The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable

By Dan Gutman

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!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jan 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9780062062925

Dan Gutman

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 35 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.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Coke and Pepsi

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June 17, but JUMP OFF A CLIFF was not one of them.

CLEAN OUT MY LOCKER was on the list.

PICK UP MY YEARBOOK was on the list.

GET BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR PEP was on the list.

PACK FOR SUMMER VACATION was on the list.

But nothing about jumping off a cliff.

And yet, oddly enough, jumping off a cliff was the one thing that Coke McDonald was actually going To Do on June 17.

Not only was he going to jump off a cliff, but first he was going to push his twin sister, Pepsi.

Now, before we get to the cliff-jumping part of the story, maybe I’d better explain something. Why would anyone in their right mind name their children Coke and Pepsi?

It was probably because Dr. Benjamin McDonald and his lovely wife, Bridget, weren’t in their right minds when the twins were born almost thirteen years earlier. For one thing, the McDonalds didn’t know they would be having twins until after Coke entered the world. The doctors and nurses had pretty much taken off their latex gloves and called it a day when Mrs. McDonald informed them that she felt a funny feeling deep inside—as if she wasn’t quite finished. And, lo and behold, she was absolutely right! The doctors and nurses went back to work; and the next thing anybody knew, out popped a bouncing baby girl.

Surprise!

From the start, the McDonalds had decided to name their son Coke. Not because of the soft drink. Because of coal. According to Dictionary.com, coke is the solid product resulting from the destructive distillation of coal in an oven or closed chamber or by imperfect combustion, consisting principally of carbon.

Go ahead and look it up if you don’t believe me. I’ll wait.

Okay, did you look it up? Good.

Dr. McDonald, a history professor at San Francisco State University, had written a scholarly book about coal’s impact on the Industrial Revolution. He always thought Coke would make a good name for a boy. It’s short, sweet. It has that hard K sound. Like Kodak. Katmandu. Kalamazoo.

When Coke’s twin sister popped out, Dr. and Mrs. McDonald were faced with a dilemma. Once you name your firstborn son Coke, you can’t very well name his twin sister Rachel or Emily or anything too normal. It wouldn’t sound right.

How about Pepsi? one of the attending nurses suggested as a joke. Coke and Pepsi.

Everyone in the birthing room had a good old laugh over that. But the more the McDonalds thought about it, the more they liked the idea. Coke and Pepsi! It was perfect!

Not only that, but it fit their sensibilities. The McDonalds were second-generation hippies from San Francisco who had always disapproved of the rampant commercialization of society. Dr. McDonald was fond of telling his students that the average person living in a city sees up to five thousand advertisements every day. Five thousand ads! What better way to stick it to The Man than to name your kids Coke and Pepsi? It would be an ironic statement about how corporations control people’s lives.

Heck, their last name was already McDonald. Why not name the kids Coke and Pepsi?

Naturally, when the local media picked up on the baby names, the Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola companies were not happy at first. They made some noises about suing the family. Giving babies the same names as popular soft drinks was an infringement of the companies’ copyrights, the lawyers grumbled. (Yeah, as if consumers would confuse the infants with sugary carbonated beverages.)

In the end, the corporate giants decided that kids named Coke and Pepsi would be the best advertising they would ever have. And it didn’t cost them a dime. This, they agreed, was even better than having kids named Jimmy and Suzy walk around wearing Coke and Pepsi T-shirts.

Of course, growing up with the names Coke and Pepsi can be tough, especially in middle school. Both of the twins encountered a good deal of ribbing when they got to sixth grade, especially Pepsi.

Hey, soda girl! You’re flat!

But the thing is, no matter how unusual someone’s name is, after you hear it a few dozen times, the name starts to fit the person, like a comfortable pair of jeans. You can’t imagine that boy or girl ever having a different name. Eventually, kids stopped looking at Pepsi and thinking of high-fructose corn syrup. We humans have a way of adapting to things.

Hardly anybody called her Pepsi, anyway. To most of the kids at West Marin Middle School and just about everybody who knew her, she was Pep. Simply Pep.

Anyway, it could have been worse. The McDonalds could have named the twins Mountain Dew and Sprite. A few years back there was a New Jersey couple who named their son Adolf Hitler. Go ahead and look it up if you don’t believe me.

Now that kid is going to have issues.

Ordinarily in a story, this is where the author tells the readers what the main character—or, in this case, characters—look like. The author might go on for page after page, painting a glorious word picture of Coke’s and Pep’s hair, their faces, the way they walk and talk, the way they dress, and so on.

