User:Kangaroopower/workshop

right|200px|39 Clues logo The 39 Clues consists of two series of adventure books, The Clue Hunt and Cahills vs. Vespers, combining reading, online gaming, and card collecting. Published by Scholastic, the main part of the series consists of eleven books about the adventures of fictional siblings Amy and Dan Cahill trying to thwart the other Cahills to get 39 clues, which will make the finder "the most powerful and influential person(s) on the planet". Amy and Dan agree to the challenge in their grandmother Grace Cahill's will and search for 39 Clues scattered around the world. Continuing books will be about the rising of a new family, the Vespers. Rick Riordan wrote the first book and the main story arc; however, other authors wrote the remainder of the books in the series. All of the eleven books in the first series have been published. The authors are Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Jude Watson (again), Peter Lerangis (again), Gordon Korman (again), Linda Sue Park and Margaret Peterson Haddix. Card packs are also being sold which contain 16 different cards that can be used in searching for clues. Each book contains six cards, and the total number of cards is currently 438. Also, the official website offers missions that will lead to clues.

Due to the series' integration of online gaming and card collecting with reading, the series creates an interactive experience. In addition, there are exclusive prizes for children, winnable by buying the books and playing the online game. The novels are designed to incorporate historical elements by placing famous people in the midst of the Cahill family. The background of the game is described, below, using in-universe tone.

Cahill family branches
The Cahill family has influenced civilization more than any other family in the world. Almost every famous historical figure that has ever lived belongs to it: leaders, scientists, artists and athletes, even if they realise it or not. The Cahill family began five hundred years ago, with Gideon Cahill and his wife Olivia. They had five children: Katherine, Jane, Luke, Thomas, and Madeleine.(Madeleine's and her descendants' existence had not yet been discovered by the other siblings and their branches until Amy and Dan revealed their identity along with the whole story of what happened after the other siblings left the island to follow their dreams. It was discovered by the end of the first series.) These five eventually became the founders of branches: Ekaterina, Janus, Lucian, Tomas, and Madrigal. The secret to the family's power lies in 39 Clues, which are ingredients, such as silk and tungsten, that add up to a mysterious chemical compound that will somehow empower its owner to be the most powerful human being on the planet.

The Cahill family is split into five family branches: the Lucian (Luke Cahill), the Ekaterina (Katherine Cahill), the Janus (Jane Cahill), the Tomas (Thomas Cahill), and the Magrigal branch which was only discovered to be a family branch in Into the Gauntlet (Madeline Cahill). All branches are named as variations of the names of the five children who founded them. The first four branches constantly fight each other for clues, with the Madrigals trying to quell them and distribute power so one branch does not control others. Each of the four main branches has their own unique name (i.e Lucian), crest (i.e Two Snakes surrounding the staff), and color (i.e. red). The branches also have an unique ability. The Lucians are extremely cunning, the Ekaterinas extremely smart, the Janus extremely cleaver and the Tomas extremely athletic.

For the past 500 years the Cahills did not know that the Madrigal was actually a fifth branch of the Cahill Family, descended from Madeline Cahill, until recently. The other branches fear the Madrigals because The Madrigals would step in and prevent their success for ultimate power, but the branch has another objective, which is to reunite the Cahill family and stop the warring of the branches. The Madrigals would do anything to prevent the creation of an all-powerful Cahill, often sending double agents to infiltrate other branches in disguise. Symbol" The Madrigal symbol is a C with a black background to represent the hope that they have in reuniting the family. The Madrigal colors, black and white but mostly black, are the colors of the Yin-Yang, the Chinese symbol of balance and peace.

Characters

 * Amy Cahill: is the fourteen-year-old (a sixteen-year-old in Cahills vs. Vespers) female protagonist. Amy Hope Cahill is one of the main characters in The 39 Clues, along with her younger brother Dan. She is from Boston, and her skill is her knowledge, which resembles a "walking encyclopedia". Amy is the daughter of Hope Cahill and Arthur Josiah Trent and the older sister of Dan. Amy enjoys reading and studying and likes visiting to libraries and museums. She is noted to have a crush on Ian Kabra especially in book 3, but after his betrayal to her, she lost her trust for him, which gets gained back in Cahill Vs. Vespers. Although she was shy at the begging of the series, she has slowly overcome that trait. Amy has long reddish-brown hair and darkish-green eyes.  In Cahill Vs. Vespers, she has a boyfriend, Evan, who she has been dating for months, and has also learned kung-fu and various other fighting skills.


 * Dan Cahill: is the eleven-year-old (a thirteen-year-old in Cahill Vs. Vespers) male protagonist. He is the son of Hope Cahill and Arthur Josiah Trent and is the younger brother of Amy. He has a photographic memory, and is a great mathematician. He likes to fool around and make jokes, but mostly knows when to be serious. His hindrance is his asthma and accidentally sometimes talks without realizing.  He has dark blond hair and darkish-green eyes like Amy. Dan loves to eat junk food and is obsessed with ninjas, foreign snacks, and anything to do with video games. In Cahill vs. Vespers, it is shown that he has friend called Atticus who is 2 years younger than him, he also has been shown to be collecting the 39 Clues again, without anyone's knowledge. In A King's Ransom, he believes his father might possibly be alive.


