“The Book Is Not Good For You” by Pseudonymous Bosch

Once again, I managed to select a book to read that was in a series – and not the first book. Not sure how I keep doing that. This is actually the third book in the “Secret” series (out of five). Maybe it was the chocolate. This particular book’s mystery is about chocolate, and since I had just hit the Godiva summer sale, it was probably fate. Catching up had its challenges. Added to that is the author’s quirky, staccato style. He (she? it?) addresses the readers with asides and snarky comments, mixes up the chapters and has one chapter where only a few letters are visible (it’s called the “Invisible Chapter”). Clearly aimed at high elementary/low middle school, it was a fun read with lots of laugh-out-loud moments. Despite the amusements, the age of the kids and the short length, I would say that some maturity among the readers is necessary to fully appreciate the irony/sarcasm and follow the twisting tale. It makes “Westing Game”, a perpetual favorite, look virtually linear. In any case, the tweens depicted will appeal. They are rounded, real and likeable. Given that most of the bad guys come off as melodrama villains, big kudos to Mr. Bosch for avoiding any and all stereotypes with the kids. No big. The book was a great summer read. This was, however, the first book where the limits of reading it on my laptop (as opposed to an eReader) were apparent. The amusing images drawn for each chapter were cut off at the bottom and links to the glossary meant a frantic scroll back and forth to try and find the originating page. I ended up skipping the footnotes and saved the glossary and appendix items to read after finishing the story. And yes, they are both fun and informative as well. So, grab some cacao and settle in with Cass, Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji as they travel to Africa. Or Costa Rica. Or not. It’s a secret.