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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Tag: treasure hunt
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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