2014, 352p, Middle-Grade Fantasy
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review
The adventure continues when Abby and Derick begin second semester at Cragbridge Hall, the most prestigious secondary school in the world. But when Grandpa Cragbridge admits them to the Council of Keys--a secret group of people who have keys to travel back in time--strange things begin to happen. One by one, members are found unconscious and unable to wake, their keys stolen. Now Abby and Derick must scramble to figure out who is behind the attacks before they become the next victims, which would give their enemy the power to change the past forever. A page-turning, time-travel adventure that teaches powerful lessons about choice and consequence, believing you can do hard things, and valuing history.
I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series (you can read my review here) and I literally squealed when I saw this come up for review!
The fun continues! Abby and Derick are involved in another mystery and have a new secret to uncover. Abby's former roommate and nemesis, Jacqueline, is still giving her a hard time. Jacqueline feels that Abby doesn't deserve to be at Cragbridge Hall and doesn't hide how she feels. To make matters worse, Abby's grades are actually low and she needs to figure out how to bring them up so she can stay. Derick loves the avatars and he tries out for an exclusive avatar club that his friend Rafa is part of. Rafa was secretive and made me wonder what he was up to. I kept thinking he had to be one of the good guys and we find out which side he's on towards the end.
Abby's friend, Carol, is still one of my absolute favorite characters. She enjoys flirting with Derick and embarrassing him any chance she gets. My favorite line from her this book is "...Your hotness kind of confuses my thinker." (p. 27) [I say it in my best Valley Girl voice and it makes it even funnier to me!] Carol is a good friend to Abby and adds comic relief to tense situations.
We meet some new teachers and it was fun to try to figure out what was going on. There are more twists and turns and Grandpa Cragbridge's nemesis, Muns, is back and is now in direct contact with Abby and Derick. History plays another big role and again, I loved the way history was tied in and made interesting. He reiterates the lessons we are able to learn from tragedies and how, even though we don't want them to occur, some lives are changed for the better because of them.
This series is a huge hit with all of us. Again, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger but it definitely leaves us all wanting more!
Here's an author interview with Chad Morris which is lots of fun!
This only leaves me with one more thing to say: "Thrilling! One of the best series ever! Seriously, every person in the world should read it and own 9 or 10 copies." ;)
Chad Morris grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. (Inspired by Animal from the Muppets, he’s been banging on drums since he was eight years old.) After high school, he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college, and eventually he became a teacher and a curriculum writer. He lives in Utah with his wife and five kids. Chad would love to teach at Cragbridge Hall.
Unlike Oscar Cragbridge, however, he hasn’t really invented anything, though his son once sketched out blueprints for a machine that would turn celery into cookies.
2 comments:
Happy Birthday, Melanie!!! As always, another fabulous book review!
This sounds like a series my 10 yo would love. Great review! PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)
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