 * Nellie Gomez: Nellie is Amy and Dan's au pair. She dyed her hair blonde, pink, and black. Nellie lives with Amy and Dan in Boston, Massachusetts. She has amazing skills that very few 20 year old people have, for example, she knows how to fly a plane, race cars, and speak over 10 different languages. Nellie is out-going and had a crush on Theo Cotter in Egypt before Theo betrayed her. She was trained by Grace Cahill for all of these reason in order to prepare herself for the clue hunt, which Nellie had no knowlage of. She was accepted into the Madrigal Branch in book nine. Nellie Gomez was supposedly hired by Amy and Dan's Aunt Beatrice to be their au pair, but Grace actually hired her for the job. And she was perfect for it, her family having guarded a Cahill treasue (the snake earing as shown in book 9) and her having the necessary skills. In Cahill Vs. Vespers, Nellie is one of the hostages taken by the Vespers, she is also the first hostage to be victimized as she got shot in the shoulder.


 * Casper Wyoming: Casper Wyoming is a Vesper who tracked Amy and Dan to Switzerland in an attempt to steal Gideon's ring in Vespers Rising. He is considered extremely dangerous. He is said to be one of the highest ranking Vespers. Casper's parents are con artists in the Western United States. He has a twin sister, Cheyenne Wyoming, who is Vesper Six - the Vesper Enforcer. Casper currently has no cards, though he appears on card 266 along with his sister - Cheyenne Wyoming. Casper Wyoming is not eligible to become Vesper Six because he was banned by Vesper One due to his failed mission in Switzerland.

Secret Serum Formula
Some say the Cahill formula is the most powerful liquid on the face of the earth. Madrigals have been trying to stop the other branches from gaining too much power because they know that the power of the serum is too great for anyone to hold. The Madrigals already had bits and pieces of the serum formula. They never found the serum formula until Dan and Amy Cahill entered the hunt for clues that took them around the world, Amy and Dan only figured out what the Master Serum was in 'The Swords Thief' when they are in Alistair Oh's secret library. At the end of the tenth book "Into the Gauntlet", Amy and Dan get the serum and decide not to use it because of all the power it contains. They destroy the serum, but the Clues were written down and given to Dan. In Cahill vs. Vespers, it is shown that Dan is collecting the 39 clues to create the Master Serum, no one else knows what he is doing, but the Vespers have suspicions after they notice Dan is buying elements.

Series One: The 39 Clues
thumb|left|The 39 Clues books and card packs as of August 2010.

Each book in the 39 Clues series includes six cards, which unlock one online clue, the same one Amy and Dan find in the corresponding book. Readers can unlock it by entering the code on one of the cards on their 39 Clues account. If eligible, they will also be automatically entered to win the Book Prizes, the largest being $100,000.

The Revelation
The Maze of Bones is the first book in the series, written by Rick Riordan. It was released on September 9, 2008. The story begins with Grace Cahill laying on her deathbed requesting Mr. McIntyre to change her will to the alternate version and dies soon after it is changed. After he is sure she is truly dead, the Man In Black steps out of the shadows and talks with McIntyre. At their grandmother's funeral, William McIntyre shows them a video of Grace Cahill telling them there are on the brink of their greatest challenge yet. Mr. McIntyre then says they have a choice, one million dollars, or a chance to be the greatest Cahill in history and gives them five minutes to decide. Dan wants the money for baseball cards, while Amy wants the chance in order to make Grace proud. Seven teams are formed to hunt for the Clues: the Kabras, the Holts, Alistair Oh, the Starlings, Irina Spasky, Jonah Wizard, and Amy and Dan.

In the end Amy and Dan chose the chance and receive a sealed envelope that they are instructed not to open. Then the Holts, Alistair, Starlings, and Spasky all accept the challenge. The envelope says: 'Resolution: The fine print to guess, seek out Richard S_______'. Amy then goes to the library but does not find anything there, but Dan opens a passageway into Grace's secret library where Alistair and them find a copy of Poor Richard's Almanack. They give to Alistair to look at, but just then the mansion burns down. They barely escape through the vents (Dan grabbing Grace's cat, Saladin and Amy grabbing a box of jewels on the way out) and go home where they convince Nellie to be their chaperone for their trip. Amy and Dan then head to the Franklin Institute where the Holts set off an explosion, Amy, Dan and Nellie got out alright, but the Starlings wern't so lucky, the Starlings were soon eliminated leaving six teams in the race.

Amy and Dan travel to Paris, France to search for a clue that Benjamin Franklin hid there. While on the journey, Amy and Dan discover that there is more to the Cahill family than they were led to believe. With their information, the Cahills go to the Paris Catacombs. They find some bones which have numbers on them: a magic box number game, planted there by Franklin to give the coordinates to the next Clue. This leads them to a church where they find a room with a mural of the four original Cahills, after who the four Cahill branches are named.

Inside the vase in the room is a small vial, with scrambled words on it. Dan solves the anagram, and they resolve to insert the vial into a lightning rod—one of Franklin's inventions—to charge it. Amy succeeds, but the vial is then stolen by the Kabras. However, Dan still has the original envelope, and solves the puzzle for the clue: iron solute. Amy's Internet searches for Franklin also have led them to the probable location of the second Clue: Vienna, Austria, the home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Book 2: One False Note
One False Note is the second book in the series, written by Gordon Korman. It was released on December 2, 2008. After succeeding in obtaining the first clue, Amy and Dan (along with their competition) travel to Vienna, Austria to find a clue relating to Mozart and his sister, Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart, famous Cahills(Janus).

