Mister Max: The Book of Secrets

[cmp librarian]

Voigt, C. (2014). Mister Max: The Book of Secrets. NY: Alfred A. Knope.
ISBN-13: 978-0-307-97684-0 | 355 pages | Juvenile Fiction

The Book of Secrets is the second volume in an intriguing theatrical detective series. The first volume is called Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things. And there is talk of a third volume due to be released sometime in 2015 called Mister Max: The Book of Kings. The story does build on itself so I do recommend reading the books in order but I think a smart, detective, problem-solving person would be capable of reading the volumes out of chronological order.

Author Cynthia Voigt, a Newberry Medalist brings us - Mister Max, the main character, a twelve-year old boy attempting to play the roles of artist, spy, gardener, traveling salesman, greedy miser, policeman, and ordinary school-boy. He is the ageless, mysterious Solutioneer. Mister Max’s fame as a problem solver has spread through the city and now he is called on by the Mayor to help solve the problem of breaking windows and starting fires in the old city. While attempting to solve the Mayor’s problem Max has a secret problem that he may not be able to solve by himself. His parents are still missing, supposedly kidnapped to become the King and Queen of a remote South American country, and the cryptic messages he has received from them make it clear—it’s going to be up to Max to rescue them.

I enjoyed this book. I had read the first volume and when I saw the second in the library the other day I knew I had to read it. I think this book would be a perfect story for third or fourth graders who enjoy mysteries. The sentence structure and vocabulary is a bit complex, so it would not be good for a struggling reader unless read-aloud.