The Book of Kings

July 1, 2015
In the final act of the Mister Max trilogy, the 12-year-old solutioneer is confronted with his biggest problem yet: masterminding the rescue of his parents, held captives as king and queen of a small South American country. After an arduous journey over land and sea, Max, the son of theatrical parents for whom all of life seems a stage play, cleverly adopts one pose after another in his attempt to maneuver the complicated politics of Andesia, a country rife with kidnapped children, corruption, and poverty. This third book is markedly different in tone from the first two; it is far more somber, intricately plotted, and packed with dense descriptions. Although lacking much of the humor of the earlier books, it is carefully crafted and suspenseful, with a satisfyingly dangerous yet successful rescue. Max's incipient teenage years are evident as he begins to see his egotistical father more clearly and to want to live independently of his parents. Highly detailed black-and-white illustrations effectively reflect the novel's setting at the beginning of the last century. Not a stand-alone book, this conclusion will appeal to those who enjoy a challenging read and who have followed Max's previous adventures. (Adventure. 10-14)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 5-8-Readers of the first two books about Mister Max will undoubtedly gravitate to this conclusion of the trilogy. Max is finally off, with several of the friends he's made in the previous books, to rescue his parents who either are the monarchs of a fictional South American country or are being held prisoner there. Disguises are in order and false identities must be assumed for Max's party of rescuers to be admitted to the kingdom in the mountains. Once there, they must determine which of the dignitaries and military personnel are trustworthy and insist on an audience with the strangely reclusive king and queen. This series resists categorization. Its little mysteries aren't terribly mysterious, its suspense is not particularly heart-stopping, and its humor is gentle rather than uproarious. VERDICT Fans of the first two books will be eager to see how the "solutioneer" saves the day.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Grades 4-6 A self-styled solutioneer, 13-year-old Max has solved his share of problems and mysteries over the first two volumes of the Mister Max series (The Book of Lost Things, 2013; The Book of Secrets, 2014), but now the time has come to rescue his parents from their mysterious entrapment as the captive king and queen of tiny Andesia. After winning his own king's support, Max gathers a team of allies who travel to South America on a diplomatic mission. A lengthy period of observation and assessment ends when his father is arrested. Max and his friends spring into action with a desperate rescue operation that relies on their wits, instincts, and courage. Full-page, black-and-white drawings appear at intervals, reflecting the story's tone and period. Readers who have come to enjoy the series' well-drawn characters and its measured pace will find this a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Voigt leaves the door open for more adventures, though, hinting that Max can look forward to a career in espionage when he turns 16. A rewarding adventure story for fans of Mister Max.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2015
Having finally located his missing parents in Mister Max: The Book of Secrets (rev. 11/14), self-styled solutioneer Max Starling devises a plan to rescue them from the military general who forcibly installed them as King and Queen of Andesia. Max's friend Ari, the next Baron Barthold, will head a diplomatic envoy to Andesia, where Max, acting as his secretary, will come up with a further scheme. But even after the would-be diplomatic party travels all the way to South America, there's a snag: Max's father won't go along with the rescue plan. Once again Max models creative thinking for readers, but in this volume his thespian skills become more salientnot only his talent for disguise, but also his ability to take cues from his actor father and improvise a scene. The setting shift from Queensbridge to a (made-up) South American country is handled without a ripple; Bruno's neat and lively line drawings convey the team's determination while giving a turn-of-the-twentieth-century vibe; and Voigt brings off the final act in this trilogy with consummate easea solution all the more satisfying for being so unexpected. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)