This a an odd little book. It is one of the books in which the narrator addressed the reader directly. The narrator starts by telling the reader that there isn't much he can say about the story because if it got out that the reader knew the whole secret they would be in danger. Of course, then the narrator goes on to tell the story, but occasionally he stops and say things like, "I can't really tell you the name of the school the children attended, but just imagine it was a grade school just like yours." The main characters, Cass and Max Ernest come across a box that contains some mysterious vials and learn that it once belonged to an old magician who had recently died in a suspicious house fire. They set out to discover what happened to the magician, and stumble on a society of evil alchemists with the power of prolonging their youth. It is a bit random. I think the demographic who would enjoy this book are children in the 3rd or 4th grade who are pretty confident readers. Older grade school kids might find it a bit silly. It was a fun read, but not as fun as N.E.R.D.s by Michael Buckley which has a similar narrator reader interaction. (360 p.)
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