Dan Cahill thought Amy was the most annoying big sister on the planet. And that was BEFORE she set fire to two million dollars! The money was part of the family fortune once closely guarded by Dan’s beloved grandmother, Grace Cahill. Through a video taped just before her death, Grace revealed to a room full of her greedy surviving relatives that they belonged to one of the most powerful families in human history. If that wasn’t shocking enough, Grace proposes a challenge to each person: take his or her one million dollar inheritance and walk away…or sacrifice the money to follow 39 clues hidden somewhere throughout the world. The clues lead to an important treasure, a secret that would make someone the “most powerful, influential human being on the planet.”
Only one person or team could win the contest. Unbelievably, Amy (age 14), who hates crowds and stutters when she’s scared, and her brother Dan (age 11), a whiz kid with a photographic memory, decide to take the challenge. Their parents had died mysteriously when they were small – so what did they have to lose? Unfortunately several of their untrustworthy family members also decide to join in the race: shady Uncle Alistair Oh from Korea, a ruthless Russian aunt named Irina Spasky, a cocky television star named Jonah Wizard; the physically intimidating Holt family (and their pit bull, Arnold); and the sneaky twins Ian and Natalie Kabra.
This first installment in this projected ten-book series leads Amy and Dan to France, where they search catacombs filled with human bones. Each book in the series teaches facts about historical figures, like Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon, or Mozart.
About the Author Rick Riordan (www.rickriordan.com ) wrote the #1 New York Times bestselling
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series about a 12-year old dyslexic boy who fights mythological monsters.
The 39 Clues is written for ages 9 - 12 and has 220 pages. For science fiction fantasy novels for young adults, read
The Maze Runner by James Dashner or
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (click on link below).