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39 Clues Graphic Novel #2
One False Note
The second installment in the mega-bestselling The 39 Clues series, now in graphic novel form!
Amy and Dan made the choice of a lifetime when they gave up a million dollars in favor of a Clue and joined a competition unlike any the world has ever seen. After barely escaping Paris with their lives, now they're in Vienna to discover the truth about their famous ancestor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the long-buried secrets connected to his equally talented but overlooked sister, Nannerl.
But with their enemies closing in, Amy and Dan must decide how much they're willing to risk to find the clues, and who they're willing to betray in the process...
Amy and Dan made the choice of a lifetime when they gave up a million dollars in favor of a Clue and joined a competition unlike any the world has ever seen. After barely escaping Paris with their lives, now they're in Vienna to discover the truth about their famous ancestor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the long-buried secrets connected to his equally talented but overlooked sister, Nannerl.
But with their enemies closing in, Amy and Dan must decide how much they're willing to risk to find the clues, and who they're willing to betray in the process...
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2024
49 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Korman
249 books4,431 followersGordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 26, 2024
Good. Waiting for the next 26 installments 🫤
Gonna be here a while.
Gonna be here a while.
May 5, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In this second book in the graphic novel adaptation of the 2008 Scholastic series written by a variety of middle grade authors (the first being Riordan's The Maze of Bones), Amy and Dan Cahill find themselves in Vienna, trying to solve the mystery that their aunt left. They are accompanied by Nellie, their au pair. They think a clue is leading them to Mozart, but because other family members are also trying to get the inheritance, they are attacked by the athletic and vicious Holts. When researching and visiting Mozart's house, they realize that the sheet music they have includes an extra line, and also that Mozart's sister Nannerl's journal is missing two pages. Jonah Wizard is on tour and conveniently in the same town, and they think that he has stolen the journal pages. They realize that the extra line plays the tune for an old folk song "The place where I was born", so head to Salzburg. When visiting Nannerl's tomb, they see the Man in Black, and end up in an abbey chased by monks! When they have a moment to rest with Nellie, they find that Saladin, their aunt's cat, had a chip in his collar. They manage to relocate that chip to their Uncle Alistair's cane when they steal a paper from him. They follow Jonah to Venice and locate the missing journal pages, racing away in a stolen boat once they get them. They hide the pages in a seat cushion to keep them dry, but get separated from them. They end up on the Kabra's yacht, but a boobytrapped piano key causes a huge explosion. After that, they find samurai swords, so the next book should take them to Japan.
Strengths: Amy and Dan are very sympathetic characters, and I definitely want them to be the ones to get the inheritance, since most of the other relatives are rather evil and buffoonish. Nellie is understandably irasicible, but ultimately helpful. The graphic novel adaptation makes it much easier to understand what the European cities look like. The historical ties are interesting, and might encourage readers to find out more about the people and places mentioned. I'm curious as to how many books in the series will be adapted into graphic novels. I only have the twelve books from the first series; there are five spin off series that I didn't buy because of the fragility of the paper-over board format.
Weaknesses: These books have a lot of coincidental occurences, and lucky escapes. They have nonstop action, which makes them popular with young readers, but also makes it hard to keep track of everything that is going on.
What I really think: There aren't very many graphic novels that are exciting adventures, so this is a good choice for readers who liked Horowitz's Stormbreaker in this format.
In this second book in the graphic novel adaptation of the 2008 Scholastic series written by a variety of middle grade authors (the first being Riordan's The Maze of Bones), Amy and Dan Cahill find themselves in Vienna, trying to solve the mystery that their aunt left. They are accompanied by Nellie, their au pair. They think a clue is leading them to Mozart, but because other family members are also trying to get the inheritance, they are attacked by the athletic and vicious Holts. When researching and visiting Mozart's house, they realize that the sheet music they have includes an extra line, and also that Mozart's sister Nannerl's journal is missing two pages. Jonah Wizard is on tour and conveniently in the same town, and they think that he has stolen the journal pages. They realize that the extra line plays the tune for an old folk song "The place where I was born", so head to Salzburg. When visiting Nannerl's tomb, they see the Man in Black, and end up in an abbey chased by monks! When they have a moment to rest with Nellie, they find that Saladin, their aunt's cat, had a chip in his collar. They manage to relocate that chip to their Uncle Alistair's cane when they steal a paper from him. They follow Jonah to Venice and locate the missing journal pages, racing away in a stolen boat once they get them. They hide the pages in a seat cushion to keep them dry, but get separated from them. They end up on the Kabra's yacht, but a boobytrapped piano key causes a huge explosion. After that, they find samurai swords, so the next book should take them to Japan.
Strengths: Amy and Dan are very sympathetic characters, and I definitely want them to be the ones to get the inheritance, since most of the other relatives are rather evil and buffoonish. Nellie is understandably irasicible, but ultimately helpful. The graphic novel adaptation makes it much easier to understand what the European cities look like. The historical ties are interesting, and might encourage readers to find out more about the people and places mentioned. I'm curious as to how many books in the series will be adapted into graphic novels. I only have the twelve books from the first series; there are five spin off series that I didn't buy because of the fragility of the paper-over board format.
Weaknesses: These books have a lot of coincidental occurences, and lucky escapes. They have nonstop action, which makes them popular with young readers, but also makes it hard to keep track of everything that is going on.
What I really think: There aren't very many graphic novels that are exciting adventures, so this is a good choice for readers who liked Horowitz's Stormbreaker in this format.
August 25, 2024
These are just so fun!
September 5, 2024
How is the second book so much better than the first! *checks* Huh. Different artist AND author, huh? That said, I really do like the cuter style! (even if Saladin is... rather big)
I don't remember at this point if the puzzles are that much more clever or anything, but I DO know this was a blast to read! Even if a lot of the things I complained about in my prior review showed up again, they DID do something about one of them: ! That's the kind of cleverness I like to see!
I did think it a bit weird for Amy to chide Dan about forgetting everything that Grace told him, considering his whole thing is having photographic memory. I figure it was a one-off from having so many different hands touching the story, though. Heck, that's my jam, so I absolutely would NEVER forget which of my characters can remember LITERALLY EVERYTHING!
Actually, probably why I like this one so much is Saladin steals the show, haha. So much cat! Tempted to get a cat now and call him (or even her) Saladin!
Recommended for fans of the series, naturally!
I don't remember at this point if the puzzles are that much more clever or anything, but I DO know this was a blast to read! Even if a lot of the things I complained about in my prior review showed up again, they DID do something about one of them: ! That's the kind of cleverness I like to see!
I did think it a bit weird for Amy to chide Dan about forgetting everything that Grace told him, considering his whole thing is having photographic memory. I figure it was a one-off from having so many different hands touching the story, though. Heck, that's my jam, so I absolutely would NEVER forget which of my characters can remember LITERALLY EVERYTHING!
Actually, probably why I like this one so much is Saladin steals the show, haha. So much cat! Tempted to get a cat now and call him (or even her) Saladin!
Recommended for fans of the series, naturally!
September 3, 2024
I handed my 10-year-old an advanced reader copy of One False Note, which is the second book in the 39 Clues graphic novel series, on a recent camping trip, and she read it “at least 15 times” during our vacation. It’s pretty much all she wanted to read. Here’s her review:
One False Note continues the journey of Dan, Amy, Nellie (their au pair) and Saladin (the cat).
I like how they get ahead of the other teams on their quest for finding the power of the Cahills. It’s an adventure mystery. But it’s easier to read if you’ve read the first one (The Maze of Bones).
I loved the first book. I love graphic novels. I wanted to find out if Dan, Amy and the rest of the team succeed.
The Maze of Bones was written by Rick Riordan and illustrated by Ethan Young. One False Note is written by Gordon Korman and illustrated by Hannah Templer. I like how they traded off the authors and illustrators. I wanted to see how different people imagined the characters, see what different styles they have.
My favorite part is when the kitty — who has been on a hunger strike for a bunch of weeks — finally gives in, and he likes it: “Gobble Gobble Snarf Snarf Snack.”
One False Note continues the journey of Dan, Amy, Nellie (their au pair) and Saladin (the cat).
I like how they get ahead of the other teams on their quest for finding the power of the Cahills. It’s an adventure mystery. But it’s easier to read if you’ve read the first one (The Maze of Bones).
I loved the first book. I love graphic novels. I wanted to find out if Dan, Amy and the rest of the team succeed.
The Maze of Bones was written by Rick Riordan and illustrated by Ethan Young. One False Note is written by Gordon Korman and illustrated by Hannah Templer. I like how they traded off the authors and illustrators. I wanted to see how different people imagined the characters, see what different styles they have.
My favorite part is when the kitty — who has been on a hunger strike for a bunch of weeks — finally gives in, and he likes it: “Gobble Gobble Snarf Snarf Snack.”
March 12, 2025
✰✰✰✰✰ / 5
I love everything about this — the art style, the story, and the way it captures the magic of the original. Just a stellar graphic novel adaptation all around. I loved these books as a kid and they’re just as good today! Can’t wait for the next installment.
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I love everything about this — the art style, the story, and the way it captures the magic of the original. Just a stellar graphic novel adaptation all around. I loved these books as a kid and they’re just as good today! Can’t wait for the next installment.
my instagram // my book tiktok
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January 22, 2024Love that this series is now being released in graphic novel format! Loved that one was takes us to Vienna and Venice!! My students really enjoyed the first book and have been asking me when the second book was coming out and I can't wait to let them know it's coming soon!
September 11, 2024
I once again love that they kept most of the things from the original book but the small changes that they added worked well too since they added to the story and changed it just enough for the book to be slightly better than the original.
October 7, 2024
more action and adventure this time in Vienna and Venice!
October 9, 2024
I loved the Marie Antoinette quote being a message between Mozart and Ben Franklin. I haven't read the books and do have a few questions regarding plot and I am enjoying the graphic series.
November 8, 2024
The artwork is superb, but I was burnt out and bored with this one after a while.
April 24, 2025
This series is great, but I’m confused about the author. The first in the series was by Rick Riordan.
May 1, 2025
Enjoyed looking forward to more.
May 17, 2025
I didn't like this one as much as the first one
May 19, 2025
That was fun game clubs in Vienna to discover the truth about their famous ancestor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for searching this music.
July 1, 2025
I kind of get it, they changed authors in the original series for each book, but I don't think that means they should be changing illustrators. It's not totally jarring but it was a little jarring.
November 29, 2025
Grab some Mozart or stream a classical music channel as a perfect reading soundtrack for this volume in the series!
March 13, 2025
Rating: 3 / 5 Stars
A good and faithful adaptation of the original.
A good and faithful adaptation of the original.
November 6, 2024
Meh, It was good writing but some of the plot twists made no sense and it was over all not engaging.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews