this was okay. 

it was very much written for the middle grade audience and age group. 

you know how there are kids and middle grade books that everyone can read and love no matter the age because it’s just written in a way that it works for all ages? 

well this isn’t one of those books. 

from the writing to the plot, the behavior of the characters and how the entire mystery and story builds up… it’s middle grade. 

the „jokes“ are not funny for anyone over the age of 11/12 nor is the situation of two younger kids running around without actual adults to look out for them entertaining or nice. 

the other relatives are all the typical bad guy villains -i was missing the mustache twirl but everything else was on this i think?

its all over the top and too much and too little at the same time (no actual world building or explanations or any real sense in how this is all supposed to work or why it’s done that way or with the clues … ) it’s just all left too unexplained to really work if you are not just going with the flow or are completely enamored with the action and adventure and idea of traveling along through the world without anyone telling you it’s time to go to bed or that only eating chocolate croissants is a bad idea. 

there is a lot of action and adventure, lots of wild running around and looking for things without really knowing where or how it should go or what they are actually looking for but finding it anyways in some miraculous way there never discussed. 

there is never mention of why orphaned children are allowed to leave the country without any relative to accommodate them or at least a mention of anyone in the US or french airport questioning them. 

why? because how many kid would think like that? 

how many kids reading this type of book go into this wanting logic and reality? or even think about what goes into traveling and how it all works and what’s need to be done for it to actually be possible? 
i won’t say non because i am sure there are kids that could have planed a world tour with all recruitments needed at age 8 BUT generally speaking? no kid of this target audience will care about the real details. 

they are not reading this book for its realistic portrayal of what kids their age can actually do. 
they are reading it because it gives them their version of mission impossible or i guess kind of spy kids (never saw that movie(s?) where the kids are the ones having the action and going on the adventure. 


all that being said is this a bad book? 

no absolutely not. 

i am sure if i would have read this at age 10 i would have at least had an incredibly entertaining time reading this and being sweeped up in the adventure. 
i know myself well enough to know that even then the relatives and their behavior as well as Dans behavior in some instances would have still annoyed me but besides that this would have been a fun read for me. 


so as a middle grade book? a solid 3-4 star read for any one looking for an entertaining adventure and action filled story. 


as an adult reading this? 1.5-2 stars? maybe? because there is just a lot lacking most of all logic and just common sense in it all. 

BUT its not a book targeted towards my age group! so rating it for whom its for? 3 stars it is.