The 39 Clues - 2ab - One False Note product reviews

It may be apparent at this point that I absolutely LOVE this series. It is fast paced, exciting and intelligent. The audio book for part two is read by the same narrator as audiobook one and the continuity is really good. Along with the excellent music and foley, Divid Pittu creates the same voices for each character which really helps distinguish what is going on.

I must admit that some of the voices are a little strange - Nellie, the au pair for example, sounds like she has a constant throat infection... but still, it is difficult to come up with voices for that many different characters, and at least he is consistent.

It is a very different experience, listening to a story, and something I must admit I have not actually tried before getting The 39 Clues. It is really fun as a group activity on a cold evening in front of a fake fire place... but it took me an hour to get to chapter 4 and only slightly more than that to read the entire book myself. Then again, with the audio book, I was able to relax and just let the story happen while I scribbled manga faces in my sketch book.

As for the online experience... it is seriously fun. I am impressed by the level of effort Scholastic has gone to in order to make this an immersive experience for the children. There are games, puzzles, missions which train children in basic code breaking and observation. You have your own card collection book and a gallery of all the clues you have collected so far. I also like that the monetary prizes can only go to children in the target reader age bracket (meaning only that people like me can't steal it away from the kids).

High marks, as always... though if you are thinking you'll be sneaky and buy the book and the audio book, a warning in advance, the clue cards will be exactly the same =P

Happy hunting!