Storm Warning

The 39 Clues #9

by Linda Sue Park

Amy and Dan travel to the Caribbean in search of a Clue related to one of Jamaica’s most notorious outlaws — female pirate, Anne Bonny. Recent evidence suggests that Bonny was a Madrigal. They’re on the right trail, but the Madrigals, led by the Man in Black, are finally poised to strike.

Genres: Mystery, Adventure, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Audiobook

Paperback

First published May 25, 2010

About the author

Linda Sue Park is a Korean American author of children's fiction. Park published her first novel, Seesaw Girl, in 1999. To date, she has written six children’s novels and five picture books for younger readers. Park’s work achieved prominence when she received the prestigious 2002 Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard.

Reviews

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

so this isn't really a four star book in comparison to what i usually consider four star books. but compared to the other books in this series - which i can't stop reading despite some seriously sub-par offerings - it is. by which i mean it's probably the best book in the series. not in small part because stuff actually happens and you start getting answers to the questions that have existed since the series began. and there weren't so many ridiculous situations and the characterizations didn't suck. so, yay.

[Moon_child31 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vast improvement over the last two installments in the 39 Clues series, "Storm Warning" finally reveals the mystery behind both the Madrigals and what Nellie Gomez has been up to since the clue hunt began.

This time, Dan and Amy Cahill are off to the Caribbean, searching for clues about the pirate Anne Bonny and other historical figures of the area. "Storm Warning" has a good pace and none of the clue hunting seems to rushed as it was in the two previous books in the series. I loved learning more about Nellie, as well as seeing Natalie Kabra getting some more pagetime as well.

I'm still a little worried how they're going to wrap everything up in one more book, but the ending to "Storm Warning" explains all of that pretty clearly. All-in-all, a great book to rev up excitement for the last book in the series!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. One of the best books in this series yet! Things are finally coming together and being revealed as Dan and Amy race around the world - this time in the Caribbean - against relatives on the hunt for the 39 clues. The narration's viewpoint shifted between a few of the characters, so we got to see how others were feeling, and there was excitement mixed with danger and red herrings. The author was one of the better writers, too, which made the reading super quick and smooth. The reveal at the end was clever and made sense of much of the plot of the series so far, so I'm eager to see how the next book ties it all up!

[Anastasia Antonova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Это был залп. Я проглотила восьмую и девятую книгу в кратчайшие строки. И если восьмая была так себе, то девятая это чертова отдушина. Какое там развитие сюжета! А расскрытие некоторых тайн! Просто фантастика. Читала я с удовольствием, не отрывалась от книги ни на миниту. И это с учетом того, что делалось это на работе, в самый разгар рабочего дня. Не жалею.
Я уже предвкушаю что будет в последних книгах, ибо все идет к финалу. Но еще до сих пор не были упомянуты Весперы, что удивительно. Ведь о них будет побочная серия. Впрочем, это еще одна причина быстренько прочитать оставшиеся части.

Итог: 10 из 10

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I persevered this far. The identity of The Man In Black* is revealed. At great cost, Dan and Amy and their au pair Nellie learn the secrets of the Madrigal opposition to the Cahill family.

* no actual relation to The Princess Bride.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok I think the little audiobook bonus material has convinced me to read cahills vs vespers again next year 👀 14-year-old abby is back and she is thriving

[BBogiA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Már kezdtem elveszíteni a reményt hogy belesuppedunk es minden konyvnek ugyanaz már a tematikája, de a végén lévő csavar miatt muszáj mégis folytatnom, de tény és való a végén kívül nem a legizgalmasabb kötet a sorozatban.

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaki plot twist na końcu! <3. Coraz bardziej nie mogę się doczekać rozwiązania tej historii.

[Devanshi Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best 39 clues book I have ever read and that is saying something.
That's why it deserves the 5 stars I gave it, though I really mean to give it 4.5 stars.
I did not expect this book to be so good, I did not expect to get so engrossed in it ,or feel so much excitement over it. I did not think a 39 clues book would make me feel this way. But with this book I think Linda Sue really pulled it off.
When I pick up a 39 clues book I do so for a light reading and to have mindless fun. But oh boy this book offered me much more than an average 39 clues book.
Spoilers
We finally get to know about the whole Madrigal business and it has started to make sense! Also don't me started on Lester. It was so unexpected! Till the last second I was expecting some doctor to come over and say that he is not dead. These things are not expected from 39 clues! He was an innocent person and quite calm in the face of danger and his death just made me so sad... I couldn't believe it. I do not pick up a 39 clues book expecting to get sad over unexpected innocent deaths! But oh boy!

