The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

Reviewed by Bahar

A magician has died from a mysterious fire, but the only person at the scene of the crime was the magician’s gardener. He says he smelled something funny—huevos podridos, rotten eggs. To find out who killed the magician and why, Cass and Max-Ernest have some clues: a strange notebook, a mysterious couple that seems to know a lot about the magician, several hundred kids who have a disease, synesthesia, and a humorous spa with a secret. All these clues connect in some way—but how?

The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch was really fun to read. One reason is that the author has a great sense of humor. For example, in the middle of the book, Bosch writes: “I’ve come to my senses. Rather that continuing the adventures of our protagonists, I’m going to end this book here where we all assume that the heroes of this book are safe, but since you bribed me with a piece of chocolate, I have no choice but to continue.” That really cracked me up because usually in fiction books the author does not say anything from their own perspective. His humor made this novel the special one it is.

            I also loved the characters in the novel. They describe the details of their everyday lives and missions in such a lively, funny, and unique way that it felt like I was in the book with them. This is how Cassandra describes the situation at Max-Ernest’s house: “Max-Ernest’s parents have been divorced since he was a baby. But instead of moving to different houses, his parents drew a physical line down the middle of the house and neither parent is allowed to walk over the line or talk to the other. Only Max-Ernest can cross the line.” That is quite clever because I’ve never seen any family do that! It was smart of the author to make up such an entertaining description.

            I would give this story a 10/10 any day, because the unique style it has is unlike any book I’ve read before. Usually in a story there is one climax, but in this surprising novel there are at least 12 climaxes, and all of them have amazing outcomes. I would recommend The Name of this Book is Secret to kids who enjoy humor, mystery, and foreshadowing. Even if you don’t really like mystery, I would even recommend this hilarious tale to you because it is amazingly clever and funny!

Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 384 pages.