didn’t take a lot of notes with this one as I was just wanting to find out what happened. It was a quick, easy, engaging, and fun read! Jennifer Chambliss Bertman continued her formula without it appearing too redundant or like she was phoning it in. The writing was relatable and easy to understand as obviously this book was not written for my age range. The kids were juveniles and at times acted that way. It was kind of annoying but I get it. It didn’t ruin the book but at moments I was frustrated that they just didn’t get it or that they thought/said this thing. Nevertheless, I loved it. One thing that really got me excited was the historical aspect. Jennifer did this in the previous novel but after the novel concludes, she adds what was historically accurate and what she made up. It does touch on some despicable parts of the past of the United States but for the most part it is light-hearted. I love learning about new things, so I found this fascinating. I didn’t know very much about San Francisco, but I was surprised to find some information out. I will leave the reader to discover these things on their own so they can be as pleasantly entertained as I was. The author introduces some fun new ciphers, codes, and cryptograms, which is always fun to try and figure out for yourself. If you read the first one, I don’t need to tell you that you should read the second book in the series but you should, and I am just as excited to read the third!
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Clever Codes, Cryptograms, And Creating Close Friends In New Places
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book Scavenger is about a girl named Emily and her love of puzzles and books as well as her friend James who loves codes and puzzles. She has recently moved to San Francisco (not ‘Frisco) because her family moves around a lot, practically every year. It is their thing and they have been doing it her whole life. The parents have a whole blog about living in all 50 states. Emily is part of an online book community that is all about leaving clues and finding books. A book finds its way into Emily’s hands and a scavenger/treasure hunt begins. You can find clever code-breaking, close confrontations, and compassionate connections.
What a fun book! I know I am not the intended audience for this book but I enjoyed it so much. Jennifer Chambliss Bertman wrote an engaging and engrossing, wonderful piece of work. I kept on wanting to read to find out what happened next and to find out what was at the end of the path. Surprisingly I liked the main character even if it is a children’s book. She wasn’t too annoying as you could expect from a child. The one thing that made me shake my head was that SHE WRITES IN BOOKS! Unforgiveable. She was young and had a bit of self-centeredness which contributed to the conflict within the story. It made me waver a little bit in liking her but it was only for like a second. Her friend and sidekick James was awesome! He was quirky and smart and a good friend. Also, Steve was just creative and not cheesy at all. I loved that whole idea and how Jennifer interjected Steve into different situations. I was not a fan of Mr. Quisling (I am guessing you pronounce it like Quizling) as he just seemed like an asshat of a teacher. Overall, I would highly recommend this for younger readers and even for adults that love adventure stories with codes. It has a literary element as well bringing in classic authors and a little history.
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