Rating: 
-
Need a good summer read? Try The Case fo the Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett. It's a great mystery with nonstop action featuring young Steve Brixton who has a national treasure to find, secret agent bad guys to outwit and cops who want to get their cuffs on him. There are plenty of laughs, secret passages and funny disguises along with the thrills in this fun book! As a fan of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, I loved the references to the Bailey Brothers and the old fashioned type pictures.
Rating: 
-
I really wanted to like this book. From the blurb that tells about the book on the inside cover, it sounded like a great read. Well, I was wrong.
The Plot: Steve is an amature detective, and a darn good one. When he has to do a school report on something he doesn't want to do one on, his life soon changes, and not for the best. Soon, the government, and ninja librarians are after him. They think that he's a super spy on a dangerous mission for the invisible Mr. E. Steve has to rely on his skills as a detective and his knowledge of the The Brixton Brothers mysteries to help him. That's all I really want to say on the plot. I don't want to give to much away.
This book falls short on so many levels. First, Barnett has a strange writing style. He uses a lot of parentheses when he writes, and it's very distracting. He'll be going along (then have something like this) then continue with the story. As I said, it's very distracting and annoying. He also used, "aka" a lot. For example, "Carol aka my mother" this is done many times at the start, and it grew on my nerves.
I also didn't like the main bad guy. When you find out who the bad guy is, and why they did what they did, I found that very weak and sort of a cop out. It was just over the top silly.
If you have boys that you want to get hooked on reading, then I'd say start with this series. I'm sure they'll love it. I do plan to tell my students about this series. For me, it just falls short.
This is just a Hardy Boys wannabe.
Rating: -
my 9 year old and I adored this book - we couldn't read it fast enough and she can't wait until tomorrow to tell her friends/class about this "MUST READ!"
Rating: -
My 10 year old son isn't one to get into a book. Not for lack of my trying: I've got a huge children's library and have introduced lots of different genres. "The Brixton Brothers" is a GEM. My son devoured it like nothing since "Skinnybones". A perfect combination of action, adventure, and humor, "The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity" is an engaging read for 3-5th graders. The brillant tounge-in-cheek humor and great story line makes this a kind of "National Treasure" -like entertainment. We look forward to many more!!! From this first installment, I would characterize "The Brixton Brothers" as: Barbara Park's take on "The Hardy Boys" with a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" spin." Love it.
Rating: -
This book is so much fun to read. It is smart and suspenseful and unexpected. I am no longer a kid, so I read it in one sitting, but it reminded me of all the books I lost myself in as a child. Unlike so much literature for kids, this book assumes that kids are smart. I highly recommend it for readers of all ages, and think it will open kids up to a world they will not want to leave...
In association with Amazon.com
