The Genius Files : Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman

In THE GENIUS FILES : MISSION UNSTOPPABLE by Dan Gutman Coke and Pepsi are almost 13 year-old twins. They have scored extremely high on standardized tests and have been recruited into a secret organization of genius children whose mission is to save the world. Their family is traveling across the U.S.A. from California to Washington D.C. with plans on visiting tourist attractions along the way. Coke and Pepsi receive and solve codes and ciphers and save themselves from getting hurt by people who apparently are against The Genius Files. This book is filled with excitement and adventure and reminds me of STORMBREAKER by Anthony Horowitz. What makes it even better is Dan Gutman's sense of humor and the fact that he made this book interactive. Readers are encouraged to follow the trip with mapquest, google maps or an atlas. Gutman is willing to wait for the reader to look up trivia facts if they don't believe him. As a parent it is hard to believe that their parents can be so naive. However it is easy to believe that Coke and Pepsi can handle themselves in no matter what situation they fall in due in part to Gutman's convincing writing. This is a fun read and kids will gobble it up and clamor for Part 2. I read it as an e-book arc from netgalley and it will be published in early 2011.

The Secret of Rover by Rachel Wildavsky

     Katie and David are twins and live with their parents in a suburb of Washington, D.C.  After struggling for many years financially their parents (and uncle) invent Rover for the U.S. government and since then things have been much better.  Their parents are now off to Katkajan to adopt a baby girl while Katie and David stay behind with the newly hired nanny.  However, it turns out that Katkajan is in a political mess, the nanny is not a nanny and the parents and baby sister have been kidnapped.  Katie and David realize only their reclusive uncle can help them and so they venture on their own to Vermont to find him.
     This in an exiting adventure though the pacing is a little slow. It's a page turner nonetheless.  Katie and David, like most siblings argue and bicker a lot but they work well together.  Bouncing ideas off each other or just winging it they manage to reach their uncle on a remote mountain in Vermont.  Uncle Alex is a great character.  (I'd love to hear his story, but I digress). But can he help them?  Can they save their parents and bring them and their new baby sister home?  And what is Rover anyway?  You'll have to read this book to find the answers.
     Recommended for readers who enjoyed Stormbreaker (Alex Rider series),  Mission Unstoppable (Genius Files series), (for my review click here) or who enjoy adventure and mysteries with a little sci-fi thrown in.  Read as an ebook arc courtesy of Amulet Books via Netgalley.  The Secret of Rover will be published March 1, 2011.