The Key (Magnificent 12 Series #3)

by Michael Grant

Overview

Fans of the 39 Clues books will love The Key, the third entry in Michael Grant’s middle-grade Magnificent 12 series. Full of adventure and wackiness, the Magnificent 12 books are also perfect for readers of funny, action-filled series like Dan Gutman’s Genius Files.
 
With 21 phobias, Mack MacAvoy is more of a wimpy kid than a hero, but he is on a quest to defeat the wicked—and crazy, and mean, and dangerous—Pale Queen before her three-thousand-year banishment ends.
 
In The Key, Mack must find more of the Magnificent 12, the twelve twelve-year-olds fated to stop the queen from destroying the world, and assemble a key—a cheat sheet, really—to a magical language. Along the way, he’ll transform the Loch Ness monster into a gigantic duck, and transport the Eiffel Tower across the River Seine.
 
The Key is another fast-paced episode in Michael Grant’s bestselling and hysterical fantasy adventure series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061833717
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/23/2013
Series:	Magnificent 12 Series , #3
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	277
Sales rank:	1,157,383
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 5.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Michael Grant, author of the Gone series, the Messenger of Fear series, the Magnificent Twelve series, and the Front Lines trilogy, has spent much of his life on the move. Raised in a military family, he attended ten schools in five states, as well as three schools in France. Even as an adult he kept moving, and in fact he became a writer in part because it was one of the few jobs that wouldn’t tie him down. His fondest dream is to spend a year circumnavigating the globe and visiting every continent. Yes, even Antarctica. He lives in California with his wife, Katherine Applegate, with whom he cowrote the wildly popular Animorphs series. You can visit him online at www.themichaelgrant.com and follow him on Twitter @MichaelGrantBks.

Editorial Reviews

The series continues to gather steam, driven by a winning mix of danger, suspense, and daffy doings.” — ALA Booklist

Praise for The Magnificent 12: The Call: “Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Praise for The Magnificent 12: The Trap: “Grant’s talent for quick dialogue and vivid descriptiosn still shines and will have fans eager for book three.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This third installment in the Magnificent 12 series speeds forward with the help of over-the-top action sequences and rapid, clever dialogue. Action, adventure, fantasy, humor and a glimpse of a potential budding romance are all here, making this a great end-of-summer read.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for The Magnificent 12: The Call: “Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

The series continues to gather steam, driven by a winning mix of danger, suspense, and daffy doings.

ALA Booklist

Praise for The Magnificent 12: The Call: “Grant's brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for The Magnificent 12: The Call: “Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

As in the previous titles (The Call, 2010, and The Trap, 2011), this third installment in the Magnificent 12 series speeds forward with the help of over-the-top action sequences and rapid, clever dialogue. This episode opens with Mack about to be catapulted and most likely smashed into a wall near Loch Ness, when at the last minute he is saved by French goth-girl Sylvie, who is the half sibling of evil Valin, an ally to the dark forces supporting the rise of the Pale Queen--and both Mack and Sylvie happen to be members of the Magnificent 12, on a quest to obtain the second part of the vital key. And this is how the story progresses, like an urgent, never-ending run-on sentence. With many plot twists, comic diversions involving the Golem standing in for Mack back at home, timely introductions of new characters, explanations of Vargan spells, and just-in-time fantastical feats that save lives and ultimately move the Eiffel Tower from one side of the Seine to the other, readers are in for a most entertaining if often hard-to-fathom tale. Grant's series flows like a much-hyped Hollywood summer blockbuster: The special effects are impressive, but readers must instantly agree to suspend disbelief. A website encourages fans to create their own avatars, review characters and settings and keep updated on the latest news about the series. Action, adventure, fantasy, humor and a glimpse of a potential budding romance are all here, making this a great end-of-summer read. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews