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Disney Descendants: School of Secrets #5
Carlos's Scavenger Hunt
The School of Secrets series of chapter books continues the story of Mal and her friends, plus new Villain kids and Auradon kids. Enjoy these all-new tales of mystery, magic and adventure from the world of the hit movie Descendants 2!
189 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 14, 2017
83 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Brody
60 books2,819 followersJessica Brody is the author of more than 20 novels for teens, tweens, and adults including The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, Amelia Gray is Almost Okay, A Week of Mondays, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, the Unremembered trilogy, and the System Divine trilogy which is a sci-fi reimagining of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, co-written with Joanne Rendell. She’s also the author of the #1 bestselling novel-writing guides, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel as well as several books based on popular Disney franchises like Descendants and LEGO Disney Princess. Jessica’s books have been translated and published in over 20 languages and several have been optioned for film and television. She’s the founder of the Writing Mastery Academy and lives with her husband and three dogs near Portland, OR.
Visit her online at JessicaBrody.com or WritingMastery.com. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram @JessicaBrody
Visit her online at JessicaBrody.com or WritingMastery.com. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram @JessicaBrody
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 17, 2018
i loved the book it was kind of sad and cool at the same time!
February 2, 2024
This is the last book in the series. I really enjoyed the series. I think that the author did an amazing job bring in the characters to life.
August 7, 2019
A great builder in terms of the Descendants universe!
Personally, I am not that huge on the Descendants Franchise. This probably has to do with the fact that I am a young man, and its demographic is not mine 😂 However, I have seen all three films so I thought I would see if the book(s) were good? 😂
Carlos is one of the most dull characters in the films. He does not do much in any of the three of them and is definitely a side character. This is why I chose his book to read.
Carlos is craving to be a leader. He is always following other people’s commands and finally wants the spot light. Just before he left the Isle of the Lost, his mother, Cruella De Vil, gave him a magical dog collar. This collar will make whoever wears it able to command others like a dog.... I’m not surprised this isn’t in the movie 😂
Carlos wants to be a leader of this years Scavenger hunt. Therefore, he ‘uses’ his dog collar on the Fairy Godmother to make himself a leader of a team. His team consists of Jane and Evie as well. However, after losing constantly, Carlos uses his dog collar to command others to give him what he wants.
This is really out of character for him compared to the movies. He admits he did wrong and hands the collar to the Fairy Godmother. But.... she still lets him continue with the competition. 😃
This is great for children as the message of being a leader and leadership is really valuable and easy to pick up with this book. This book is also easy to pick and read anyway, containing nothing that is too hard for its demographic to understand.
Finally, Carlo’s team wins and have their names put into stone. The fact he doesn’t want to be captain but says that it was a team effort helped the message of this book.
Overall, I actually kinda enjoy this book 😂 it certainly isn’t anything fancy for me. But for fans of the Descendants franchise, it would probably be worth a read.
3/5 Stars
Quick Note: They add a lot of random new characters in this book. I had to look up who they were!
Personally, I am not that huge on the Descendants Franchise. This probably has to do with the fact that I am a young man, and its demographic is not mine 😂 However, I have seen all three films so I thought I would see if the book(s) were good? 😂
Carlos is one of the most dull characters in the films. He does not do much in any of the three of them and is definitely a side character. This is why I chose his book to read.
Carlos is craving to be a leader. He is always following other people’s commands and finally wants the spot light. Just before he left the Isle of the Lost, his mother, Cruella De Vil, gave him a magical dog collar. This collar will make whoever wears it able to command others like a dog.... I’m not surprised this isn’t in the movie 😂
Carlos wants to be a leader of this years Scavenger hunt. Therefore, he ‘uses’ his dog collar on the Fairy Godmother to make himself a leader of a team. His team consists of Jane and Evie as well. However, after losing constantly, Carlos uses his dog collar to command others to give him what he wants.
This is really out of character for him compared to the movies. He admits he did wrong and hands the collar to the Fairy Godmother. But.... she still lets him continue with the competition. 😃
This is great for children as the message of being a leader and leadership is really valuable and easy to pick up with this book. This book is also easy to pick and read anyway, containing nothing that is too hard for its demographic to understand.
Finally, Carlo’s team wins and have their names put into stone. The fact he doesn’t want to be captain but says that it was a team effort helped the message of this book.
Overall, I actually kinda enjoy this book 😂 it certainly isn’t anything fancy for me. But for fans of the Descendants franchise, it would probably be worth a read.
3/5 Stars
Quick Note: They add a lot of random new characters in this book. I had to look up who they were!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2018
Still enjoying these Descendants books for kids! This one was a little predictable with the contest but it still gave off a good message. I started this book and only read a few pages a few days ago. Then I picked it up today and breezed right through it. It's a very quick and easy read that I think all fans will enjoy!!
April 29, 2024
This book is both interesting and exciting. This is a fun addition to the series, it offers an entertaining and heartfelt adventure. For me, it has an interesting plot, well-developed characters, and positive themes. This book tells the story of a school holding a scavenger hunt and they are divided into teams to complete it. I personally like the ending, where Carlos' team won, Carlos and his friends celebrate their victory and reflect on the lessons they have learned. They weren't too confident about winning, but they still tried their best. It made me realizes the importance of friendship, leadership and loyalty. Carlos learns to believe in himself and his abilities, growing stronger and more confident in the process. I read this book when I was in elementary school. Took me few years to read this book as I was bored to read it at first as I didn't understand what it was talking about. But when I tried to understand the book better, I enjoyed the book.
February 23, 2018
I really liked this book. It was a easy read. I love that it helps kids understand the meaning of the word "leader" and "leadership." Also how it lets the reader know to always be yourself and to be nice and kind to others and your friends.
June 5, 2019
****SPOILER ALERT
I Loved this book! It was very fun to read. It was unpredictable to me. The end was such a surprise! I never would have thought that boy would make Carlos win! In the beginning,i have to say,i felt bad for Evie till I realized what happened.
I Loved this book! It was very fun to read. It was unpredictable to me. The end was such a surprise! I never would have thought that boy would make Carlos win! In the beginning,i have to say,i felt bad for Evie till I realized what happened.
January 17, 2018
So It was the best book ever and he does use the coller but then forfiet the game because he cheated. So sad it was the last book.
May 22, 2018
I really enjoyed this book! It was a lot of fun.
February 14, 2020
A great story of friendship and leadership! I enjoyed reading this with my 6 year old.
May 16, 2021
It was cute. My daughter and I loved the focus on Carlos, who is such a great character.
Read
May 27, 2021I like that Carlos, Jane, and Evie work to together to find the things on the list
November 28, 2023
This is surely a side of Carlos you don't get in the movie
February 21, 2024
It was delightful! It made me happy 😊
September 5, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this book series, it was definitely like being inside the descendants movies but like more in depth
Read
October 27, 2025My favourite out of these 5 spin-off books.
February 27, 2025
Carlos Scavenger Hunt
Just before leaving the Isle of the Lost, Carlos mother (Cruella Deville) gives him a magic, dog, collar that gives the wearer the power to give commands and have them obeyed. Carlos not thinking he’ll need it puts it away with the rest of his things and forgets about it.
A scavenger hunt is announced at Auradon Prep and Carlos finally sees his chance to be the leader and not just the guy everyone comes with advice or technical matters. Because he doesn’t think he has a chance of getting picked and it will probably go to Jane (Fairy Godmother’s daughter) he decides to give the magic, dog, collar a try. And what do you know he’s chosen.
The first prize will be a stone with the team leader’s name carved in it (to go with the other past winners) in the courtyard. The other members of the team are Jane and Evie. Carlos sets off to find every item on the list (in chronological order) and finds the first two items with ease. Yet Evie is distracted and once they get to the third (posing in the window of Belle’s boutique) they miss their chance to distract the shop owner, she catches, them and they have to leave.
They fall behind a little more when they stop to help a fan boy of Carlos’s whose crying at the train station, where they’re supposed to snap a shot of a Charming train ticket. Frustrated and running out of time, Carlos uses the dog collar on two of the more impossible events 1) Getting Grumpy to pose for a selfie 2) Getting Lumiere’s recipe for “the gray stuff”. But Jane notices the dog collar when Carlos trips. He reluctantly confesses and feels guilty (because he likes her).
So, he goes to Fairy Godmother to eliminate himself. But she tells him the magic didn’t work on her and she already saw his leadership abilities from the start and how much the students liked him. So the hunt is back on. Evie daringly secures a piece of front from a hazel berry tree outside Carlos’s dorm by finding the perfect pair of shoes and balancing herself on the roof.
With minutes left Jane confesses she knows about one of the items (a violet pixie fork) because she saw a jar full of them when she interned for Carlotta Potts. But she didn’t think Carlotta liked her very much because she never gave her a compliment. Upset because of his feelings for Jane, Carlos storms off to get Jane the compliment she deserves (or rather give Carlotta a piece of his mind). But it turns out Carlotta was just absent minded. She thought Jane was one of the best assistants she ever had and gives her one of the forks as a reward. Carlos’s team wins because an unexpected item was gained and not noticed. The lady boy at the station was wearing a old Aradon Prep gym shirt that belonged to his father.
