The 39 Clues – Book 1: The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan

Feb 3, 2011
Amanda Sonntag

The 39 Clues The Maze of Bones Book 1 Image - Image by Author

The biggest treasure hunt in the world begins with The Maze of Bones and the fate of the world rests on who will win.

The 39 Clues Series was written to help get kids more involved in reading. The 39 Clues builds on the interest of kids by giving them a chance to take the challenge and play along online. Beginning with the author of the popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians, author Rick Riordan begins the hunt setting the basic story line for the rest of the ten-book series which was written by several other popular authors.

The Maze of Bones – The Challenge Begins

Dan, 11, and Amy, 14, are two orphans that belong to the largest family in the history of the world; The Cahills. After their grandmother passes away, Amy and Dan are faced with the chance to make all their dreams come true by each taking a million dollar voucher, or they could burn their share of their inheritance and take the first of 39 clues that could lead them to the greatest treasure the world has ever known. Knowing what their grandmother would want them to do, they take the first clue and begin a world wind of an adventure by beginning the hunt for the treasure.

Along with six other competing teams who also took the clue over the money, Amy and Dan travel across seas to search through the catacombs in Paris. Though Amy and Dan are only kids with no money and no connections, unlike the rest of the family, they are seen as the biggest threat in the competition and are targeted by everyone else.

Following the history of Benjamin Franklin, The Maze of Bones brings the learning of history to the forefront in this great mystery that is sure to keep kids and adults reading and going online to join in the game. Nothing like danger and mystery to keep kids coming back for more.

The Maze of Bones Review

Rick Riordan, whose books I hadn’t read previous to The 39 Clues The Maze of Bones, encapsulates the fun of learning in this adventure-packed book. I found I was reading as fast as I could to get to the next page so I would see how Amy and Dan got out of the sticky situations that they had found themselves in. This book follows the dreams of all adventurous children looking to travel the world in search of treasure and brings it right to them in their very home. The book is well written, which I wouldn’t have expected any different from Rick Riordan, making it interesting for kids and adults. Overall, it is a great book and would be a perfect addition to your home library.

Online Gaming

After finishing the first book, which I had purchased from a used online bargain book store and so it didn’t have the collector’s cards that each book comes with, I went online and signed up to be a part of the hunt. Because the game is geared toward kids under the age of thirteen, I wasn’t trying for the prizes that they could win but for the fun of trying to solve the mystery.

To join the game you first have to open an account on The 39 Clues website, then you answer a series of questions so you can find out which of the four branches of the Cahill family you are a part of: Ekaterina, Tomas, Janus, and Lucian. Once you found your branch, you can build your profile and start playing the game which you need the collector’s cards to collect the clues and play.

The website is designed to look like your child is a part of a secret agency. You can view a world map to locate clues, view all the clues that you have collected, visit Arena 39 to play games to sharpen your hunting skills, view the full list of The 39 Clues Series books, and go on secret missions to gather more clues to solve the mystery. The games and missions are fun yet difficult even for an adult (especially on a laptop) and history is spun into all of it making it unrecognizable to kids that they are actually learning.

The 39 Clues Series

This is the list of books to date in the series.