But you know what? Who cares? Do you really care what Coke and Pep look like? Does it really matter to you? It’s boring. By the time you get to Chapter Three, you will have forgotten the description you read back in Chapter One, anyway. Coke and Pep are twelve-year-old twins, about to turn thirteen in a week. Okay? Nuff said. That’s all you need to know right now.

You really want to know what they look like? Look at the cover of this book. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let’s move on to the good part—the part where Coke and Pep go over the cliff.

Chapter 2

Over the Cliff

West Marin Middle School sits nestled on a ridge high up in the hills in Point Reyes Station, California. The town’s about thirty miles north of San Francisco and very close to Mount Wittenberg, which towers 1,407 feet above the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day, you can be in the school playground and see nearly forty miles. The weather is almost always beautiful. And on this particular day, it was so beautiful that the McDonald twins decided to ditch the school bus and walk home to their house down by the beach. It would be a long hike, but it was downhill all the way.

I should call Mom and Dad on my cell and tell them so they won’t worry, Pep suggested.

We’ll be home soon, Coke replied. Don’t bother.

The twins talked about their upcoming summer vacation. The whole family would be driving cross-country, all the way to Washington, D.C., where the twins’ aunt Judy would be getting married on the Fourth of July.

Neither of the twins was particularly excited about the trip. Sitting in a recreational vehicle for two months wasn’t anybody’s idea of a good time. They’d have to celebrate their birthday—June 25—in an RV. It was probably going to be the worst summer of their lives, Coke guessed.

The twins hadn’t gone far when Pep turned to her brother anxiously.

Y’know, I have a feeling that somebody’s following us, she said quietly.

Both twins turned around to look behind them. Nobody was there.

Don’t be ridiculous, Coke said. Why would somebody want to follow us?

I don’t know! Pep said defensively. I just have this feeling.

"You and your feelings."

Feelings. Like a lot of boys, the whole concept of feelings was lost on Coke. He never understood when people would talk about feelings. What are feelings, anyway? You feel something when you touch it. When you can hold it in your hand. Things exist in the real world, or they don’t. Something happens, or it doesn’t. According to Coke, there was no such thing as feelings.

They had walked a few hundred feet down the road when Pep started to pick up the pace.

"Will you slow down? her brother said, annoyed. It’s not a race. What’s the rush?"

There’s somebody behind us, Pep told him. Don’t turn around!

Well, how do you expect me to see if there’s somebody behind us if I don’t turn around? he replied.

There was indeed somebody behind them, off in the distance. It was a man driving a golf cart. He was wearing a black hat and a black suit.

See him? Pep asked.

So what? Coke said. It’s a public road. People are allowed on it. He isn’t bothering anybody. Maybe he lost a golf ball.

"There’s no golf course within miles of here! Pep insisted, walking even faster. Why is he riding in a golf cart? And why would a golfer wear a suit and tie?"

Maybe he’s disabled, Coke replied. He needs the cart to get around.

And maybe he’s a murderer.

Murderers don’t drive golf carts!

I’m worried, Pep whispered.

"You’re always worried."

Which was true. Pep was always worried about something. At the least little thing—a hangnail, a creaking sound, a runny nose—Pep would fuss and fret and always expect the worst.

Coke turned his head just enough to conclude that the golf cart was getting closer. He may not have been able to feel feelings himself, but he knew his sister. She was a worrier, but she wasn’t paranoid. Sometimes it seemed as though she had a sixth sense about certain things. Coke broke into a slow jog just to be on the safe side, and Pep did the same.

They turned off the road to the left and took the dirt path that went closer to the cliff that lined the road. Common sense said that the guy in the golf cart would stay on the paved road and continue on his merry way.

But common sense wasn’t in the cards on this day. When the twins turned around to peek behind them again, they saw that the golf cart had veered onto the dirt path. Somebody was on their tail. He was definitely wearing a black suit, and his hat was one of those old-time bowlers.

Why is that dude in the bowler hat following us? Pep asked, a frightened look on her face.

How should I know? Coke replied. Come on, run!

Their backpacks bopped up and down as they dashed along the edge of the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The path narrowed, but it was still wide enough for a golf cart to ride on.

The twins ran along the cliff walk until they reached a couple of little wooden shacks. The buildings looked like outhouses, but in fact they were used to store equipment for fighting forest fires.

Let’s hide here, Coke said, pulling Pep behind one of the buildings. That bowler dude will pass right by.