My Thoughts:
I liked the hunt items. They were very creative. I thought maybe they should be given until the end of the day to secure them all though. And I had to wonder why Tiana and Naveen’s daughter or son wasn’t created as a student. But I won’t go there on a rant. Though it does give you something to think about. She could have easily gotten the recipe for Tianna’s gumbo (or he). I knew the boy would be important later in the story. I knew he had one of the items, but I was thinking there would be a ticket in either his hand or his mother’s hand in the shot-and that would count-. So I didn’t see the tee-shirt reveal coming. I think Carlos showed great potential as a leader in this. He just needed to listen to what his other team mates had to say once and a while. Several times Evie spoke up and he shut her ideas down. I know a little something about being a team leader and you never know what great contributions your team while make if you give them a chance. You may not agree with everything they say, but you have to be open minded. Evie may have actually known a way to get the selfie, and they could have gotten the hazel fruit sooner and had more time to get some of the other items. But it all worked out in the end.
Rating: 7
Just before leaving the Isle of the Lost, Carlos mother (Cruella Deville) gives him a magic, dog, collar that gives the wearer the power to give commands and have them obeyed. Carlos not thinking he’ll need it puts it away with the rest of his things and forgets about it.
A scavenger hunt is announced at Auradon Prep and Carlos finally sees his chance to be the leader and not just the guy everyone comes with advice or technical matters. Because he doesn’t think he has a chance of getting picked and it will probably go to Jane (Fairy Godmother’s daughter) he decides to give the magic, dog, collar a try. And what do you know he’s chosen.
The first prize will be a stone with the team leader’s name carved in it (to go with the other past winners) in the courtyard. The other members of the team are Jane and Evie. Carlos sets off to find every item on the list (in chronological order) and finds the first two items with ease. Yet Evie is distracted and once they get to the third (posing in the window of Belle’s boutique) they miss their chance to distract the shop owner, she catches, them and they have to leave.
They fall behind a little more when they stop to help a fan boy of Carlos’s whose crying at the train station, where they’re supposed to snap a shot of a Charming train ticket. Frustrated and running out of time, Carlos uses the dog collar on two of the more impossible events 1) Getting Grumpy to pose for a selfie 2) Getting Lumiere’s recipe for “the gray stuff”. But Jane notices the dog collar when Carlos trips. He reluctantly confesses and feels guilty (because he likes her).
So, he goes to Fairy Godmother to eliminate himself. But she tells him the magic didn’t work on her and she already saw his leadership abilities from the start and how much the students liked him. So the hunt is back on. Evie daringly secures a piece of front from a hazel berry tree outside Carlos’s dorm by finding the perfect pair of shoes and balancing herself on the roof.
With minutes left Jane confesses she knows about one of the items (a violet pixie fork) because she saw a jar full of them when she interned for Carlotta Potts. But she didn’t think Carlotta liked her very much because she never gave her a compliment. Upset because of his feelings for Jane, Carlos storms off to get Jane the compliment she deserves (or rather give Carlotta a piece of his mind). But it turns out Carlotta was just absent minded. She thought Jane was one of the best assistants she ever had and gives her one of the forks as a reward. Carlos’s team wins because an unexpected item was gained and not noticed. The lady boy at the station was wearing a old Aradon Prep gym shirt that belonged to his father.
My Thoughts:
I liked the hunt items. They were very creative. I thought maybe they should be given until the end of the day to secure them all though. And I had to wonder why Tiana and Naveen’s daughter or son wasn’t created as a student. But I won’t go there on a rant. Though it does give you something to think about. She could have easily gotten the recipe for Tianna’s gumbo (or he). I knew the boy would be important later in the story. I knew he had one of the items, but I was thinking there would be a ticket in either his hand or his mother’s hand in the shot-and that would count-. So I didn’t see the tee-shirt reveal coming. I think Carlos showed great potential as a leader in this. He just needed to listen to what his other team mates had to say once and a while. Several times Evie spoke up and he shut her ideas down. I know a little something about being a team leader and you never know what great contributions your team while make if you give them a chance. You may not agree with everything they say, but you have to be open minded. Evie may have actually known a way to get the selfie, and they could have gotten the hazel fruit sooner and had more time to get some of the other items. But it all worked out in the end.
Rating: 7
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2021
I liked how the gym t shirt was on the boy who they helped out.... showing the rewards of just helping without anything in return 3.5
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews