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What Could Go Wrong?
Everyone thinks Charlie is nothing but trouble, since bad things tend to happen whenever he’s around. But Gracie knows better.
Now both kids have the chance to fly with their other cousin Eddie from Seattle to San Francisco without any adults. Gracie’s father isn’t sure the trip is a great idea, but Gracie’s not worried. What could go wrong?
Then things begin to go wrong… very wrong! Is it just Charlie’s bad luck following them? Or have Gracie and her cousins stumbled into something more dangerous than they could have ever imagined?
Now both kids have the chance to fly with their other cousin Eddie from Seattle to San Francisco without any adults. Gracie’s father isn’t sure the trip is a great idea, but Gracie’s not worried. What could go wrong?
Then things begin to go wrong… very wrong! Is it just Charlie’s bad luck following them? Or have Gracie and her cousins stumbled into something more dangerous than they could have ever imagined?
178 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
5 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Willo Davis Roberts
121 books136 followersWillo Davis Roberts was an American writer chiefly known for her mystery novels for children and young adults. She won Edgar Allan Poe awards in 1989, 1995, and 1997 for best juvenile and best young adult mysteries. Her books included The View from the Cherry Tree, Twisted Summer, Don't Hurt Laurie, Megan's Island, Baby-sitting is a Dangerous Job, Hostage, The Girl with Silver Eyes, The One Left Behind and Scared Stiff.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 12, 2023
An enjoyable story much like many of Roberts' other books. They have some mystery, suspense and some sort of danger. Some of them are somewhat predictable though I like the way Roberts carries the story to its conclusion.
May 24, 2017
What Could Go Wrong is a mystery book about a girl named Gracie. She convinces her parents to let her and her cousins fly to their aunt's house all by themselves. Her and her cousins think the trip will be a breeze, easy come, easy go. They were very wrong. They accidentally get into trouble with some pretty rough criminals, and end up wanting to solve the crime that these criminals committed. When they try they get in even deeper trouble and have to find a way to get out of it. I really liked this book because it was very intense and a great page turner. I disliked the lack of character development, however.
January 16, 2021
*MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS*
My review is about, What could go wrong by; Willo Davis Roberts. So basically what happens in the book is. First there is this big family gathering and they just arrive. Gracie (main character) goes to find her cushions at the family gather. Days go by as there all chilling. Gracie's cousin charlie tells her that there fun aunt is flying her family members out to San Francisco, small groups at a time. The first group she was going to fly out to see was charlie, Gracie, and Eddie. So Gracie asks her parents if she could and they said yes. So after a couple days they get ready and head to the air port. They get dropped of there. every thing is fine they start heading to the plane. They bump into a old lady, and help her, and kind of become friends with her. They get on the plane. Then later there is a bomb threat they have to land in Portland. After awhile of being there the old lady (Mrs. basker) went to the bathroom and gift shop. The plane was starting to board and they couldn't find Mrs. basker. Then went to go look for on this one floor that you cant go to. They found her there laying there. She was still alive and the police and Doctors took care of her. The three of them got on the plane. Everyone was talking about them. When Gracie was going to the bathroom she started to connect the dots on who did it to Mrs. basker. She ran back to the boys and told them and started coming up to all these ideas. They landed in San Francisco. They called there aunt (molly) and it went to a message saying she would pick them up soon her friend needed help. So they had to think of a plan, because they think people are after them now. They start doing thing to find out why that happened to Mrs. basker. They find out codes and there about to go find out what its for. They find out its for a locker and in the locker is a brief case. As there about to open it they hear a voice. Its a agent wanting to talk to them about some people who were on there plane. But then they got a called from aunt molly and ran to it. The agent slowly disappeared. Then as they were taking to her the bad guys got them. They were taking them away. One of the bad guys leafed the room. After awhile the 3 kids started going off on the other one. Finally the agent came and found them. As he was about the question them there aunt molly showed up. They planned to have pizza at her place and get questioned there to. After that days past of the 3 kids and there aunt having fun. And in the end they find out what the bad guys were doing. The next time they went to visit there aunt was for her wedding.
I think this is a great book. The author really pulls you in when everything starts connecting. Like how this small details that you don't fully pay attention to ends up to be something big in the end. Its crazy how after a couple chapter you start to wonder whats going to happen next. Then the characters in the book start to pull in all this little things, and its amazing how thoughts things could lead to so much more. Its crazy that they were just trying to see there aunt but there in a deep situation. In the end I love how everything wraps up perfectly.