Amy, Dan, and their au pair, Nellie, found music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the end of The Maze of Bones, so they go to Vienna, Austria, to learn about him. On the train, Holts attack them to steal the music, but they fail when Saladin eats the sheet of music from Paris. Dan has great memory and he rewrites the song music on a train napkin. In Vienna, Amy and Dan discover that Mozart had a younger sister: Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart. They go to a library and ask for her diary but find out that Jonah Wizard stole it. They steal it from him, then Nellie translates it and notices that three pages are missing.

Then, Amy and Dan discovers that there is another song in the middle of the song by Mozart. That song's name is "The Place Where I Born", so they go to the place where Mozart was born: Salzburg, Austria. There, they see Alistair Oh, and follow him. He goes into the Salzburg Catacombs, and they follow him in. There, Amy and Dan see The Man in Black, and there is an explosion, but they barly escape. Later, Nellie discovers a homing device on the collar of their cat, Saladin. They place it on Alistair Oh's cane when he is sleeping. They also steal a document from him. It is talking about Venice, Italy, so they go there.

In Venice, they follow Jonah Wizard, and find a secret passage in a music store called Disco Volante to a Janus stronghold. There, they find the missing diary pages, and steal them. The pages say that Nannerl Mozart thought her brother was going crazy because he was getting into debt by buying Japanese steel. A name, Fidelio Racco, which was also found on the paper taken from Alistair Oh, appears in the diary. Because of that, Amy and Dan go into Fidelio's Racco's mansion (which is now a museum). There they see the Kabras, who attack them, but Ian falls into the booby trapped key, and is knocked unconscious while Dan throws a tranquilizer dart at Natalie knocking her out.

Then, in the same place, Amy and Dan find the second clue, the clue is tungsten, and two Japanese swords. Because of that, Amy, Dan, and Nellie buy plane tickets to Tokyo, Japan. The book ends with Alistair Oh finding out who is owner of the tracking device that was placed on Saladin, and himself. That person is Grace's lawyer and friend, William McIntyre.

Book 3: The Sword Thief
The Sword Thief is the third book in the series, written by Peter Lerangis. It was released on March 3, 2009. The book starts with Dan and Amy in a Venice airport. There, Ian and Natalie Kabra steal their plane tickets and board a plane with their au pair, Nellie Gomez, who is already on the plane. Amy and Dan are then forced to team up with Alistair Oh and fly with him on his private plane to Tokyo, Japan. Together they learn about Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the greatest warrior in the history of Japan, and the son of the first Tomas, also focusing on swords stolen centuries ago by Japanese warrior Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Holts kidnap Amy, Dan, and Alistair and threaten them into helping them find the next clue.

The group then goes to a train station according to a lead and Dan and Amy nearly get hit by a train. However, Alistair pulls them into the room, saving them both. In this room, they find a haiku, which tells them to use geometry to find Hideyoshi's treasure. Later, they find some geometric shapes, but are chased by the Yakuza and are once again nearly killed. They are rescued by Nellie, who has struck a deal with, and is accompanied by, the Kabras. Ian gives Amy a small coin of importance to the search, after their hands brushed up against eachother in the car, hoping that this token can gain Amy's trust.

They decode another message in the shapes, and some English letters. The message tells them to go to Korea. In Korea, everyone goes to Alistair's house. There, Alistair announces that he is tired so he'll take a nap, then they all can search for the clue, Ian asks Amy if she wants to go in the maze with him, she refuses him since Alisair said no one should go wondering on the grounds, after a while, Ian comes out the maze screaming since Alistairs dog has bitten him on the bum, and ripped his trousers, he blushes infront of Amy, but quickly changes his attitude back infront of everyone else, since the screaming woke Alisair up, he gives them a clue to enter his secret library 'Why leave the factory when the workers are in their prime?', the Kabras automatically give up as they have no idea what time people work at, Amy is sure she has an idea, she figures out that 'why' sounds like 'y', when 'y' leave the factory, you get 'factor', then she notices the word 'prime', meaing 'prime factors', Dan quickly solves the puzzle, '5, 7, 11, 13', when timezed together, they get 5005. They are then welcomed into the Oh sanctuary. There, they look up books about the Cahill family in Alistair's secret library, this fascinated Amy and Dan since they've never been told before about their family, while the Kabras find it rather boring since they've known everything since they've been a child.

By reading one of them, Amy and Dan figure out that the secret of the 39 Clues is the secret to alchemy (philosopher's stone), also in one of the books they learn they have to go to a mountain called Pukhansan. While trying to find the mountain Ian offers a race between himself and Amy to a near-by boulder, to show she is strong, she accepts and beats Ian by a second, there they both stand on top of the boulder out of breath, Amy looks into Ians eyes seeing him from a different point of view, her example is changing the angle of a painting and finally understanding the meaning, she feels enbaressed and thinks Ian is laughing at her, but realises that his eyes are inviting her to laugh with him, her heart is racing as their faces are only inches apart, they soon get interupted by Dan who calls them 'Mr and Mrs Kabra', causing Amy to blush. While on the boulder Amy spots the mountain and they all start to head to it, they find an entrance, and open it with the coin they have, it causes the cave to rumble and a boulder to nearly hit Amy, but Ian runs over to save her and lands on top of her, he places his hands to lock with hers and re-adjusts himself so his lips are brushing up against Amy's, the dust clears and everyone gets up, Ian realises that instead of thinking about himself first, he thought about saving Amy first, which shocks and confuses him.