[Dany · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT

Other ratings:

1. Maze of Bones - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. One false note - 🌟🌟🌟
3. The Sword thief - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
4. Beyond the grave - 🌟🌟🌟
5. The Black Circle - 🌟🌟 🌟1/2
6. In Too Deep - 🌟🌟1/2
7. The Viper's Nest - 🌟🌟🌟
8. The Emperor's Code - 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was never wrong about Nellie ♥️♥️♥️

[brienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad that Lester died :(

[Lacivard Mammadova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bu seriya mənim üçün təcrübədir. Birincisi, bir neçə hissəli kitabları sevmirəm və onlardan qaçıram, ikincisi müəlliflərin hər kitabla dəyişməyi faktı çox maraqlı gəlmişdi. Və indiyə kimi +- ssenarini çıxıram, heç vaxt müəllif faktoru yayındırmırdı. Yanlız bu kitabda hiss olundu, elə ilk səhifədən sanki hamını dəyişdirmişdilər, hamı birdən-birə daha cəsarətli, inadkar oldu. Yox.. belə olmamalı idi.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to give a generic review of the series. Basically because I'm lazy and don't want to write 39 reviews. Okay, 11.

We finally read Book 1. And then because we liked it so well, the entire series. One son (age 12) has read them all, the second son (also age 12) is on Book 2. And son #3 (age 8) will be starting as soon as he finishes his current book.

I thought the premise of this book very interesting. I loved how they integrated history and geography along with problem-solving skills and code cracking. Add in the action, humor and intrigue and kids (and some adults) can't put them down. All three of us that have read 39 Clues thought Book 2 the weakest of the series. But as one son said, after finishing the series, "Gordon Korman seems to be getting better. I think he's a decent author now."

Some of the books are better at teaching the history part, others just barely skim the surface and you don't really learn about the person they're 'highlighting'. I appreciate that they're clean books - no curse words or you-know-what going on. There is some violence (very little, if any, blood) and several murder attempts, but they never work.

The series would most likely be called twaddle by my Charlotte Mason friends. I do, however, think it has more redeeming qualities than most kids literature and I'm happy to see my boys devouring a book every day or so.

[Isaiah the Ox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh. I hate this book. That's why I rated it 5 stars. I hate this book so much I love it. I LOOOVE Linda Sue Park's writing in this book. It's written incredibly well. The entire death of Lester left me holding my breath until the end of the chapter. Rereading this series has been fun, especially after reading the horrible ending to the next series. The death of Lester was taken really well- having a whole chapter or two with just the characters dealing with the death. I enjoyed finally understanding who the Man in Black was, who the Madrigals really were, as well as more information about what the next book will hold. I really loved this book and would say it and the next book are my favorite 39 Clues books.

[Tjoganich7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan and Amy want to find the next clue to their clue hunt, but some people are getting in the way of things like the man in the black suit, Natalie and Ian, and possibly Nellie too. So, Dan and Amy try to keep their secrets (clues) to themselves, and with help from Nellie, Dan and Amy get to the places they needed to go like the Caribbean. Then Dan and Amy find a clue that changes their whole life, the clue that tells what branch of the family tree they are in, but in order to open it they need smaller puzzle pieces to fit the big puzzle. This story is about trust and loyalty. This was one of my favorite books to read the series, it had me gripping my sheets when I stayed up to read it in bed, and I am sure you will have the same reaction too.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the better books in this series...maybe I'll read more by Linda Sue Park. But anyway, this book explains many things that I had questions about before. Without giving too much away, I can't say much more. However, I'm starting to have serious doubts on whether they will be able to put a solid, worthy ending on this series in just one more book. There is just so much going on...and I'm hoping that Book 10 is a good, final piece like with Harry Potter. If it's anti-climatic, I'm going to be highly disappointed.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book showcases lots of satisfying reveals as we near the end of the journey. But somehow not so much heart or excitement. It's not that there weren't emotional scenes, adventure betrayals, love, sacrafice, danger, etc., but it felt a little distanced and simplified compared to some of the books. There was an enjoyable amount of girl power in the book though, both from historic figures and our heroes.

I'm just hoping that the last book isn't too much of perfect ending. The series has shown an admirable willingness to show many sad results from greedy and selfish behaviors. I hope it doesn't get swept under the rug to enable an unrealistic happy ending.

[Max.d · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars because this book is filled with mistery. You never know what is going to happen next. In this book right now they are going to decide weather to go to the bahamas or Jamaca. Nellie is one of the main character she wants to go to the bahamas becuase she thinks there are alot of pirates there. She also wants to find some treasure. Mr. McIntyle is not convinced he wants to go to jamaca and lay and the beach and mostly tan. Mr. McIntyle is Nellies drivers he takes her to places where she wants to go and that is all he does basacly. But the 39 clues books are good books and I am going to keep reading more and more of these books and I suggest that you read some too.

[Quinn Akin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book 39 clues is an amazing book! It is an immature reading for me but I love it! The whole story line keeps you incredibly captured.

The story is about a pair of brother and sister (The Cahills) who after their grandmother died left their whole family a scavenger hunt for the 39 clues. There are four branches to the family and Dan and Amy are trying to figure which they belong to. While on the hunt they discover fascinating things about their family history and themselves. Who will win the hunt?

I would recommend this to any boy or girl of any age who enjoys action filled mystery books. I honestly think many teenagers would enjoy this too. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

[Lady Flo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems that books are turning to be easy to fathom. No more complicated trips, journeys, messages or notes. So far I guess it was the most interesting and important book in the series; Revealing secrets of Nellie Gomez, the man in black ( now in gray whose name is Fiske Cahill ), and Madrigals. For centuries Cahills thought the family consisted of four branches: Ekat, Lucian, Janus and Tomas. Noone knew about Madrigals and yet was afraid of them. In fact, they descended from Gileon and Olivia's fifth child, Madeleina Cahill, who was born after the fire in the laboratory and noone was aware of her.
Book had such a happy ending, except the death of Lester.

[Michael Perrino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book is the best book in the series and that the whole series is really coming together and I am starting to understand and learn more things that I did not understand in the beginning of the series.

[Minh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had finished it! So great! Madrigals!!!!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, it is on like Donkey Kong now!

[Ocean Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO MANY PLOT TWISTS

[San To · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda Sue Park did an amazing job in the penultimate book to the first arc in the series; it had some of the most powerful and enthralling moments yet.

I would also like to give a shoutout to the audiobook narrater, David Pittu. He does an amazing job every time, and in this book we got to see new levels of his emotive and accent range. How does he do all the accents so well?

Ratings for rest of the books: 4 or 5 except for the one where they go to Russia, I rated that one a 3.

SPOILER PART OF THE REVIEW
The parts that stood out for me was the Isabel scene, the beach scene, and the car drive scene. The car drive scene in particular had some of my favorite writing in the series.

My only nitpick was the part there Nellie kidnaps the kids and the man in black threatens to hurt Saliden. This seems to be something deeply unethical, and I wasn't satisfied with their explanations. Sometimes in literature there are some ethically dark grey moments and it turns out the character is ethically very dark, I don't think that'll be the case in this book. It also sends a bad message to kids, since many kidnappers know the kids that they are kidnapping, and all kidnapping experts always advice never to let kidnappers take you to a second location; anything that they can do in the present location, they can do in the secondary location and also they have more advantages. It was also tricky to imagine Nellie kidnapping the children. I think the author was trying to reconcile the betrayal/trust no one theme with some of the plot points she had crafted. The kidnapping plot point resulted in some powerful moments, but ultimately those moments were a bit cheapened for me at the end. Maybe because of where the story was going and what the editors wanted from this story, there wasn't any strong alternatives. But for me, it took me a bit out of the reality of the book, and I had to realize it is a flaw, not everything can be a slam dunk, and move onto the next book. Would be 5 stars but 4 for that one flaw, though the good parts, are really good.