I totally remand this book. I love how all these little details in the book come together. I think this is a really good book for anyone, but mainly middle school kids should read this book. Its not really hard to read there is rarely a word you don't know. My favorite part was probably during the climax, when everything started coming together. I really liked it it wasn't confusing. Its just amazing how the author used all these little details at the beginning, and used them towards the end to kind of connect everything. This is probably my favorite book just cause I loved how everything came together.This book is a 5/5 stars would recommend go read it now!
My review is about, What could go wrong by; Willo Davis Roberts. So basically what happens in the book is. First there is this big family gathering and they just arrive. Gracie (main character) goes to find her cushions at the family gather. Days go by as there all chilling. Gracie's cousin charlie tells her that there fun aunt is flying her family members out to San Francisco, small groups at a time. The first group she was going to fly out to see was charlie, Gracie, and Eddie. So Gracie asks her parents if she could and they said yes. So after a couple days they get ready and head to the air port. They get dropped of there. every thing is fine they start heading to the plane. They bump into a old lady, and help her, and kind of become friends with her. They get on the plane. Then later there is a bomb threat they have to land in Portland. After awhile of being there the old lady (Mrs. basker) went to the bathroom and gift shop. The plane was starting to board and they couldn't find Mrs. basker. Then went to go look for on this one floor that you cant go to. They found her there laying there. She was still alive and the police and Doctors took care of her. The three of them got on the plane. Everyone was talking about them. When Gracie was going to the bathroom she started to connect the dots on who did it to Mrs. basker. She ran back to the boys and told them and started coming up to all these ideas. They landed in San Francisco. They called there aunt (molly) and it went to a message saying she would pick them up soon her friend needed help. So they had to think of a plan, because they think people are after them now. They start doing thing to find out why that happened to Mrs. basker. They find out codes and there about to go find out what its for. They find out its for a locker and in the locker is a brief case. As there about to open it they hear a voice. Its a agent wanting to talk to them about some people who were on there plane. But then they got a called from aunt molly and ran to it. The agent slowly disappeared. Then as they were taking to her the bad guys got them. They were taking them away. One of the bad guys leafed the room. After awhile the 3 kids started going off on the other one. Finally the agent came and found them. As he was about the question them there aunt molly showed up. They planned to have pizza at her place and get questioned there to. After that days past of the 3 kids and there aunt having fun. And in the end they find out what the bad guys were doing. The next time they went to visit there aunt was for her wedding.
I think this is a great book. The author really pulls you in when everything starts connecting. Like how this small details that you don't fully pay attention to ends up to be something big in the end. Its crazy how after a couple chapter you start to wonder whats going to happen next. Then the characters in the book start to pull in all this little things, and its amazing how thoughts things could lead to so much more. Its crazy that they were just trying to see there aunt but there in a deep situation. In the end I love how everything wraps up perfectly.
I totally remand this book. I love how all these little details in the book come together. I think this is a really good book for anyone, but mainly middle school kids should read this book. Its not really hard to read there is rarely a word you don't know. My favorite part was probably during the climax, when everything started coming together. I really liked it it wasn't confusing. Its just amazing how the author used all these little details at the beginning, and used them towards the end to kind of connect everything. This is probably my favorite book just cause I loved how everything came together.This book is a 5/5 stars would recommend go read it now!
December 18, 2022
Gracie is going on her first airplane trip, with her cousins Charlie and Eddie, to visit their Aunt Molly. A trip from Seattle to San Francisco seems like a nothing trip, and what could go wrong? Yes, what could go wrong? Everything.
June 25, 2024
Just a fun children's mystery story!
December 28, 2016
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
Thirteen-year-old cousins Eddie, Charlie, and Gracie practically have to beg their parents, but they are finally allowed to fly on their own to San Francisco to stay with their Aunt Molly. What is supposed to be a routine flight quickly turns suspicious, however, when the plane makes an unexpected landing, an old lady traveling with the kids is attacked, and two sinister characters keep following them around. Before they can enjoy their visit with their aunt, the three kids might just have to help solve a major crime!
Completely by chance, I saw the cover of this book on Novelist K-8 one day while I was searching for something else. Though I never would have thought of the book in a hundred years on my own, seeing the cover made me instantly snap to attention. I knew that I had read this book - and loved it - when I was a kid. I immediately logged into the library catalog and put it on hold. When the book arrived, I read it in one sitting.
