Mission Unstoppable (Genius Files Series #1)

by Dan Gutman

Overview

The most exciting road trip in history begins! In this action-packed, New York Times bestselling adventure, twelve-year-old twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald embark on a family vacation you'll have to read to believe.

Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think their family’s cross-country RV vacation is nothing to get excited about...until they’re chased off a cliff, locked in a burning school, and receive mysterious messages in codes and ciphers. From California to Wisconsin, it’s a race against time to find out who’s after Coke and Pep, who’s leaving the notes...and just what being a part of The Genius Files entails!

With the real-kid humor that has earned Dan Gutman millions of fans around the world, and featuring weird-but-true American tourist destinations, The Genius Files is a one-of-a-kind mix of geography and fun.

As Coke and Pep dodge nefarious villains from the Pez museum in California all the way to the Infinity Room in Wisconsin, black-and-white photographs and maps put young readers right into the action.

And don't miss the next leg of the journey in The Genius Files: Never Say Genius!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061827648
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/25/2011
Series:	Genius Files Series , #1
Pages:	293
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dan Gutman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Genius Files series; the Baseball Card Adventure series, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies around the world; and the My Weird School series, which has sold more than 36 million copies. Thanks to his many fans who voted in their classrooms, Dan has received nineteen state book awards and ninety-two state book award nominations. He lives in New York City with his wife. You can visit him online at dangutman.com.

Editorial Reviews

Preteen twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald find themselves battling for their lives while visiting some of America's premier roadside attractions. The prospect of a summer trip from California to Washington, D.C., in a rented RV has the twins underwhelmed—until several murder attempts make a getaway considerably more appealing. It seems that Coke and Pepsi have been unknowingly co-opted into a Secret Government Program, and their first mission is simply to stay alive as mysterious assassins follow them and their oblivious parents on a wandering itinerary from Nevada's Singing Sand Dunes to the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minn., to the rococo House on the Rock in Iowa County, Wisc. Encouraging readers to follow along, Gutman tucks Google Map directions and small photographs into the margins while salting his tale with coded messages and rousingly icky brangles involving the RV's septic system and a giant tank of liquefied SPAM, along with his usual generous measures of quick action and snarky repartee. He also leaves the McDonalds with at least 1,000 more miles of giant statues and other local wonders to visit—so stay tuned for Part Two. (Adventure. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Dan Gutman is a funny man and a prolific writer, and the Genius Files, his latest excursion into early teen adventure and absurdity, will likely find an immediate audience…A page turner.”

Children’s Literature

A quirky look at Americana that will engage curious minds…Those looking for a fun and suspenseful read similar to those from Pseudonymous Bosch will not be disappointed.”

Booklist