Looking forward to reading the finale of this arc in a month or so.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***

After the events in China, the Cahill siblings feel they have no choice but to confront Nellie, because they’re sure Nellie isn’t what she claims to be and they need to know exactly what kind of enemy might be among them. Even though they were expecting it, it still blows them away when Nellie confesses to be working for Mr. McIntyre. Along the search for the clue Nellie has become the only family they had and now she’s confessed that they can’t trust her and she’s been sharing their secrets all along. Feeling betrayed and heartbroken, the trio journey to the Bahamas and Jamaica, following the trail of Anne Bonny, the pirate from the locket. But with Isabel Kambra hard on their heels there isn’t time for heart break if they intend to survive. With no one but each other to trust, will Amy and Dan survive the islands?

Like with my previous few reviews, I wrote one review and posted a rating on goodreads after first reading it, but alas that original review was in a notebook that grew legs and ran away. So I reread the book for the purpose of review and I’m sticking with the original rating because I believe books are bast rated after first reading. That and regardless of the fact I like to write reviews I don’t like rating books So I’m not putting myself through making that decision twice.

As with all the books in this series, the story presents a wealth of information in the form of a thrilling adventure. This one however shares history on a topic no child could resist – pirates! Following the clue hunt is more than just an adventure for readers, it’s a lesson in history and geography that will hopefully inspire young readers to search for more information on the topics they’re given a taste of in this tale. What’s wonderful about how the information is presented here though is that children don’t even realize they’re learning as they read about Amy and Dan’s adventures in the search for the 39 Clues. The book is a well written close third person with multiple view points and fast pacing. Though filled with information, danger and adventure, this book actually focuses more on the characters. We learn about the clue hunt, but we also learn about how the lives of the Cahills and even their au pair have been maneuvered practically since birth to prepare them for the clue hunt they currently face. Learning this gives all of them a sense of disillusionment added to their au pair’s betrayal it opens us up to more of Amy and Dan’s sensitivities. The characters become even more real as they don’t come across as just adventurers here, they come across as children whose whole world has been torn apart by these events. One thing I didn’t like is that in some ways the characters weren’t as true to form as they’d been in the other novels, Dan’s always been the computer geek while Amy’s into books. Dan’s kind of the hands on puzzles kind of guy while Amy’s the book smart serious worry wort. Or at least that’s how it’s been in the other novels. In this book there’s a scene where Dan correct Amy’s terminology and Amy’s downloading stuff on the computer. Amy’s making up crazy words and Dan’s worrying more than normal. I mean they weren’t completely out of character but it just seemed sort of switched around. The book is filled with action and answers we’ve been searching for throughout the clue hunt are finally revealed which is awesome, but with all the characters introspectiveness and the way they choose at one point to attack rather than defend it’s a little different from other books in the series. Usually Amy and Dan don’t seek out their Cahill relatives, they run from them, in this novel they turn the tables which is unusual but it also goes along with what they’re learning about the historical figures presented in this book. Though each character undergoes a lot of introspection, it doesn’t slow down the plot in anyway because there’s more than enough danger, action and adventure to keep the pace moving along quickly.

Like I said above though it has a lot of everything else, the focus of this book is the characters and it includes a lot of introspective moments which allow us to better know the characters and those characters to grow. Amy and Dan have their quirky moments which I mentioned about but are otherwise true to form and gain a new depth in this novel when faced with their au pairs betrayal and how to deal with that. Nellie is torn between her alliances to the children and to her employer. She’s on the outside and she doesn’t know how to get back in and there’s a big part of her that doesn’t care about the job anymore, just the kids. We see her character really grow in this novel as she sees how the Cahill children weren’t the only ones molded for the clue hunt, she was as well. She reflects on how Grace affected her life and how she in turn has affected Amy and Dan’s. Another thing I really enjoyed was seeing into Natalie Kambra. Natalie hasn’t had a lot of spotlight in the previous novels and we start to understand why she is like she is, and how she rationalizes her behavior. She’s starting to question her mother’s action and then berate herself for doing so and there’s a lot of internal struggle going on for this character. I think for the first time ever Natalie actually becomes a little girl as a character rather than just another villain. She’s finally human and that’s kind of impressive.

Overall this was an excellent addition to the 39 Clues Series and like always I recommend to readers young and old and am excited to get to the next title.

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was literally a three star read due to it sadly being a lot of boring filler and exciting but uneventful incidents. That is until literally the insane plot filling, dynamic and full throttled ending that gave at least an instant half star boost right there. I do wish we would’ve gotten a bit more pirate ship action, that being said I was still very captivated if just a little less so than its predecessors.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5