This was a wonderful book that was a delight to read with my middle grade kids. A fun adventure with amazing writing!

This book starts a few weeks after the previous book ends but I liked it better than the first book in the series. Lots of action, exciting, gripping, some peril, but still kid appropriate. Fun for adults too - some of the quotes and figurative language will go over kids heads.

Graysen doesn’t join the exclusive Illuminerdy, so he’s cursed and everything goes wrong. My favorite part is when the kids get back at the Illuminerdy for cursing Graysen. Great message about working together and combining individual strengths to make a stronger team. Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC to use for my review.

This series is quickly becoming a favorite. It is so clever and fun. (There is one part with possible alligators that had me laughing so hard.) I absolutely adore the characters. Gray, Maya and Jack are three peas in a pod. I love their friendship. They tackle their challenges together and work as a team. Gray is a great leader, as much as he can lead this cute, wacky group. The way Jack communicates is still my favorite. I enjoyed the twist of the two additions to the group, it really added to the adventure. There are some twists that I really enjoyed. The similes are memorable and perfect for the story. This book is another win for this talented author.
Thank you to the publisher for the Netgalley approval.

Graysen Foxx and the Curse of the Illuminerdy is an action filled novel for elementary/middle schoolers. My son and I couldn't put this novel down; from treasure hunts to secret societies, this book had action and adventure at every turn.

It's a great read that will keep your kids' interest and attention.
📚🤓❤️

Such a fun story- the 2nd in this page turning series for young readers. It would make an amazing read a loud to a class or for a family. So many life lesson addressed in such a fun way, you will laugh and talk about the ridiculousness with a smile.
Ordinary Elementary is anything BUT ordinary. Tunnels, secret passageways, secret societies, and million dollar donors. Nothing for a 5th grade treasure hunter, his 3rd grade twin partners, and a couple of nemesis can't handle when and IF they learn to work together. Illuminerdy is a term to endear all kids who use their brains- and a reminder that friends are what it's all about.
"Shh," Maya said, pointing to where something jangling the metal hangers like a librarian searching for her favorite cardigan."
(На Ha Ha SO many librarian refererences, I couldn't help but laugh, then think "HEY, I resemble that remark!")
"There are three things you don't mess with in this world: another kid's cubby, a parent's pick-up routine, and a book from the library." "we headed straight for the library... the nome of knowledge, really tunny books, and the fastest school librarian west of the Mississippi."
Oh, the similies alone will keep you smiling:
*Every page was as empty as a package of cookies in a classroom full of 6th graders.
*Thoughts of the award in my pocket gnawed at my brain like a hungry toddler with a chicken nugget Happy Meal.
*My tongue stuck to the top of my mouth like gum to the bottom of an old sneaker.
*I had to duck under bigger students and dodge through narrow openings like a determined shopper on Black Friday morning.
*My stomach was as tight as the lid of the Tupperware container my mom used to store leftover sloppy joes.
*As excited as a teacher with a new pack of dry erase markers.
You get the idea. Fun.
Here are some deep and thought provoking passages:
"Just an ordinary kid helping out another ordinary kid to do extraordinary things."
"The true judge of a person's character is what they do when they discover there are 5 kids but only 3 peanut M&M's left in the bag."
"Being selfish isn't ever going to bring you anything but sorrow."
"Choice, not chance, determines your destiny. Aristotle
"I'd rather spend the rest of my life being completely ordinary with my real firends than spend one more minute with you and your egotistical Illuminerds."
"Sometimes the only tool that matters is the one inside your head."

I could go on and on with quotes I highlighted, but am just happy to recommend this book to you so you can discover it for yourself.

"A treasure greater than any you can imagine." This was the message that started it all.

It was great to be back in the fun and crazy world of Graysen Foxx. This young Indiana Jones-like detective is once again on a mysterious treasure hunt. Graysen makes going to school at Ordinary Elementary a true adventure He's on the hunt for a creepy old picture to win a Halloween contest. Graysen is looking for clues about a secret society of super-smart kids called "The Illuminerdy".Yes, the name of this group made me giggle. In his search, he finds a spelling bee medal, and from here the chaos begins.

There is always so much humor in this series. J. Scott Savage keeps the laughs coming the whole book. Here's an example, "This isn't Star Wars and we aren't inside a trash compactor."

Another funny chapter tickled my teacher's funny bone and this part really made me LOL! Raven says, "You don't want to know how many abandoned rooms there are in this place. I think I found the mummified remains of a substitute teacher next to a jammed copy machine waiting for her word search sheets to finish printing."

One aspect that I loved about this second book is how teamwork helped to solve the mystery. I like how Savage puts ways for kids (and adults) to learn new things and readers don't even realize it. They enjoy the ride so much they forget they are gaining new information they'd normally learn in school. Readers will also see that every person has unique and valuable talents. Graysen and his friends learn to appreciate each other as each person had a gift to help in the treasure hunt. One was good at Math and another was really good at building things.

This book and series are so much fun. It would be a great class read-aloud and also a great book to read with your children or grandchildren. Savage has such a gift for writing for this age group. As an older person, I'm so pleased to be able to read about Graysen Foxx's adventures and be taken away in childhood fun for a few hours.

Another fun adventure from J. Scott Savage! I have thoroughly enjoyed this elementary school/middle grade series. It’s a book that parents would definitely approve of and enjoy reading along with their children. I loved the funny puns and humor, the creative puzzles and mysteries they have to solve, and the life lessons shared subtly throughout.

Graysen Foxx is on another quest, this time to find a creepy painting that will help his treasure hunting sidekicks Maya and Jack win their classroom Halloween decorating contest. But, Ordinary Elementary is anything but ordinary as the kids have previously discovered. On their mission to find the painting, they uncover another mystery, an old spelling bee medal with a strange inscription on the back.

Before they can figure out what the medal means, a ninja like 2nd grader steals the medal right out of their hands. This starts them on an investigation that will test all of their skills and friendship leading to an encounter with a super smart group called the illuminerdy. They guard a particularly amazing secret which the friends are determined to uncover. From alligators to abacuses, they face it all on their action-packed, fun filled adventure.

This book was so much fun and I loved the narration of Graysen Foxx. He’s such a fun kid with a wicked smart sense of humor and a gift for leadership. There were so many great messages in this story that were delivered in an entertaining way. I loved the teamwork, friendships, and lesson that just because you fail at something doesn’t mean you’re doomed to failure. I loved the way the kids each used their specific talents to solve the puzzles and riddles. Music, chemistry, engineering, math, computer programming, and science problems were all featured in this amazing adventure.

I loved the setting where there are secret passageways, hidden secrets, and all kinds of imaginative scenarios that took me back to my own childhood. Who hasn’t wished to find a secret passage in the school basement? Where there are so many books nowadays that rely on crude humor and silly jokes, this book excels in intelligent humor, witty observations, and fun.

Highly recommend this book and the entire series to elementary school aged kids and up. While it’s the second book in the series, it could be read as a standalone, but is more enjoyable if you’ve read the first book. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided.