Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-This sequel to Mission Unstoppable (HarperCollins, 2011) picks up right in the middle of the McDonald family road trip, but knowledge of that book is not essential as the narrator breathlessly recounts its highlights. It isn't long before the 13-year-old twins Coke and Pepsi find themselves in hot, er, oil. Yes. Even though they thought they dispatched the evil Dr. Warsaw in the last go-round, it seems that a new evil mastermind is pursuing them-Archie Clone, a kid genius with a penchant for hats and a resemblance to Archie of comic-book fame. As the family zigzags across the eastern half of the country en route to Washington, DC, they stop at a variety of oddball roadside attractions, where, if the twins don't find themselves in immediate peril, they find mysterious ciphers that need decoding. The various stops are real places, such as the Mustard Museum in Wisconsin and Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Text boxes give instructions for finding the McDonalds' route in Google Maps, and black-and-white photographs and illustrations of the codes are included. Kids will appreciate the book for its nonstop action and goofball humor; character development is weak. Coke and Pepsi have the most clueless parents ever and the villains are strictly laughable. Buy for reluctant readers wanting something fast, or for fans of "The 39 Clues" (Scholastic).-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Picking up where Mission Unstoppable ended, Coke and Pepsi continue their cross-country trek, now from Wisconsin to Washington, DC, to join a secret government program that employs smart kids to solve America's problems. The (sometimes grating) humor continues in this volume as the twins outmaneuver perilous challenges. Readers are again encouraged to track the characters' route online with Google maps. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Mission Unstoppable (2011), Gutman picks up his unconventional cross-country travelogue where he left off. He takes the RV holding his 13-year-old brainiacs and their oblivious parents from the National Mustard Museum in Spring Green, Wisc., to the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. Along the way, he pauses to suspend the sibs in French-fry cages over boiling oil outside the first McDonald's, imprison them in glass vats of soft-serve ice cream at Ohio's spectacular Cedar Point Amusement Park, lock them inside Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum (with a Megadeth track cranked up to mind-blowing level) and subject them to other perils. What's up? It seems aptly named bad guy Archie Clone and other assassins are out to kill, or perhaps test, them before they can join a secret organization of child geniuses and collect a huge reward. Tucking in small photos, instructions for following the route on Google Maps, facts about attractions large and small and mysterious ciphered messages, the author brings his confused but resourceful youngsters to an explosive climax and a shocking revelation that guarantees further adventures on the road back to the left coast. Nothing spices up a boring road trip like moments of extreme terror. (Adventure. 10-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