Inside, they find all of Hideyoshi's treasure, and the third clue, gold. The Kabras have a plan, but little do they know that Dan also has a plan. He discovers an anagram and says the next location is Lake Tash which he claims is located in Kyrgyzstan. The Kabras then betray them and seal them inside the cave, burying them alive. Dan begins to tell Alistair and Amy that he tricked the Kabras into going to a non-existent Lake Tash, but is interrupted by Amy. She realises that they are surrounded by charcoal and gunpowder. Using the matches Dan took from the Thank You Very Much Hotel, they blow up the cave. Dan and Amy make it out, but Alistair appears to be crushed under falling rocks, and is presumed dead. The cops arrive and Dan and Amy tell them about Alistair. They then see Bae Oh talking to The Man in Black.

Dan and Amy find Nellie and Saladin in the parking lot of the park. On the way back to Alistair's house, Amy tells Nellie what happened. When they get back, Dan tells Amy that the actual word is Alkahest, not Lake Tash, which is the word for the philosopher's stone. Amy then figures out that it isn't Alkahest, but instead, Al Sakhet. 'Al' means 'of' and 'Sakhet' was an Egyptian goddess. They learn that their next location is Egypt. Nellie suggests that Dan and Amy both go take a shower. Dan walks into Alistair's bedroom, and finds a pair of filthy white gloves on the bed. He realizes that Alistair is alive. At first he is extremely happy, but realizes that he ditched them again. The book ends with Bae Oh, sitting in his office. He pages his secretary, but Alistair answers instead. Alistair threatens his uncle, and when Bae looks in his receiving room, no one is there.

Book 4: Beyond the Grave
Beyond the Grave is the fourth book in the series, written by Jude Watson. It was released on June 4, 2009. At the begining of the book the two siblings are in Egypt and they run into Irina Spasky. After escaping her they manage to get a cab which brings them to the Hotel Excelsior. After asking for their name Dan says Oh accidentally and the clerk gives them a huge discount and the entire top floor. They eventually realize that the hotel is an Ekat stronghold and find three Sakhet statues with 2 of them having a computer representation of a drawing of a tomb inside of each which Dan memorizes. They then find out that the hotel belongs to Bae Oh, the head of the Ekats, who traps them in a cage of unbreakable plastic.

A little while later Nellie comes to save them by deactivating the cage with Saladin's help. Then while escaping the hotel they get into a car of a person called Hilary Vale, who turns out to be one of Grace's many best friends. They then receive a letter from Grace and a Sakhet statue identical to the one without the drawing. They then open the statue and take out a papyrus. On one side there is a poem from Katherine Cahill.

On the other they see one last different tomb from the other two identical tombs. Dan then draws the other two from memory, puts the sheets of paper together and sees the correct tomb which turns out to be the tomb of Nefertari. Then Theo, Hilary's grandson takes them there even though its under renovation because he's a tour guide. In the tomb they get lost and nearly killed by Irina but they manage to get out but are trapped on an island crowded with aligators by Jonah which they eventualy escape. The next day they found out that Hilary and Theo were against them and use them as a lure to send Irina elsewhere. Then they and Alistair find out that the clue is 1/2 gram but the rest is blotted out. They finally find the clue at an antique store- myrrh.

Book 5: The Black Circle
The Black Circle is the fifth book in the series, written by Patrick Carman. It was released on August 11, 2009. After receiving a telegram from a mysterious person known as 'NRR'. The telegram told them to go to a locker in the airport, but to come alone. They leave Nellie a note and leave. They are closely followed by Hamilton Holt. In the airport, they lose him, but then run into the Kabras. Dan makes a run for it but Ian grabs Amy quickly, but she then kicks him in the leg extremely hard. They make it to the locker in time to discover objects in a box left by a mysterious person going by the name of NRR. In the box there is a guidebook, disguises, passports, a snow globe, a credit card, a note with random letters on it, and a photo of their parents outside the Russian Embassy.

Dan and Amy unscramble the random letters and find out that the next clue(s) are in the following Russian cities: Volgograd, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and St. Petersburg. They board their plane quickly without Nellie and Saladin. Then they both fly to Russia, ending up in Volgograd. Here they meet and work with the Holts, climbing the inside of The Motherland Calls to discover a hint to the clue around Rasputin, Anastasia, and Alexei. They check out the cities on the list they found by the eye of the statue, buying a car in the process, leading them to the place Rasputin died.

During an attack by the Kabras, the Holts alert them of a location code which guides them to a Lucian base, the Kremlin. There, they discover who the mysterious NRR is; Nataliya Ruslanovna Radova, Anastasia's only daughter. They also find the clue in the Amber Room in the St.Petersburg Cathedral which has been given black circle clearance, meaning that only Lucians given permission directly from Vikram Kabra can enter. They then find the clue, a half gram of melted amber, and as Spasky catches them, the man in black bursts in, attacks Irina and the other Lucians, indirectly saving the duo. They call the Holts and tell them what the next Clue is, only for Eisenhower to call their alliance off.

Book 6: In Too Deep
In Too Deep is the sixth book in the series, written by Jude Watson. It was released on November 3, 2009. Dan and Amy head to Sydney, Australia to learn about what their parents knew about the 39 Clues from their dad's cousin, Shep. While going to his house, Isabel Kabra (in disguise) steals Amy's dragon necklace and runs. She then locks Amy in a recreation of a jail cell, which is in a museum, talks to Amy about the clue hunt and her children, especially how Ian still has feelings for her. Isabel Kabra has now joined the hunt. On the way out, Amy sees a picture of Bob Troppo, who they learn is an Ekat. Then they finally meet Shep, who feels guilty about not being there for Amy and Dan when their parents died, they like him straight away, but don't tell him about what they're really doing in Australia.

Amy is then cornered by Irina after Amy gets a call from Ian saying that he has information about the night her parents died, she tells her that no one but herself (Amy) can tell her who killed their parents, and that it is hidden in her memory. She runs from Irina and goes straight into a trap, and is fed lies by Isabel about the night her parents died. She was going to be thrown to the sharks by Isabel, you also notice that Ian is trying to fight agaisnt his mother and shows he has a mind of his own, Amy was then saved by Hamilton, who she realise is not that bad.

Then Irina starts thinking about her son Nikolai and how Isabel indirectly killed him and how she'll never do that again. Shep then takes them where their parents went and at one of them they go down a tunnel (also where Bob Troppo lived) to find a clue. It says ring of fire all around the cave. Isabel starts dropping spiders, snakes and other poisonous things into the hole with them. They eventually learn that the clue is at Krakatau (the ring of fire), where they meet Alistair. While trynig to leave, Isabel sets fire to their hut and Amy, Dan and Aliaster get out because Irina saved them, the three them noticed that they had respect for Irina, even though she did horrible things, Irina did the right thing in the end when it mattered. After, they look in the bag that Irina carried with her and find song lyrics, they then find out that the clue is water, the song also leads them to Pretoria and leaves. At the end of the book they start suspecting Nellie to be working for someone else.

Book 7: The Viper's Nest
The Viper's Nest is the seventh book in the series, written by Peter Lerangis. It was released on February 2, 2010. The search begins the morning after the fire that killed Irina Spasky. The two were shaken by what had happened and they could not believe that Irina was on their side. A few moments later, Nellie appeared, signaling the arrival of the police. It turns out that Isabel Kabra had called the police and put the blame of Irina's death on Alistair.

Meanwhile, after using their code breaking abilities, Dan and Amy figured that the last words Irina spoke was actually a song. "I'm with you and you're with me and so we are all together", which points them to their next destination: Pretoria, South Africa. Upon their arrival in South Africa, a mysterious man hands a postcard to the siblings which points to a connection to a famous person called Shaka Zulu. As they unravel the history of Shaka Zulu, they find out that he was a member of the Tomas branch. Following a line of clues, Shaka Zulu was then connected to Winston Churchill.

While visiting a library with a document written by Churchill, they discover that the clue was hidden with the body of Shaka Zulu. They also find a tunnel in which, it is said, that Churchill had hid while he was in Africa. To get the clue, Dan sent Amy to distract a guy who works there, Kurt, to play chess with, he's extremly good-looking, so Amy agrees, Dan goes into the cave that is unstable and gets a rubbing of the engraving, he gets out a shows Amy and Kurt what he found, Kurt thinks it is a bunch on nonsense since he doesn't understand a word of it, so Dan rips it up, but still memorises what was said, they unlocked the message of the Churchill which pointed to a certain coordinate which turned out to be a Tomas Stronghold. After infiltrating the Tomas stronghold they soon discovered a box with a diamond in it. The Tomas stronghold then come to attack Amy and Dan, they get rescued by another Tomas, who doesn't acre about the Clue Hunt, he then meets with his choir, which Kurt is apart of, Kurt takes Amys hand and everyone runs through the forrest, the Tomas catch up, but Dan tells the choir to sing in a circle, this causes the Tomas to cme around them at all angles, they suddenly all fall into a hole that wasn;t activated by everyone else since they were too light for it.

While leaving South Africa, Dan and Amy were captured by the Kabras. They were about to kill Dan when suddenly a professor, (who helped them at the Tomas Stronghold), saves them again. They escape together with what Dan thought was the vial of green liquid that they thought was their lead to the second clue in the Maze of Bones. They escape by flying Grace Cahill's old plane (The Flying Lemur). During the ride, Dan and Amy have a little quarrel, accidentally breaking the vial and spilling some of the contents onto Dan's arm. It turns out to be a Kabra poison. To get the antidote to save Dan, they fly to Grace Cahill's home in Madagascar.

While at Grace's Madagascar home, where they learn the clue is aloe, they find a page in her journal that says, ″I am feeling melancholy today, thinking about my dear A & H and missing them so. I cannot even bear to listen to my beloved di Lasso, because of the reminder...″, and on another page it says, ″I have written Deng Xiaoping, who has agreed to grant to visit to A & H when he discovered that they, like him, are M.". They try to figure what 'M' means, they wonder what the song has to with the Arthur and Hope, and discover that on the song it says 'Madrigal', which is also a type of song, they then realise, that their parents were Madrigals.

Book 8: The Emperor's Code
The Emperor's Code is the eighth book in the series, written by Gordon Korman. It was released on April 6, 2010. Amy and Dan go to China to find the next clue and "coincedentally" they are the only ones on the airplane who are watching a movie about the forbidden city instead of The Terminator. Unfortunately, they are not the first ones there, and meet Alistair Oh at the Beijing airport. He tells them that the Kabras and Holts are already in China after they refuses his offer at alliance. After coming from the airport they go to the Forbidden City in Beijing and discover that Emperor Puyi was a Janus. Dan finds a piece of silk fabric in an attic in the forbidden city, which holds a poem as well as the Cahill crest and the branch crests in a mathematical way: Lucian + Janus + Tomas + Ekaterina = Cahill, the poem says "That which you seek, you hold in your hand, Fixed forever in birth, Where the Earth meets the sky".

Amy then starts doubting their parents because they are Madrigals and she tells Dan that maybe they should be glad their parents are dead, which upsets Dan who runs away, getting kidnapped by Ian and Natalie Kabra. The Kabras put Dan in Jonah Wizard's lollipop factory after searching him and finding nothing. Jonah finds Dan and takes him around China. Amy and Nellie go to Jonah's concert, hoping for information on Dan's whereabouts. Jonah lies to them, saying he hasn't seen Dan. The next day, they read in the papers that Dan is indeed with Jonah.

As Dan and Jonah go to the Shaolin Temple, Dan learns Wushu and accidentally finds the remains of a burnt lab. Dan also finds a locket which holds a picture of a woman, who looks exactly like his mother but with clothes from a different time, which he keeps. Jonah's dad receives a message on his phone which the monk interprets correctly as the location of a terracotta warrior. Jonah calls Dan to go to the terracotta warriors museum. There they find a trap set by the Kabras. onah was going to leave but he came back for Dan at the last second, and Dan uses what he learned from Wushu to defeat the man. After return to the hotel room they meet Jonah's mother, Cora Wizard, claims Dan to be a Janus. Dan gets mad at the Wizard family after realizing that Cora was involved the night their parents die and leaves, screaming that he is a Madrigal.

Through television, Dan sees the Holts climbing Mount Everest. He thinks that the next destination might be there. Amy knows the next destination when she changed Puyi's room in the Great Wall following the feng shui requirements to achieve positive qi. She sees an image of Mount Everest projected on a wall. The Cahill siblings meet in front of the A-Star, a helicopter. After speaking with someone on Nellie's phone (she claims it's her uncle), the reluctant pilot flies both of them up Mount Everest and where they find a Janus vial left by British Cahill mountaineer, George Mallory, where they realise his famous quote 'Because it's there', did not mean everest, but the Clue. Eisenhower Holt and Ian Kabra catch up and they fight over the serum. Ian accidentally falls, Amy has a choice between saving the serum, or Ian, she chooses Ian as it is the right thing to do, but i disgusted with herself that she ever thought of thinking of saving the serum over a human being, this choice causes the Janus serum to break.

When Dan thought that they've lost the clue, Amy shows him the poem on the silk and tells him the next clue is raw silkworm secretion. They also realize that the formula on the silk means that all the serum of the branches add up to one master serum. Then Dan shows Amy the locket he found at the Shaolin temple and they see a name of a woman pirate named Anne Bonny. The next destination is the Caribbean.

Secret Message -BECAUSE IT'S THERE - On the crown -GM - Base of the right side of the helmet, near the ear, it stands for George Mallory who said the quote right above this sentence. -Henry - Somewhere in the left part of the background, beneath the left ear. Henry is the name that Emperor Puyi changed his name to after he moved out of the Forbidden Palace. -The encircled words in the book say "Madrigals are behind everything. They lay out the path the others will walk. The end is coming."

Book 9: Storm Warning
Book 9 Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park. It was released on May 25, 2010. Amy and Dan Cahill arrived at an airport and argued about where to go next, Jamaica or Bahamas. Dan convinces Amy to go to Bahamas, largely because he wants to go to a amusement park there. Dan tells Amy that he got a message from Hamilton saying that his dad knows where they are going next, which made them suspect Nellie immediately. Hamilton also says that for some reason (later revealed to be Anne Bonny) they are going to South Carolina instead. On the plane ride they corner Nellie and she admits that she works for William McIntyre, hurting Amy greatly and causing them to lose complete trust of Nellie.

They arrive at the Bahamas. They take a boat tour out in the ocean, when Amy invents the color Azturpealean(a combination of azure, turquoise, peacock, and cerulean). Dan and Amy receive a coded note from a stranger, which they unscramble, leading to the discovery of a cave, with the Tomas symbol, at the east end of the island. Dan retrieves a bear claw from the cave. When the tides rise Amy and Dan almost drown and Amy hits her head, which meant they had to go back to the hotel early. The three head to Kingston, Jamaica. In Jamaica, a woman named Miss Alice, also a friend of Grace's, has something to say to Nellie, Nellie finds out that her snake nose ring is actually a lock puzzle piece, but also that Grace hired Nellie especially for the Clue Hunt. Miss Alice also gives them a clue which send the three to a monument and find a strip with the words EKTOMALUJA.

After reading a list of items on the boat Anne Bonney was on, they notice that one of the objects was a jade dragon necklace, Amy's necklace. They then plan to steal a charm on Isabel Kabra's bracelet, believing it is vital for the Clue Hunt, they manage to knock Isabel out and steal the Wolf Charm. After that, they head out to the Port Royal excavation site with Lester (Miss Alice's grandson), then, they find a box (which was donated by Grace)that can fit all the things they have collected, dragon necklace (Ekat), Snake nose-ring (Lucian), Wolf Fang (Janus), Bear Claw (Tomas).

