The Secret Cipher: A Humorous Magical Adventure About Cousins and Family Rivalry for Kids (Ages 8-12)

Secret Box #2

by Whitaker Ringwald

The Secret Cipher is the sequel to The Secret Box, a rollicking adventure full of family rivalry, magic, questing, and laugh-out-loud humor that's perfect for fans of Dan Gutman, Wendy Mass, and Trenton Lee Stewart.

Jax Malone and her cousin Ethan Hoche were not expecting one of Jax's birthday presents to contain a dangerous magical object from a mythical an urn with the dark power to suck hope out of the world.

Though the first urn is safely hidden, there are two more urns that could rid humanity of both faith and love. And powerful enemies who want to find them and use them to control the world. Now, even though they were never meant to open the present and discover its secret, Jax and Ethan must race to find and destroy the two remaining urns before it's too late.

Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fiction, Mythology, Mystery, Childrens

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2015

Reviews

[907mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I won The Secret Cipher from Good Reads; this is my honest opinion of the book. Its obvious this book follows another in a series as references are made to the prior book, but the story can stand alone without someone having to read the beginning book first – but I expect reading in order would add to the readers understanding. The overall effect is a junior Indiana Jones type story, but with 3 teen/preteen kids narrating from their own points of view throughout. The author’s ability to tie in everyday normalcy into a mythical adventure makes you question the possibilities. I’d recommend The Secret Cipher to any adventure loving thrill-seeking reader around the ages of 8 or 9 and older. Whitaker Ringwald’s writing has the ability to keep all ages of readers connected and interested in the story.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do I love this middle grade series so much? Well, for starters there is a strong smart girl who is co-protagonist of the story. The whole book is an action-filled drama with lots of danger. Then there's the fact that it involves ancient gods and some ancient artifacts, and a puzzle of a sort that needs solved. The story is so well written and I kept getting surprised through the twists and turns. I can say for certain that Ethan, the boy protagonist of the series, is more than just shy. He exhibits most of the symptoms of an autistic child- nervous around people, scared when there are loud noises, but very intelligent.

In this story, Great Aunt Juniper has a stroke and ends up in a nursing home as a "Jane Doe", she can only half remember a magic urn filled with Love that she was going to retrieve from its hiding place. In book #1 they rescued an urn filled with Hope. A third urn, filled with Faith, is currently in the hands of an evil man who is using it to lull people while he robs banks. The kids know that they have to find Love, keep Hope safe, and acquire Faith before they are unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. To help them is the original owner of the ancient urns, Pyrrha.

The books alternate between the point of view of Jax, the girl, and Ethan, the boy, who are cousins, while they are having the adventure. I strongly recommend this series to anyone who loves mysteries and smart puzzles. I can't wait to buy book #3.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read book #1, and was able to figure out the story. Jax is a strong willed young lady who doesn't always act like a girl. She and her cousin Ethan, who's overly cautious, are on a quest to return magical urns to the Greek realm, where they belong. Pyrrha is part of the story. (In Greek mythology, Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora.)

[Emily Sarjeant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the best. I think anyone could read this book. It is adventures and mysterious but the only problem is that the cipher is easily cracked. So the whole book is bout Jax and her past. Not the cipher. Other wise this book was awesome!!!! It is diffidently worth reading.

[Ginny Kaczmarek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series. The interactions among the characters are delightful, and the reveal of new characters and a deeper plot kept me turning pages.

[Alison West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book, lots of action, kind of ended with an abrupt halt.

[Meshach Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret Cipher is the second book in The Secret Box series of three. The book is based on Greek mythology. I have not read the first book, which is The Secret Box. I look forward to reading that and the third book in the series, which is The Secret Fire. I enjoyed reading this book. It has adventure and it has history in it! I think the author did a good job at sharing the feelings of the characters with the reader.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jax, Ethan, and Tyler return in a second adventure. Since they returned the urn of hope to their great-aunt, things have been quiet. But then a mysterious girl shows up at a comic book store where Tyler in taking part in a tournament, they get a phone call that an unidentified woman had a stroke and had Jax's phone number on her, and Jax gets emails from the father she has never met.

The kids learn that the urn they found was one of three and an evil genius named Ricardo wants to gather them all so that he can rule the world. They need to find the other urns before he does. Searching for it takes them to a comic book convention complete with Klingons and a myriad of other costumed characters.

Like the first book, this book is also told in alternate chapters by Jax and Ethan. But this time, Tyler gets a couple chapters too. All of the characters reveal themselves in their chapters. I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for Ethan who is cautious, shy, and anxiety-ridden. I like the way he tries to be the voice of reason between fantasy-obsessed Tyler and hyperactive Jax.

The story is fast-paced and inserts just the right amount of mythology for a middle grade audience. My only complaint is that the ending is a major cliffhanger and now I have to wait for the next book.

[Aparajitabasu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original Link to the review at my blog Le' Grande Codex - here

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Jax, Ethan and Tyler return for yet another adventure. Jax's birthday present changes their lives. All those stories are true. The Greek Mythology holds true. The Gods exist and most of all certain things, myths of legends are real and are powerful beyond all imaginations. The urn of hope maybe safe but two more still remain. Faith and Love. Two more urns that may just be more powerful than their third counterpart.

I'd say the author did a decent job expanding on his universe. There is a definite character development evident in this sequel. Jax is a bit more cautious, although still very much the energy freak. Cousin Ethan is still the factoid geek but a bit more confident and Tyler, still the designated driver. Things just have escalated now. Godly intervention is expected now that those urns have come to light and secrets from the past reveal the potential for even great changes. An action-packed sequel and a fast page turner ..... We are more than invested to learn what the fate of our heroes is and what happens next.

"A quick and fast paced sequel"

[Penny Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret Cipher was a really good book. Although the mythology stuff kind of messed with me. Like when you find out (spoiler alert) that Ricardo is Pandora's husband. It seems to slightly ruin the thought that everyone is just a regular person. All I can think is if all these regular people are actually from Greek mythology who will Juniper, Jax's dad, and Jax's whole family turn out to be? Tho only other complain I had was how to book ended. Now its obvious that it will be continued, but it ended so-o abruptly that it will leave readers dissapointed. I can understand an author getting tired of writing a certain book and just wanting ti get it published, but I really feel that he could have closed it slightly better. But, hey who knows maybe he stopped there so he can start on the 3rd one now and make it super-duper long. That would be awesome! Well, I hope you enjoy the book,keep in mind to read The Secret Box 1st though.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure that the first book was okay because the kids kept doing illegal things. But the story was pretty interesting in the puzzle that they had to solve, and the involvement of Greek mythology.
This book continues the story as Jax and cousins Ethan and Tyler try to reconnect with Aunt Juniper. A bank robbery has markings of urn use all over it and the kids think the bank robber has the urn of hope. When they see Juniper, they find out that the bank robber is using the urn of Faith.
The kids meet up with a girl, who is so perfect that she must be part of a Greek myth. The girl takes the urn of Hope to Zeus and helps the kids to locate the urn of Love.
Jax has some trouble at the end and we are left with a cliff hanger ending.

I like the puzzles and Greek mythology of this series.

[Alton kinchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

weird i couldnt understand any
of it.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an ARC from the publisher.

[NVTony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author is hitting pace with this second in series. Characters seem to have more depth. Story is a fun read for mystery, fantasy fans of all ages.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a good stand-alone book.

[Jacque Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Awesome mystery book that will make you wonder a lot of things in the book. *no spoilers* The one thing i didn't enjoy about this was that it LEFT ME ON A CLIFFHANGER!

[Baera]

I liked this book, I think it leaves you in suspense most of the time. It's very intresting, great for anyone who needs a little adventure.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good. The ending is a cliff hanger, so I must read the 3rd book to see how it ends. Though, I suspect I already know..

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book did not disappoint.
There was a little review that would help struggling readers.
Excellent series for those who want a fast pace, unexpected adventures and learning new things.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 2 of a 3-book series.
This second book finds our teen investigatory team searching for two more objects to compete a set of mysterious items that could change the world. Jax Malone, and her cousins, Ethan and Tyler meet a new character who helps them continue the wandering path that leads to interesting places and sometimes, danger.

A road trip to a different city this time while they are followed and often contacted by their nemesis, Ricardo. Mom is not mentioned very often in this installment and Dad is pretty busy with his business this time around, so the kids don't have much trouble going on short jags to continue their saga.

As in the first book, the chapters are named for one of the three adventurers and presented from their individual points of view. Their quest continues in the conclusion book three, The Secret Fire. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys light reading mixed with a little history.