As she does in most of her books, Willo Davis Roberts puts the three main characters in What Could Go Wrong? in unlikely but plausible danger. Though I found much of the story silly and predictable as an adult, I can remember being surprised by each new development when I read it back when I was in the target age group. Whether the events of the story seem believable or not is irrelevant, though, because the true appeal of the book is the idea that three kids could fight off criminals on their own, without any help from their parents or other adults in their lives. I think most kids like to imagine what they would do in a dangerous situation. This book takes those imaginings to their naturally exciting conclusion.
Re-reading this book was a pleasant experience, and it reminded me a lot of Kate Messner’s Capture the Flag, where a group of middle school-aged kids also solve a major crime in an airport. Though much of Roberts’s writing is outdated by today’s standards (this book uses the word “Oriental” to describe people on more than one occasion), the subject matter is still relevant and interesting to today’s kids. I don’t think that many kids will pick up this book, given its decidedly retro cover, but mystery readers desperate for a great crime story could probably be persuaded with a compelling booktalk.
Thirteen-year-old cousins Eddie, Charlie, and Gracie practically have to beg their parents, but they are finally allowed to fly on their own to San Francisco to stay with their Aunt Molly. What is supposed to be a routine flight quickly turns suspicious, however, when the plane makes an unexpected landing, an old lady traveling with the kids is attacked, and two sinister characters keep following them around. Before they can enjoy their visit with their aunt, the three kids might just have to help solve a major crime!
Completely by chance, I saw the cover of this book on Novelist K-8 one day while I was searching for something else. Though I never would have thought of the book in a hundred years on my own, seeing the cover made me instantly snap to attention. I knew that I had read this book - and loved it - when I was a kid. I immediately logged into the library catalog and put it on hold. When the book arrived, I read it in one sitting.
As she does in most of her books, Willo Davis Roberts puts the three main characters in What Could Go Wrong? in unlikely but plausible danger. Though I found much of the story silly and predictable as an adult, I can remember being surprised by each new development when I read it back when I was in the target age group. Whether the events of the story seem believable or not is irrelevant, though, because the true appeal of the book is the idea that three kids could fight off criminals on their own, without any help from their parents or other adults in their lives. I think most kids like to imagine what they would do in a dangerous situation. This book takes those imaginings to their naturally exciting conclusion.
Re-reading this book was a pleasant experience, and it reminded me a lot of Kate Messner’s Capture the Flag, where a group of middle school-aged kids also solve a major crime in an airport. Though much of Roberts’s writing is outdated by today’s standards (this book uses the word “Oriental” to describe people on more than one occasion), the subject matter is still relevant and interesting to today’s kids. I don’t think that many kids will pick up this book, given its decidedly retro cover, but mystery readers desperate for a great crime story could probably be persuaded with a compelling booktalk.
February 12, 2016
4.5 stars. Great story about 3 cousins who fly alone to San Francisco to visit their aunt. This is not your normal airplane and airport fiasco, this is a grip-your-seat, killers-on-the-loose suspense mystery. I would've loved this book in grade school and I could hardly put it down now.
I've heard that many of her books are similar in their feel and predictable, but since this is my first book by this author, I am just enchanted.
Likes:
* Stereotypical Dennis the Menace, cousin Charlie
* Sweet cousin Eddie
* Level-headed cousin Grace
* First airplane ride
* Charlie's ability to convince people to do what he wants
* Charlie's spirit of fun and adventure
* Charlie's imagination
Dislikes:
* Prissy girl cousin
* Mean boy cousin, Wayne
* If the adults didn't leave the cousins alone, all this would never have happened
With-reservations:
violence, suspense, used credit card, risked danger, stealing,
I've heard that many of her books are similar in their feel and predictable, but since this is my first book by this author, I am just enchanted.
Likes:
* Stereotypical Dennis the Menace, cousin Charlie
* Sweet cousin Eddie
* Level-headed cousin Grace
* First airplane ride
* Charlie's ability to convince people to do what he wants
* Charlie's spirit of fun and adventure
* Charlie's imagination
Dislikes:
* Prissy girl cousin
* Mean boy cousin, Wayne
* If the adults didn't leave the cousins alone, all this would never have happened
With-reservations:
violence, suspense, used credit card, risked danger, stealing,
May 24, 2023
On a trip to visit their aunt in San Francisco their plane is diverted. Cousins Charlie Eddie and Gracie get mixed up with suspicious thugs from the plane. Will they ever make it safely to aunt mollys?
Love this one just reread it and it still holds up. Willo’s books give me a cozy feeling when I read them.
Love this one just reread it and it still holds up. Willo’s books give me a cozy feeling when I read them.
October 3, 2009
A very... Strange story. Their aunt wouldn't of left them at the airport alone! And what happened to their luggage?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews