The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

My daughter's glasses would be much cooler.

 

 

This might just be the easiest review I will ever write.  Not only did I read this book, it is my soon-to-be 10-year-old daughter's most favorite series in the world.  (Aside from Harry Potter, that is).  When I told her in the car today I was going to review this particular book, her face immediately lit up and she said, "That book is full of magic and it makes me laugh.  It really is perfect, you know?" High praise from my future librarian (or pastry chef, she can't decide).                

So what is it SPECIFICALLY about The Name of This Book is Secret that appeals to my daughter and the majority of her friends (and me)?  It is the perfect escape for a 9-13 year old reader and yet realistic enough for any parent to enjoy also.   The book is silly yet relateable.  Max-Earnest (the boy with two first names because his parents could not agree what to name him) and Cassandra (his new friend with somewhat pointy ears who wears a backpack wherever she goes) begrudgingly collaborate when they find a notebook written in code leading them to the discovery of a box called "The Symphony of Smells."  The narrator leads us through their adventures of decoding and investigating but at the same time adds a just a hint of mystery.  Things like blank pages in the text and a character named Gloria who is a real estate agent for the dead only add to the intrigue.  Cass and Max-Ernest, although unlikely friends, unite to save another boy from what is sure to be tragic peril, race to decode The Symphony of Smells and find the magician it belongs to and eventually return home to their unsuspecting families. 

Did it remind me of Lemony Snicket and The Series of Unfortunate Events?  Yes.  But what this book had that Lemony's series did not was the awkwardness of 11-year-olds of a different sex working together for a common goal.  The fact that the goal was actually to try and save someone that they thought was in danger was an added bonus.  I think it is SO important for kids to have appropriate friendships during their pre-teen years and was happy to have such a relationship highlighted in this book.  Yes, they had the initial "you're gross because you are a boy/girl" feelings, but as they worked together and the book progressed Max-Earnest and Cass became friends.  Not boyfriend and girlfriend...just friends.  It was refreshing. 

The other refreshing part was the silliness.  So many books for young readers right now are about middle school cattiness or teen/tween drama I was happy to read something that was mostly make-believe.  The full-on belly laughs coming from the backseat and the reading nook in her room were a nice change.  I haven't heard those since our days of Ramona Quimby and they made me smile. 

This is the first in a series, of course.  And like a good mother, I have passed on the "you must read all books in order" gene.  My daughter has torn through them like no other series (again, except for Harry Potter).   And if this is any indication of how good they are, she does not want to read the last one because she does not, "want them to be over."  I think we can all smile about that. 

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