Twins Coke and Pepsi know they are smart. What they are
about to find out is that they have been tapped to be part
of The Genius Files project, in which the best and
brightest young people from across the country have been
selected to solve the big problems adults can't seem to
handle. Only, not everybody is a fan of the program, and
the twins find themselves jumping off a cliff on page one
to avoid a group of bowler-hat wearing strangers bent on
killing them. This happens on the last day of school.
The action scenes continue into summer vacation, even as
the twins travel cross county with their parents to attend
their Aunt Judy's wedding in Washington D.C. on July 4.
Along the way, they stop to visit such sites as the
National Yo-Yo Museum and the World's Largest Ball of
Twine. This allows Gutman to slip in a rather large amount
of educational information about geography and history. He
repeatedly invites readers to put down the book and look up
information. He even includes instructions on how to use
Google Maps to follow the twins' travels. The illustrations
-- actual photographs -- reinforce this
educational bent.
Coke and Pepsi are likable enough, and their parents seem
supportive, if somewhat scattered. Some of the encounters
the twins have with both the agents trying to protect them
and with the villains seem designed more for drama than for
believability, but young readers aren't likely to quibble,
given the energy and sense of fun with which the story is
presented. This story has an ending of sorts, but most of
the goals set out in the beginning -- including attending
Aunt Judy's wedding -- aren't reached. A list of unanswered
questions is presented in the epilogue, along with an
invitation to find out what happens in "Part II of THE
GENIUS FILES."
Soopens THE GENIUS FILES. For twelve-year-old Coke
McDonald and his twin sister Pep, this summer's family
cross-country RV vacation is nothing toget excited
about...until Coke and Pep are chased off a cliff, locked
in a burning school, and start receiving mysterious
messages in codes and ciphers. Mom and Dad are lovably
kooky and hilariously clueless, butCoke and Pep are more
than up to the task. From California to Wisconsin, it's a
race against time to find out who's after them, who's
leaving the notes...and just what being a part of The
Genius Files entails!
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