Isabel spots them and sends two hired thugs after them. The two men chase Lester and fall with him in a quicksand in the ocean. Lester saves the men but ends up dying. Lester's death has a profound effect on Amy and Dan, causing the siblings to decide that it would be better for everyone if they quit the hunt for the 39 clues and return to their Aunt Beatrice. However, instead of driving them to the airport, Nellie stops at Moore town, and gives the box to the Man In Black angering Dan and Amy. The Man In Black makes an agreement with Amy and Dan that allows the siblings one hour to open the box, he walks away saying in this game all sides are one and you'll need all of us to survive. After many tries, they figure out that on the strip they found that the MA in Tomas is really for Madrigal, the last branch, and the mobius strip was the all side are one hint because a mobius strip has only one side. Amy inserted the strip to the final slit and the box sprung open. It contained a poem by Madeleine Cahill and the clue, Mace.

The Man In Black reveals his true identity as Fiske Cahill, Amy and Dan's Great-Uncle and Grace's younger brother and tells them about Madeleine Cahill and the Madrigal branch, as well as granting the two active Madrigal status. He then also gives Nellie active Madrigal status even though she isn'r a Cahill by blood. After reading the poem, Dan concludes the siblings' next stop is England. There, they must finish the clue hunt and stop the other branches from fighting, as per their new status as active Madrigals.

Book 10: Into The Gauntlet
Into The Gauntlet, the one before the final book in the first series, was released on August 31, 2010, written by Margaret Peterson Haddix. In the book, all the teams come to the island of the original home of Gideon Cahill. Isabel Kabra captures them, and forces each of them to say their clues, by threatening to kill their loved ones. Amy saves them by smashing the serum over her head and knocking Isabel out cold. Amy and Dan are left with a list of everyone's clues in their hands, which each team gave them, "because they don't trust themselves around the serum, and the great power it wields." Dan and Amy end up winning the clue hunt the way Grace wanted them to, with everyone else wanting them to win. Also, secrets are revealed to Amy and Dan in letters from Grace. The Clues was the recipe for the master serum. The secret code is 'The Cahills aren't the only ones looking for the clues. The Vespers are rising.'

Secret Message- The clue to the secrets in pages 39 - 91 are found on page 329 which say "the cahills aren't the only ones looking for the clues. the Vespers are rising." also on the back of the book on the letter the code says "the vespers are coming"

Book 11: Vespers Rising
Vespers Rising serves as a transition between the first and second series. It is separated into stories of different Cahills (mostly Madrigals). It was written by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson. The book was released on April 5, 2011. It explains the history and the cause of the rivalry between the Vesper Family and The Cahills. It starts with a conversation between Damien Vesper and Gideon Cahill, they talk about Gideon's work to cure the plague, Gideon says he has found nothing, Damien doesn't believe him and drops a heavy object on him, which Gideon deflects but only leaves a bloody hand. Gideon accuses Damien of trying to kill him, but Damien argues that he knew Gideon would deflect it, Damien believes Gideon has created something that makes you more powerful. Gideon come home to see his beautiful wife, Olivia, and admiring her talents and beauty, he then looks at his four children and talks about their appearance and personalities, saying how they are exactly like their mother and himself. He sits them around the table and mentions that he has created a serum, Olivia does not look happy that he is telling the children who vary in age, Luke (23) is automatically curious about the serum, Gideon says there is not much time and gives the children a 1/4 of the serum each, Luke demands the whole thing, but notices there is something wrong with his father, he explains that the serum has made him become very ill, and that it slowly killing him from the inside. The children agree to take the serum and they'll leave in the morning. At night, Gideon goes to get his life's work, and possibly a updated version on the serum, but is interrupted by Luke from which Gideon had noticed had already taken his part of the serum, Luke tells Gideon that Damien and his men are approaching, Gideon tells him to run, as he does so. Damien walks in, and after an argument between the two, the lab sets on fire, killing Gideon, and possibly Damien. On the boat, the four children and wife see the explosion, Olivia starts to cry, and Luke goes ahead knowing that Gideon has died, after a lot of fighting the four children take separate ways, with Luke going on way, then Jane, then Thomas and Katherine going together. This leaves Olivia alone, with no one knowing she is pregnancy with a 5th child.

It also shows about the life and mission of Madelaine Cahill and her encounter with her brother Luke and Damien Vesper, the man who killed Gideon Cahill. It also fills in details about Grace Cahill's childhood and how she took the responsibility of a Madrigal by going on a dangerous journey during World War Two to retrieve Gideon Cahill's ring before a Vesper beats her to it. She had to steal it back from George S. Patton. It is mentioned in the story General Patton was a Vesper and he chose to battle at Casablanca for Gideon's Ring. The last story returns to present day with Dan and Amy. Fiske, Amy and Dan travel to Switzerland together to retrieve the ring of Gideon Cahill. They find the ring in Grace Cahill's chalet, but there were two Vespers trying to rob it from her. Their names are Casper Wyoming and Bruno. After they got the ring back for the Cahills, Amy becomes the new guardian of the ring, per Grace's instructions. She decides to leave it in plain sight, melting the gold ring for a gold circle on her watch, made by the best watchmaker in Geneva.

Series Two: Cahills vs. Vespers
The second series centers around the Cahiils, namely Dan and Amy, going against the Vespers, who have taken 8 Cahill family members hostage. This series is one again coathured with the authors being Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Linda Sue Park and two new authors: Roland Smith and David Baldacci. In the first book of this series (The Medusa Plot), the Vespers kidnap eight Cahills around the world and attempt to kidnap Dan and Amy ,but fail. The leader of the Vespers, Vesper One then instructs via a DeOssie phone Dan and Amy to steal Carragvio's Medusa painting from the Uffizi Gallery. Upon, giving the painting to the Vespers, the Cahills learn that the painting in the gallery was a fake and as a punishment Nellie is shot. The Cahills then learn theat the real painting was stolen by the Mud Angels in the '80s during Florence's flood. After capturing the real Medusa they realize that the painting is a map, which leads them to the original copy of The Travels of Marco Polo, located in the Colosseum. As this is happening, the Cahills in Boston head to the DeOssie phone factory to see how Vesper One obtained the spy phone, and end up triggering an explosion which blows up the entire factory. Afterwards, Dan and Amy go to a Florence circus for the drop-off, where the painting is stolen by a trapeze artist. A blackout shortly follows and the book ends with Dan and Amy talking to the dying trapeze artist who stole the painting while Vesper One sends them new orders.

The Black Book of Buried Secrets
The Black Book of Buried Secrets, written by Mallory Kass with an introduction by Rick Riordan, is a bonus book in the series, and was published on October 26, 2010. This book is about many of the secrets in the 39 Clues series never revealed before, including information about the five branches, the fire that split the original Cahill family, and the night Hope Cahill and Arthur Trent died. Mini-stories and reference stories are included, such as Isabel's trial and arrest, Bae Oh's assault on Alistair and Bae's arrest, as well as the time when Katherine stole Thomas's clue. It is the first 39 Clues book that uses color on its internal pages. Unlike the other books the book does not have a card pack inside. This book also gives some insight on the Vespers and the new book in the 39 Clues series: Vespers Rising.

Agent Handbook
The agent handbook is a look into the series that you can write inside of and has some additional information on characters, founders, and branches. The book also has places to fill out information that you have found while reading the series. It was supposed to be released together with Book Nine, but was released early at Barnes and Noble and is selling in Bogotá, Colombia and other countries.

E Books
There was a series of novels or ebooks that is available for download. It takes place before the series stars & during revealing new information about the family.

Rapid Fire
Reveals what led Grace to start hunting down the 39 clues.
 * 1:Legacy

Think you know what happened at Grace's funeral? Think again.
 * 2:Ignition

The Vespers are on the hunt for new recruits. Uncover the chilling plan to monitor the Kabras, the Holts, Jonah, & the Starlings & learn who they picked as the most promising Vesper...and future Cahill Traitor.
 * 3:Hunted

Ian Kabra's embarrassing secret is revealed.
 * 4:Crushed

Amy knows that the family needs to be prepared for the next Vesper attack & so organizes a training weekend. But a Vesper assassin has other plans.
 * 5:Turbulence

Atticus Rosenbloom's family secret revealed.
 * 6:Invasion

Amy & Dan gather the Cahill clan to celebrate New Year's.
 * 7:Fireworks

Agent Cards
Every 39 clues user has their own agent card. One agent card code for example is P32J67CHXP.

Book Cards
Every 39 clues hardcover book comes with 6 cards that unlock things online. Additional card packs are also sold and virtual ones may be obtained on the series website. Every book contains six different cards while card packs contain sixteen.

There are replicator cards, which on the website, you can redeem cards you do not have into your collection.

The cards have rarities: common, uncommon, rare, and ultra-rare. Ultra-rare cards can get you clues. Common cards can be found in books. The rare and uncommon cards can be found in card packs

Mobile app
Scholastic offers a game called Madrigal Maze for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch and also available on the Android Store. The app is currently only available on the Scholastic website. After finishing level 20 the player can enter their log-in information from the 39 clues website to unlock a Madrigal code card giving them the code and a coded message.

Website
On the official The 39 Clues website, fans of the series can create an account and win certain prizes if eligible. When a user creates an account, they become a "member" of one of the Cahill family branches, and will be able to interact with the online 39 Clues experience. They can also play "Missions" (games that are played by users to reveal clues) and load cards from the books onto their account by typing in the code from the cards. People can also play "games" at Arena 39. After playing games at Arena 39, medals can be won and transferred to the back of a members virtual personalised member card.

Film adaptation
Steven Spielberg acquired film rights to the series in June 2008. Spielberg and Scholastic Media president Deborah Forte will produce the series, while Brett Ratner, director of X-Men: The Last Stand and the Rush Hour film series, is interested in directing the first film. Screenwriter Jeff Nathanson, who worked with Spielberg on Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and with Ratner on Rush Hour 2 & 3, was hired to write in September 2008. The movie, titled The 39 Clues: The Movie, is going to be released in 2014. The film will be produced by Universal Studios, Spielberg's DreamWorks and Walden Media, the studio behind The Chronicles of Narnia film series, and distributed in North America by Universal Pictures and internationally by DreamWorks through Touchstone Pictures.

Awards
As of June 11, 2010, The 39 Clues series has been on the New York Times bestseller list of Children's Series books for 48 weeks. Books in the series have also appeared on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

Future releases

 * The 39 Clues: The Movie is scheduled to be released in 2014.
 * Cahills vs. Vespers Book 4 will be released in August 2012.
 * Cahills vs. Vespers Book 5 will be released in December 2012.
 * Cahills vs. Vespers Book 6 will be released in March 2013.