Recent Reads: The 39 Clues Unstoppable -- Breakaway by Jeff Hirsch

Breakaway by Jeff Hirsh  
Series: The 39 Clues: Unstoppable #2  
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date:  January 28th, 2014

 

Format: ebook
Source: Netgalley and Scholastic Inc. in exchange for an honest review

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

A Nightmare Come True

As a member of the most powerful family history has ever known, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill has been shot at, kidnapped, and even thrown into a pit with a deadly snake. He's survived it all due to luck, smarts, and his older sister, Amy, who always sticks by his side.

Now Dan and Amy are facing their greatest threat yet, an enemy who has found a way to use the source of the Cahill family power against them. To stop him, Dan and Amy must set out on a desperate mission that will take them from one of the world's hottest regions all the way to the frozen blast of the Arctic Circle. But with the enemy closing in , Dan finds himself facing the one terror he never imagined - being betrayed by his own sister.

 Review: 

Breakaway is book 2 in the Unstoppable series that follows the Cahill kids into another adventure. Book one, Nowhere to Run started us off with Amy and Dan after the original series and now they again are being chased, trying to be murdered, and on top of it all someone is out to humiliate them publically as well.

Breakaway picks up right were Nowhere to Run left the reader. The clan is trying to find the ingredients for the antidote and have found the first, now they are on to the second, a mysterious plant that is though to be extinct.

Three stars may seem like a low review but there are a lot of things that I did enjoy about this book. There were many references to Atlantis which I found fun and fantastical but also a lot of historical references that were wonderful to read in a middle grade book – yay learning (yes I am a nerd)!

However on the downside there were a few things I did not like, I think Amy is kind of a pain, yes she is the leader of the Cahills now, but she either needs to take that power and use it or let it go – she is very all over the place. I understand that it is not your typical teens way of life to lead  family but sometimes she acts like she is all-powerful and other times she is whiney and  annoying – I found her annoying thus the pet peeve about that.

I found the plot building in this book to be better than the first one and that may be because book 1 introduced me to the characters (I had not read the original 39 Clues books). Overall it was an easy, quick read and I think middle grade readers who are still into this series will enjoy it.