Before you say it, I know: I
am not in the target demographic for
this book, or any of Elise Stokes’ Cassidy Jones adventures. Still, I enjoy
reading them — despite the strange looks I get from others on the bus when I’m
reading the latest installment in paper form.
Elise Stokes hit it big with
her first novel, Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula. After being reviewed by
a 13-year-old reader, it was picked up by a middle-grade school as assigned
reading. Then it won some awards and Elise Stokes became a prominent author of
middle-grade or “young adult” fiction.
She followed up her first
book in a year with Cassidy Jones and Vulcan’s Gift, but there was a longer
delay for the third book. Now that I’ve read it, I understand why.
The plot
As most of the English
reading world knows — at least, most of the “YA” market — Cassidy Jones is a
normal teenage girl from Seattle. She’s awkward, lacks confidence and isn’t
particularly athletic. Then, in true superhero fashion, she’s accidentally
dosed with top-secret “Formula 10X,” being developed in her neighbour’s
basement lab, which gives her super-strength, speed, the ability to heal
quickly and enhanced senses. With the help of her neighbour’s son, Emery, another
14-year-old whose genius IQ has earned him university degrees already, Cassidy
foils nefarious plots, rescues her kidnapped father and fights escaped tigers.
In this installment, the bad
guys from the first novel return, searching for Formula 10X — which was
destroyed in a fire after Cassidy’s accident. It turns out that the
specifications were hidden in 10 separate microchips, scattered around the
world. The baddies have recovered nine of them (using murder at least once);
the last piece is hidden in an ancient Egyptian headdress on display in a
museum in Seattle. Emery, Cassidy’s genius sidekick, learns of a plot to steal
the chip, so Cassidy dresses as a mummy to spook the bad guys. This has some funny consequences, such as new rumours about a resurrected mummy running around the streets of Seattle.
But when one of
the thieves turns out to be Emery’s father, the mysterious Gavin Phillips, the
plot twists — and so do Cassidy’s emotions.
High quality
The third book is a little
darker and more serious than the first two. Cassidy is growing up and dealing
with a new level of emotions when it comes to boys. Boys are starting to pay
attention to her, as well, in ways that are new to her.
And there’s a love
triangle slowly emerging. I think that Stokes portrayed her character’s reaction
to that skillfully and believably: it’s plain to Cassidy, but she deliberately
chooses not to think about it. I can believe that in a 15-year-old who’s trying
to deal with some pretty extraordinary events in her life.
Stokes also spends more space
in this novel describing the stress her character has to deal with from having
a secret identity—a second life that she has to hide from her own family.
And as with Stokes’ first two
novels, the third shows top-notch writing style, editing and production — and a
gorgeous cover designed by David C. Cassidy. A fellow member of Independent
Authors International, Stokes is living proof that independent writers produce
work that meets and exceeds professional standards.
Less action
There is not as much action
in this book as in the first two. Cassidy seems to spend more time stressing
over her relationships with her friends, rivals, unwanted suitors and her
family than she does fighting bad guys. To me, this made for a more interesting
story, but I wonder how Cassidy fans feel?
The other slight weakness I
found in this story is that you really have to have read at least the first
novel to follow this one. The bad guys from both previous novels combine forces
in this one. The text also refers to characters and events from the other
novels. I kept having to try to recall the previous books to understand some of
the plot points in the third (it’s been over a year since I read them, after
all, and I’m not getting younger, either).
But those are minor nits to
pick out. This is another excellent novel by one of the best writers in the
MG/YA field today. There’s lots of room left in the story-arc, too, so we can
all look forward to Cassidy Jones and the Luminous soon.
5*
