The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Reviewed by Ibu

Imagine just learning that you are a part of the most powerful family in history, and that your relatives have been warring for centuries to become the most powerful people on earth. This happens at the funeral of Dan and Amy’s beloved grandmother, Grace. Mr. McIntyre, Grace’s lawyer, is reading the will, which reveals the existence of a clue hunt to become the most powerful person on earth. This is only the beginning of The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan.

Dan and Amy live with Grace’s sister, Beatrice, ever since their parents died in a fire. The only choice to join the contest is to give up two million dollars, but they know that Beatrice would never let that happen. So the siblings sign up anyway. The siblings run away with their au pair, Nellie, after they are given the first clue of the 39. They follow in the steps of Benjamin Franklin, eventually landing in Paris. But some people do not hesitate to kill. A group of such people are the Kabras, who seem to always be a step ahead. Will the siblings win the contest? Or will they perish at the hands of other competitors?

The first reason why I liked this book is because of the suspense. Amy and Dan don’t continuously win, despite being the underdogs like what might happen in other books. Instead, almost every single time they are defeated, or backstabbed. Even the man that they trusted to help them the most, Uncle Alistair, quickly betrays them in order to gain a clue. Worse, Amy and Dan’s successes just make their opponents work harder, and even join forces to defeat them.

Another reason that I liked this book was the mystery. The Cahill siblings know very little about what’s going on, and it feels like we learn things at the same time as they do. The other teams always feel like they know more. They know what it means to become the most powerful person in the world. The other teams know what they’re fighting for. Dan and Amy know none of that. You, the reader, can’t figure out what’s going to happen at the climax just by reading half of the book, which makes you just want to keep reading until you’ve reached the end.

On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this book as a 9, and I would recommend this book to people who enjoy mysteries and suspense. However, The Maze of Bones is only the first book in the The 39 Clues series, where more mysteries unravel and more alliances are broken. In addition, Rick Riordan has also written many other series such as the Percy Jackson series and the Trials of Apollo series. If you’re in need of a good book, go check it out!

Scholastic Inc, 220