The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy #1)

by Tony Abbott (Author) Bill Perkins (Illustrator)

The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy #1)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
"Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca fly from Texas to Germany for the funeral of an old family friend. But instead of just paying their respects, they wind up on a dangerous, mind-blowing quest to unlock an ancient, guarded secret that could destroy the fate of the world"--
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ALA/Booklist

With word games and rebus puzzles to spare, this whirling first entry in a projected six-part series from Abbott has international intrigue, fast-paced action, entertaining characters, and a healthy helping of science history.

Publishers Weekly

In this strong, ambitious start to the Copernicus Legacy series, Abbott (the Secrets of Droon) sends four protagonists on a globe-spanning adventure as they attempt to reclaim lost artifacts before a secret organization realizes its evil agenda. Working through a series of centuries-old puzzles and clues, stepbrothers Wade and Darrell Kaplan and their friends Lily and Becca, accompanied by Wade's astrophysicist father, attempt to unravel the mystery of a device built by the astronomer Copernicus. As their search takes them from Germany to Italy and Guam, they unravel ciphers, translate lost diaries, and both outwit and outrun the fiendish, murderous Teutonic Order. With 12 artifacts to be found over 12 planned installments, a mix of novels and novellas, there's no denying the epic scope of this storyline. Fast-paced and clever, the novel reads like a mashup of the National Treasure films and The Da Vinci Code; it's a thriller that engages the intellect even as it rummages through history for inspiration and journeys to far-flung locales. Ages 8-12. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Jan.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-- "Find the twelve relics. You are the last." This ominous message in code from his dad's former professor sends Wade Kaplan, his astrophysicist father, stepbrother Darrell, cousin Lily, and her friend Becca on an around-the-globe chase to locate hidden parts of a time-traveling astrolabe built in the 16th century by Copernicus. Fearing that the device would fall into the hands of the evil Knights of the Teutonic Order of Ancient Prussia, the astronomer removed 12 vital parts and scattered them throughout the world, protected by people known only as the Guardians. Now that the Knights have returned to power, they will stop at nothing to find the hidden relics and reactivate the astrolabe. In this first installment in the series, Abbott covers a lot of ground as the rapid-fire plot takes our heroes from Texas to Italy and Guam while establishing the backstories of Copernicus; the Guardians; the Knights; and their beautiful but deadly leader, Galina. The author masterfully pulls all the threads together and creates an engaging thriller enhanced by codes, puzzles, exotic locales, and narrow escapes. Characterization takes a backseat to action, but readers won't mind and will look forward to learning more about the people as the series progresses. However, since the book's title names what type of relic everyone is searching for, readers don't enjoy a big reveal when the questers make that discovery late in the story. Give this to Rick Riordan and Ridley Pearson fans or readers who've aged out of "The 39 Clues" (Scholastic).--Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott is the author of over 35 books for young readers, including the extremely popular Droon series, which has sold over 4.5 million books to date. He has been a bookseller and librarian, and currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and two daughters.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780062194473
Lexile Measure
680
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date
January 07, 2014
Series
Copernicus Legacy
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV016100 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Renaissance
Library of Congress categories
Adventure and adventurers
Adventure stories
Voyages and travels
Quests (Expeditions)
JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / Gener
Antiquities
JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
Secret societies
JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / Renaissance

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