This Book Is Not Good For You (The Secret Series) [Hardcover]

Pseudonymous Bosch (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: The Secret Series

Between the pages of this book lies the secret to the best-tasting chocolate in all the world. I promise, your taste buds will tingle. Your palette will sing! Oh no, have I accidentally tempted you to read this book? I will warn you, however, the most delicious things are never good for you...and this story is particularly scrumptious!

In this tooth-rotting adventure, Cass's mom has been kidnapped by the evil dessert chef and chocolatier, Señor Hugo! The ransom...the legendary tuning fork. Can Cass and Max-Ernest find the magical instrument before it's too late? Will they discover the evil secret ingredient to Señor Hugo's chocolate success?

If you're tempted, take a taste, but just remember...this book is not good for you.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

At the center of this third book in the Secret series is the Tuning Fork and its mystery. Cass, Max-Ernest, and Yo-Yogi find themselves involved in a great “chocolate” mystery. Sinister Señor Hugo, great experimenter of chocolate, and the infamous Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais hold Cass’ mom as hostage as they seek the secret of immortality. Bosch again intersperses the story with warnings for readers and gives footnote explanations about types of chocolate. Ford’s hauntingly humorous illustrations provide brief intermissions in the story. Although there is no secret code to unravel, fans of the first two books will find this sequel satisfying. Grades 4-7. --J. B. Petty

Review

Praise for The Name of This Book Is Secret
"Equal parts snarky and delightful." (Booklist )

Praise for If You're Reading This, It's Too Late
"Laugh-out-loud funny." (School Library Journal )

Praise for This Book Is Not Good for You
"Lemony Snicket-like humor and decoding puzzles through research and handy gizmos...will not disappoint loyal readers." (VOYA ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031604086X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316040860
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pseudonymous Bosch is the anonymous pseudonymous author of the Secret Series. Not much is known about him other than that he has a passionate love of chocolate and cheese and an equally passionate hatred of mayonnaise. Rumors of Boschian sightings are just as frequent and about as reliable as reports of alien abductions. If you ever meet anyone claiming to be Pseudonymous himself he is almost certainly an impostor. The real Pseudonymous is said currently to be hiding in a cave in a remote jungle (although there are contrary reports that he is somewhere in Greenland). You may contact him through his website www.pseudonymousbosch.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome-Sauce Book, November 7, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: This Book Is Not Good For You (The Secret Series) (Hardcover)

Readers. You are about to enter a journey of your lives. This book is not only funny but suspenseful. It will make you read and read until you parents scream "Go to sleep!" I select this book to everyone but mostly peoples that love adventure books and funny ones. P Bosch has created another beauty.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Deliciously Great", September 13, 2009

By 

Happy Mom, Happy Daughter - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Book Is Not Good For You (The Secret Series) (Kindle Edition)

Just like the other books, this book will not disappoint you. This book is quite funny and filled with adventure. Though aimed mainly towards children, I think any adult would also agree. <3

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scads of Twists and Turns and a Playful Tone, November 30, 2009

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Book Is Not Good For You (The Secret Series) (Hardcover)

Cass, Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji are back in another installment of the Secret Series. As oath-bound members of the Terces Society, the trio once again battles Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, the evil masters of the Midnight Sun who continue their quest to discover the secret of eternal youth.

With Cass, this time it's personal. After learning a secret about herself, she lashes out at her mother while they are at a cooking class at an exclusive and unusual restaurant. Cass blurts out harsh and hurtful words and then wishes she could take them back. But before Cass can apologize, her mother is kidnapped.

Shortly afterwards, Cass receives a ransom note from the cruel and calculating (and possibly blind) Chef Señor Hugo. To save her mom, Cass has two days to find a magic tuning fork. She must deliver the fork --- which possesses unholy powers --- to Chef Hugo. And she is also instructed to keep her mission a secret from Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji, but she desperately needs the help of her friends if she is to rescue her mother.

This latest book in the series has the same playful voice and many familiar characters from the first two entries. In addition to Cass's mother and the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, Larry and Wayne --- Cass's substitute grandfathers --- are back. The Skelton Sisters, Romi and Montana, make cameo appearances, and thankfully the twins are not as annoying as they were in book two. Also returning are circus clowns, a bearded lady and a master of disguise.

THIS BOOK IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU --- which opens up on Chapter 15 --- also features a girl named Simone, locked in a cage because of her superstar talent and superior sense of taste; monkeys on the loose in a Rainbow Rainforest; a smattering of Aztec history; and a bird with special talents and a deadly snake. From adoption to allergies and chocolate to circus performers, Bosch takes the reader on a non-linear path to the book's conclusion. And, by the end, many secrets will be revealed, not only about Cass but also about Ms. Mauvais, including her first name and a glimpse into her childhood --- her very, very long-ago childhood.

With scads of twists and turns and a playful tone, Bosch delivers an important message: families come in assorted varieties, but the best ones are centered in love, no matter how they are structured. Rounding out the reading experience are an appendix, complete with "chocolossary --- a slightly biased glossary of chocolate terminology," several recipes and Max-Ernest's 100 ways to say hello.

THIS BOOK IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU is about a secret society and a dangerous adventure --- and chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. What's not to like?

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt