I am a Chris Grabenstein super-fan, so I was eager to read his newest adventure. In this one, twelve-year-old Benjamin's brother Ethan has just graduated from high school and is very ready to move on to college, not really noticing how sad Benjamin is about his brother leaving. His parents offer Ethan a sweet ride for college on one condition: he must take his younger brother on a road trip much like his father and his brothers did when they were teens. Ethan balks at first, but the lure of a new truck for college is more than he can pass up. Much like the reality game show "The Amazing Race," Ethan and Benjamin were sucked into an orchestrated cross-country scavenger hunt. As the boys gather clues (riddles the reader can help solve!) they work on finding their way to back to each other and strengthen their sibling bond.

As marketed, this one had similarities to the Lemoncello series. The puzzles were very fun (and easier for me to solve than the Lemoncello ones!). This one will likely land on state reading award lists and is a great mystery or action/adventure title to add to elementary school libraries.

Such a fun book. I loved Mr Lemoncello and was worried about a new puzzle book. I might love this more. Great puzzles, great characters great story. This would be a fun class read aloud. Can the students solve the puzzles?