The Maze of Bones

The Maze of Bones

The Maze of Bones
Author	Rick Riordan
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The 39 Clues
Genre	Young adult fiction Adventure novel Mystery
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	September 9, 2008
Pages	220
ISBN
OCLC	192081902
Followed by	One False Note

The Maze of Bones is the first novel of The 39 Clues series, written by Rick Riordan and published September 9, 2008 by Scholastic. It stars Amy and Dan Cahill, two orphans who discover, upon their grandmother Grace's death, that they are part of the powerful Cahill family, whose members constantly fight each other for Clues, which are ingredients to a mysterious serum. The novel has received generally positive reviews.

Many of the well-known names in history are said to be part of the real-life Cahill family, making it "the most powerful family in the world." Amy and Dan, the main protagonists, currently live in Boston, Massachusetts in an apartment with their Aunt Beatrice. Names such as Marie Curie, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Napoleon Bonaparte, and George Washington were all part of one of the four family branches—the power-hungry Lucians, the strong and sporty Tomas, the inventive Ekaterinas, and the creative Janus, as well as the Madrigals. Dan and Amy are warned to "beware the Madrigals," but what the Madrigals are is not revealed in this novel. While most of the characters in the book know which branch they belong to (as shown throughout the series), the main characters do not.

The story begins with Grace Cahill lying on her deathbed requesting William McIntyre, her lawyer to change her will to the alternate version and dies soon after it is changed. After he is sure she is truly dead, a "man in black" steps out of the shadows and talks with McIntyre.

The main characters, Amy and Dan Cahill, are then introduced. They are Grace's grandchildren going to her funeral at her mansion with Grace's sister and their guardian Aunt Beatrice. Right before the funeral Amy and Dan run into the Holts. The parents, Eisenhower and Mary-Todd, and their children, Hamilton (fourteen), Madison and Reagan, (eleven), turn Dan upside down. Then a non-random selection of many Cahills, including Amy and Dan, are called away in a private meeting for the will reading. Also called away are the Holts, the Kabras (nicknamed the Cobras); Ian (fourteen) and Natalie (eleven), Alistair Oh (inventor of microwaveable burritos), Irina Spasky (ex-KGB agent), The Starling triplets (Ned, Ted, and Sinead), Jonah Wizard (famous rapper host of the reality TV show "Who Wants to be a Gangsta"), Aunt Ingrid, and Aunt Beatrice. William McIntyre shows them a video of Grace Cahill telling them they're 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. Then the Kabras try to discourage them from taking the challenge. They are told by Mr. McIntyre that Abraham Lincoln, Harry Houdini and Lewis and Clark, among others, are Cahills. In the end, Amy and Dan chose the chance and receive a sealed envelope which contain a clue, they are the last ones to accept the challenge. The Holts, Alistair Oh, Starlings, Kabras and Spasky all accept the challenge. The envelope says: "Resolution: The fine print to guess. Seek out Richard S_."