Title: Kensy and Max #1: Breaking News
Author: Jacqueline Harvey
Genre: Kid’s Fiction, Spies
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Published: 26th February 2018
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Price: $16.99
Synopsis: What would you do if you woke up in a strange place? If your whole life changed in the blink of an eye and you had no idea what was going on?
Twins Kensy and Max Grey’s lives are turned upside down when they are whisked off to London, and discover their parents are missing. As the situation unfolds, so many things don’t add up: their strange new school, the bizarre grannies on their street, the coded messages they keep finding and the feeling that, all around them, adults are keeping secrets . . .
Things can never go back to the way they were, but the twins are determined to uncover the truth!
~*~
Eleven-year-old twins, Kensy and Max are spirited away to safety in England while their parents mysteriously disappear. All they know is that their parents were in Africa running an aid program when they went missing. Now, in a mysterious house, where they, and their carer, Fitz, are staying before they go to London, secrets are kept, and they begin to find mysterious signs that indicate the people they are with knew they were coming and know them, have perhaps known them for years. Upon moving to London, they are again met with perfectly fitting clothes they have never seen, bedrooms that are exactly what they want, and shelves filled with all their favourite books – and new watches that hint to strange events yet to come. And then there’s school – where everyone seems to know more than they do, and where their friends act strangely. What is going on? The coded messages they start getting bring even more confusion and secrets, and it seems that even the people they thought they could trust are keeping something from them. Nothing will stop these determined twins from uncovering the truth and finding out what is going on.
Kensy and Max is a series that features strong characters that will appeal to all readers. Kensy loves taking things apart to see how they work, and can put them back properly, and is rather feisty, where her brother is the calm to her storm, and has a photographic memory. Both are clever enough to work out things aren’t quite right at times. It is quite a journey, and when Kensy and Max start to figure things out, the fast pace of the story moves along with a lot more excitement and intrigue, up until the reveal at the end, which leads into the next book in the series, due out later this year.
I really enjoyed Kensy and Max, and it is a promising start to a series that is aimed at all readers, and not a specific readership. It was a fun and quick read, and using the Caesar Cipher at the back, I was able to unscramble the chapter titles, although sometimes I got so into the story, I didn’t manage to do them all, but the ones that I did do were a lot of fun.
I must say that I am now hooked on Kensy and Max, and can’t wait to read more about them and their adventures in London and beyond!