And what if he doesn’t? she asked, breathing heavily.

I didn’t take five years of karate for nothing, Coke replied, lifting his right foot. This is a deadly weapon. I can kill a man with it if I have to. And I know exactly how to do it, too.

Pep remembered the last fight Coke was in, just before he earned his black belt. He’d lost to a kid who was blind. Coke only had one move: a spinning kick that he called the Inflictor. It looked cool but didn’t fool anybody. Pep was about to make fun of her brother’s lame martial arts skills; but before she could get out a word, a hand clapped tightly over each of their mouths from behind.

Don’t scream, a woman’s voice warned. Your lives are in danger!

Coke struggled to turn around, but the woman’s elbow was pressed against his chest. From the corner of his eye, he could make out that she had dark hair and was dressed in bright red.

Who are you? Pep muttered through the fingers clamped to her face.

My name is Mya, the woman said in an unidentifiable accent. I am a friend. You need to trust me.

Why? Coke said, ripping the hand off his face. Why should we trust you? You’re a complete stranger.

Because I’m about to save your lives.

Some dude in a bowler hat is chasing us in a golf cart, Pep told Mya.

I know.

Mya let the twins go and unzipped the large purse that hung from her shoulder. She reached into the handbag and pulled out a yellow Frisbee.

You’re going to save our lives by throwing a Frisbee at that guy? Coke said. "You’ve got to be kidding."

Watch and learn, Mya said.

The golf cart was electric and didn’t make much noise, but the twins could hear it crunching along the gravel path as it got closer. Suddenly, Mya leaped out from behind the shed, got into position, and whipped the Frisbee thirty yards down the path. It was almost comical—a woman in a red jumpsuit trying to stop a golf cart with a Frisbee. But nobody was laughing.

A tree branch hung over the path, making it impossible to throw anything in a straight line and hit the golf cart. But apparently Mya had thought of that. She flung the disk in such a way that it skipped off the ground once about ten feet in front of the cart and then rose the rest of the way, striking the cart on its right front tire.

There was a loud bang and a plume of smoke; and the front of the golf cart flipped up and backward. Through the smoke the twins could see the man flying out of the cart and over the bushes on the right. The golf cart landed upside down with a thunk.

"That was cool! Coke gushed. What was it?"

A Frisbee grenade, Mya explained calmly, zipping up her bag once again.

Where can I get one? Coke asked.

They’re not for sale.

Is that bowler dude going to be all right? Pep asked.

You don’t want him to be all right, Mya replied. He was trying to kill you.

Wait a minute, Coke said, still fascinated by the Frisbee grenade. If that thing had an explosive charge in it, why didn’t it explode when it skipped off the ground?

"It was programmed to detonate upon the second impact, not the first," Mya explained.

But how did you know you were going to skip it off the ground? Pep asked.

There’s no time for questions now! Mya barked, pulling open the door to the little shack next to them. That minor obstacle will only slow them down. Quickly! Take off those backpacks. I need you to put these on!

She took out two large outfits that looked like oversized silk pajamas. One was yellow, and the other was red. Both were made of a smooth, synthetic material.

What is this, bulletproof or something? asked Pep as Mya handed her the yellow one.

No, it’s a wingsuit, Mya explained. Quickly! Put it on!

"Why should we listen to you? Coke asked. Who are you, our mother?"

Mya grabbed him around the neck.

No, but I just saved your lives, she told him. And I’m going to save you again . . . if you’ll let me.

Ever since they were old enough to go outside on their own, the twins had been warned not to talk to strangers. Not to take candy from strangers. Not to get into a stranger’s car under any circumstances. But nobody ever told them not to put on a wingsuit given to them by a stranger.

Pep threw off her backpack and rushed to stick her feet

Reviews for The Genius Files

[S. Moses · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply amazing! It's hooking, interactive, and with enough witty humor to keep children of any age entertained and give an adult a good laugh.

[Lorraine spiteri · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love it, it kept me in suspense till the end of the book. Plus using real life places made it amazing to read.

[tigerlms · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This very fun adventure story pits Coke and Pepsi McDonald, twin middle school students, against a handful of secret agents trying to kill them. Coke is a boy named for the coal not the beverage. Pepsi was the surprise twin girl who popped out after Coke, and was, in fact named after the soft drink. Their last name is McDonald, after all, so why not? Both Coke and Pepsi are very smart and without their knowing it, they are recruited to be part of a secret government agency of kid special agents, a program known as the Genius Files. Coke and Pepsi only find out about that after men in bowler hats try to kill them on their way home from school, and the action picks up from there. Author Dan Gutman's writing is funny and approachable for upper elementary students. When the twins embark on a cross-country family vacation, Gutman offers an interactive feature in sidebars by asking readers to log onto Google Maps and follow the family's route. Older students might have a hard time sustaining their disbelief with a number of events, but elementary students looking for an action-filled adventure will likely eat this one up and beg for the second book in the series.

[phh333 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Typical Dan Gutman book - easy-read, silly, fun. The book wasn't great, but I thought it might be a good book to tie in with a states unit. The family travels across the USA from California to Wisconsin on their way to D.C. There will obviously have to be a sequel since the book ends before they reach D.C. Bad guys follow the brother and sister trying to kill them and they use silly, nonconventional methods to thwart their efforts.

[scote23 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Meh. I wasn't super impressed with this book overall. I thought Pepsi really wasn't given enough to do and it was really all about Coke. Not my favorite MSBA read this year.

[joe0397 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read for 5th graders and up. I did this book for a book talk at my school. This is a great book for everyone who loves google maps, and usless unknown facts about the states. Dan Gutman lets you almost follow Coke and Pepsi on their trip by going on to google maps. 5 STARS!!!

[kcpiano_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this book, but more importantly, my 9 year old 4th grade daughter went crazy over this book! She is a very advanced reader and is very hard to please. Her reaction to The Genuis Files was "this is the best book ever!" I think it is appropriate for advanced readers in 4th grade and definitely great for 5th grade and on up to middle school. It was intriguing and captured my attention from the first page!

[lisagibson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't read tons of middle-grade books. I should definitely read more of them, especially if they are as good as this one. This book was packed with action and all sorts of secret agent antics. Coke and Pepsi were great characters. This book is seriously funny. I found myself laughing quite often. I enjoyed seeing what would happen next as the twins made their way across the country in the rented Winnebago with their clueless parents. I'm planning on reading the next in the series to see what happens to these two. I'm giving this one 5 secret super agent kisses!

[aya8herron · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author of the My Weird School books introduces us to a new action-packed adventure featuring the McDonald twins, Coke and Pepsi. The brilliant twins are part of a select group of kids known as Young American Geniuses (YAGs for short). As part of the government program called The Genius Files (TGF), the country's smartest kids have been tapped to solve the world's problems. The secret assignments offer excitement, danger, travel, and the promise of a million dollars for each twin when they turn 21...provided they survive.When Coke and Pepsi's wacky parents decide to take a family cross country road trip from California to Washington D.C. in a rented RV, things really start to get interesting. In between visiting quirky tourist attractions, being chased by evil bowler hat dudes, and almost being killed by their health teacher, the twins must complete their first mission. With guidance from their mentors, Mya and Bones, and twins eventually face a showdown with Dr. Herman Warsaw, the creator of TGF.Follow the McDonald family as they travel across the United States stopping along the way to visit the Pez museum, the Singing Sand Dunes, the SPAM museum, and two large balls of twine. Will the twins be successful on their first mission? Only time will tell as they face many obstacles and escape death more than once.The Bottom Line: Packed with action, "The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable" is an exciting read for kids in middle school. The book is filled with interesting sidebars, ciphers, trivia, and directions for mapping out the twins' trip online. It's great fun for everyone. Enthusiastically recommended for readers, especially boys, interested in adventure and action. The adventure is sure to continue in the next book.

[elizardkwik · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story had a promising beginning, with an explanation of why nearly 13-year-old Coke was pushing his twin sister Pepsi off a cliff. However, it soon took a turn into serious implausibility and strained integration of facts as the Macdonald family sets off on a summer-long road trip between California and Washington, D.C., detouring across several states to visit minor attractions. I was mainly disappointed because this could have been such a good book - instead poor writing quality and lack of depth of character makes me reluctant to recommend this book to anyone, especially someone who may think of themselves as a genius, or even a reasonably intelligent person. As an educational tool (using the internet to locate places), this is an adequate resource and it is likely that readers who are accustomed to mediocre writing and repetition may find this an exciting adventure.

[likesbooksrs · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Twins Coke and Pepsi, will celebrate their thirteenth birthday while on the road with their parents on a cross country tour in a rented RV. The journey begins in California and will end in Washington, D.C. in time for their Aunt Judy's wedding. What their parents don't know is that Coke and Pepsi have been selected to be members of the Genius Files experiment, created by Dr. Warsaw who created a corps of genius kids to solve the world's problems. During the trip, which the reader is urged to follow on Google Maps, Coke and his sister, Pepsi, escape danger and death while stopping a terrorist act planned to blow up the world's largest ball of twine in Darwin, Minneapolis. This funny and engaging book by Dan Gutman (author of My Weird School, My Weird School Daze, and the Baseball Card Adventure series) will please all young readers who love action and humor.

[bookswarm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very cute--perfect for my middle school students who are looking for some action and mystery (and they're always looking for that!). The characters were fun and the story was fast-paced.

[kaypendragon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A delightful series beginning, with a focus on Roadside America.Many plot points are rather implausible, and the plot tends to get bogged down a bit in the middle but it has promise. Interested to see if the rest of the series can pull through.

[livebug · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Coke and Pepsi McDonald, twins heading off on summer vacation, are in mortal peril from the first page. We know this because "JUMP OFF A CLIFF" wasn't on their to-do list for the day, and yet somehow they will manage it. This grabby beginning leads to several splashy escapes and near-captures by strange men in bowler hats as the twins take a family road trip from the San Francisco area to Washington, D.C. At each stop, there is a Google Maps tie-in, to follow the action from place to place. The plot is thin, the characters trite, but I can imagine this new series being wildly popular with kids who have slightly outgrown My Weird School, and for whom Dan Gutman can do no wrong. I did enjoy descriptions and photos of the quirky sites the family visited (Dad is a staid history professor, but Mom runs the Amazing But True website, so it's a whole lot more Big Ball of Twine and less Gettysburg) and the clever means by which the kids escaped their nefarious pursuers at each turn. However, the "genius" bit falls flat. Any fan of The Mysterious Benedict Society will be disappointed in these two stupendously average kids somehow getting under the "genius" wire. West Marin Middle School is teaching to the test, people!

[grgenius_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

May I introduce you to Coke and Pepsi...McDonald; the names of our lead characters as given by their parents. If having names like these doesn't suit your fancy, no worries...you're in the same boat as them but after a while Coke and Pep (her nickname) were so far over it, any taunts were more amusing than irksome. The twins have your typical sister brother relationship. They annoy each other but deep down they are family and would do whatever was necessary to ensure their well being. Good thing too because in their foreseeable future is quite a lot of butt saving (and kicking) thanks to a little something called "the Genius Files". But what they are and exactly what they have to do with the twins is a mystery...at least until drastic events bring their knowledge of the files from "need to know" to "better tell them now so they might help us out AND survive". Too bad it's the beginning of summer vacation, aka their road trip across the U.S.A. on their way to a relatives wedding. They're gonna miss all the "adventure" (read as "threats on their lives")....or will they? Bad guys can travel too you know. Yep...this is one family trip that's going to go down in history...secret history, but history nonetheless.First things first....overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Seriously! The writing is fluent. The reader is drawn in from the start by the characters themselves. Coke and Pepsi are a riot! Their parents shine through with their wacky personalities providing for several interesting situations along their trip. The third party narrator whose identity remains a mystery throughout the book is wonderful giving the work an unbiased voice that is still fully interactive in the events shared. Speaking of interactive.... This is one book to read with a computer handy. The narrator invites you to look things up online and follow their journey through Google Maps, MapQuest and the like. They actually pause and tell you to look it up, or have a little blurb in the sidebar with instructions on how to follow along to bring their trip to life. It makes everything in the story more real then words on paper, presenting readers with something tangible that connects to the world around us.Along with the good, must come of drop of the not-so-good I'm afraid....and what struck me as off in this particular book was worth a mention in my mind. Let me reiterate, I enjoyed the story, but a detail towards the end doesn't sit well with me. It has to do with the events of 9/11. I mean I get it. Sometimes tragedy sparks innovation and so I'm not as opposed to including the events as something that sparked a change for the better but using it to find a reason during the end events was wrong (in my opinion). It makes a mention in two places (in my ARC at least) to someone (the bad guy) going crazy because of the events they witnessed. I can see how it may not be as noticeable to the intended age group...but for me it dampered an otherwise highly enjoyable story. I mean, some of the kids (and adults) reading this work lost people in those attacks either physically or mentally....is it really right to say something like that even for the sake of a fictitious work? All in all, I did enjoy the story immensely. Set aside some time when you begin this one because you won't want to put it down until you've reached the final page. Part two of this family trip should be rather interesting to say the least. Recommended for readers of all ages...there's a little something for everyone in here. Happy reading!

[jugglingpaynes · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Weeks before their 13th birthday, twins Coke and Pepsi discover they are part of an secret government organization known as the Genius Files. They also discover someone is trying to kill them. The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable follows the adventures of Coke and Pepsi as they travel cross-country with their parents in an RV. I wanted to like this book. It is filled with wonderful trivia about the states the family traveled through, as well as facts about interesting sites within those states. This could easily have been a story of a family growing closer as they explore the United States and all its unusual hidden treasures. But it's not.I had many problems with the story. First, the characters were a bit flat. The parents were portrayed as clueless and boring, similar to parents in Disney sitcoms of the '90s. The father seemed to silently suffer his marriage and children and he accepted that they didn't really share his interests in history. The mother was mocked for her interest in odd facts. The children were often disrespectful to their parents and suffered not-so-silently (for example, by whining about going to places they considered boring.) The narrator reinforced this sense of child superiority. The villains were caricatures and we are never given a satisfying reason as to why they want to kill the kids. The book claims that if you liked The 39 Clues you will like The Genius Files. Allow me to explain the difference between the two stories.Considering they are supposed to be geniuses, I did not get the sense they were very intelligent. I guess their genius is in their ability to do well on standardized testing, since that is how the Genius Files found the children. Other than Coke having a photographic memory and Pepsi's ability to decipher codes, I saw no other evidence of genius. They didn't even think of researching a vital clue on their laptop to get answers. In contrast, whenever the kids in The 39 Clues had a puzzle to solve, they either headed for a library or searched the internet for the information they needed to find an answer.But still, I enjoyed learning about the odd places in the U.S. I liked the interactive aspect of having the reader use Google Earth to follow the kids on their trip. There are also three coded message the reader can try to decipher. They were tricky. I only figured out the first. For those reasons I think my kids might like this book. But there was a definite need for more plot and better developed characters.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fun middle grade adventure with over-the-top villains and intrepid heroes. Coke and Pepsi are recruited as part of the Genius Files by eccentric scientist Dr. Warsaw. The kids have tons of adventures as they travel with their parents in an RV across the country from California to Washington, DC. The parents are somewhat eccentric too. Their father is an American History professor who has a tendency to throw out important mail - like the letter inviting the kids to be part of the Genius Files. Their mother runs a website that highlights American oddities called Amazing But True. She encourages the family to make stops at a lot of interesting museums like the Pez museum, the Frisbee museum, the Singing Sands, the SPAM museum, and the Bonneville Salt Flats. The kids dodge the same persistent villains in many of these locations. And, let's not forget the stops at two of the world's largest balls of twine. One is in Cawker, Kansas and the other is in my state at Darwin, Minnesota.Readers are encouraged to use Google Maps to see the route that the family takes on their journey. The kids also find and decipher various ciphers along the way. All leading to a final showdown at The House on the Rocks.But all is not ended, the adventure will continue in Part II of the Genius Files. I think middle graders will like the humor, the adventure, and may even learn something about attractions in the United States by reading this book.

[asbiskey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The description of this books sounded exciting, like the 39 clues series meets the Kane Chronicles. And that's what it is...sort of. The book is part travel guide, a (small) part action, and a (LARGE) part mindless filler. This book is recommended for ages 9-12. I suspect that my 7 year old might be a more appropriate audience, while my 10 year old would lose interest quickly. There are many recommendations in the book to investigate things in the book on the internet and map the progress of the twins. If all those were actually followed, you would stop every other page. There are many interesting, non-traditional things to see driving across the US, but there are many interesting traditional things to see to, and they are just ignored in favor of the bazaar. Apparently there is nothing intersting between Nevada and Kansas, which the characters travel through non-stop, but contemplate a dozen places in Minnesota. The pacing is unpredictable, while the appearance of the twins mentors, Mya and Bones, is entirely too predictable. I was very disappointed. I do hope some readers just starting out with chapter books may like it, but I think there are many other works for that group more likely to make them want to read.

[ilbooklvr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Coke and Pepsi are 12 year old twins who don't know they are geniuses until shorty before their 13th birthday. This is when strange people start to kill them. This is an action-packed romp across America as they try to outrun their attackers. Along the way, they have to decipher codes as they visit some of America's lesser known-tourist attractions. Of course Gutman ends with a cliffhanger that will sustain interest for subsequent books. This book will fly off the shelves of my library! It will be enjoyed by fans of the Weird School books who are ready for something longer. I am already anticipating the second book!