Kingdom Keepers V: Shell Game

kingdom keepers V was amazing. it kept me hanging onto every last word.i cant wait untill the next book in tne series come out. this book was full of action mystery and romance. i absolutley loved it.

This book is Awesome. As with all the Kingdom Keepers books the story continues about the mystery that the characters are trying to solve.The best character is Flynn. I recommend this book to all kids.

In Kingdom Keepers book 5, "Shell Game", the crew are celebrity guests on an inaugural sail of a new ship traveling from Florida to California via the Panama Canal. Their presence also means that a new DHI server is being unveiled that will have their hologram counterparts working the crowd on the cruise ship and on some of the shore excursions.

Prior to the trip, we learn that the Overtakers have been mounting an assault in Florida at the site of the main DHI headquarters. The Keepers have recruited various other kids, park employees and Disney characters to help in the battle but a vicious siege is going on and the keepers are hesitant to leave the battle in the hands of others. Still, they are the face of the DHI and it's their job to go on this cruise. Even more important, the Overtakers seem to be coincidentally planning something on the cruise. It seems obvious that they would be interested in the new DHI server outside of the core theme park areas but as the story gets going it's obvious that there may be something even more sinister going on.

The first portion of the book takes place in Florida and involves the Keepers making preparations to leave on the cruise securely prepared for whatever problems they may encounter. We learn that the the Overtakers have been recruiting their own forces. It seems that the Evil Queen (Snow White's queen) and Maleficent have been using their powers of "persuasion" (and magical spells) to entrance kids and adults to their cause. The Overtaker humans are usually recognized by their eerie green eyes though it is evident that there are others who are just following orders and may not even know that they are in the service of these wicked characters.

The story is generally pretty fun albeit a little convoluted and repetitive. It started off with some running through Epcot and other Florida parks as well as an exciting confrontation in the Typhoon Lagoon water park. The nostalgia that came from reading the descriptions of these parks was, as always, a lot of fun. Once the story moved to the cruise ship I was less familiar with the "real world" environment but cruise ships in general (even Disney ones) are fairly easy to imagine so I was able to envision the author's world fairly easily.

This book had a lot of twists and turns and intricate side plots. There were a bunch of new characters introduced and it was made very clear that we as readers should be unsure and uneasy as far as who we should really be trusting. Even within the group of five core Kingdom Keepers there seems to be a little contention in the ranks as the teenagers start acting suspiciously and blatantly mistrustful of each other. The DHI software has received an upgrade and there's a lot of reference to new abilities and changes but there's also the suspicion that maybe Disney is looking to "upgrade" to new actors as well since the kids are getting older. All in all there is a fair amount of suspicion and anxiety at the heart of the story.

My main complaint with the series still continues in this book...the interaction and involvement of true Disney characters is far too sparse. We finally have some of the Disney "hero" characters helping out but their appearances are very brief and limited. Most of the Disney "villain" scenes involve the kids spying on them and listening to the villains bicker or plot. When we finally do get a face-to-face confrontation with the villains, the pacing and dialog often feels rather forced and the end of the scene feels a bit anti-climatic. I know he needs to balance the plot by limiting any huge scenes with the full-scale Disney villains and heroes but I keep hoping that maybe a lower-scale hero or two will team up with the kids for the majority of the book and that they might duke it out with some classic Disney henchmen. There is just a lot of potential for fun encounters that I feel are being totally lost.

With regards to pacing and plotline, as I started to run out of pages, I worried that the author was going to pull a 'deus ex machina' and come up with some cheesy ending to wrap the story up. Instead, things just kept getting more and more messy. Finally, the last section of the book flashes back to a strange holographic "dream" sequence from the opening chapter and lets us know that this book is not going to tie the story up in a neat little bow. Far from it...we end up with the entire plot literally dangling in midair as we finish the last page.

As with the previous books, this book is not deep, amazing, "must-read" literature. It's a fun, light adventure romp aimed at tweens and teens. The plot is often ridiculous and the motivations are sometimes very cheesy. As a warning, the plot is getting heavier and darker as the books progress. We're not venturing into "adult novel" territory yet but the storyline and plot points are becoming more intricate and intense such that younger readers (earlier than middle grade) will likely not be as enamored as maybe they were with the first couple of books. This book, more than previous books, seemed to me to be trying harder to "get into the heads of teenage characters" in a way that felt a little heavy handed at times. Still, to Disney fans and those who enjoy a cheesy teenage adventure, this is a fun read.

Overall, this plot and pacing felt more convoluted and confusing than previous books and that left me a little off balance and unsettled. Still, the cliffhanger ending has me itching to read the next book. I admit that the book and series are not fully living up to my expectations or to what I think is their true potential but I'm still having a good time and want to see the end of this journey.

***
2.5 out of 5 stars

The Kingdom Keepers are back, this time set to join the launch of the Disney Dream, the newest edition of their cruise line. But all is not right: a journal that belonged to the Disney Imagineers has been stolen by the Overtakers, and more and more teens have joined the ranks of the villains. Finn and the others know that the Dream is the perfect place for the Overtakers to spring a trap, and know that they are sitting ducks. It's a shell game: who can you trust when no one seems trustworthy?

First of all, I have loved this series from the very first book, but felt like the last two (including this one) have been a bit of an editing disaster. This book is very long for the age range it's targeted at, and I feel like it's turning Harry Potter-esque in that respect: each book is getting longer and longer and the story seems less tight and concise. Truthfully this book was a bit of a mess; there were typos, lines of dialogue that didn't match up with the speaker, and occurrences where the Kingdom Keepers were in DHI form when they weren't supposed to be, rendering their actions impossible since they were actually in human form. Add to that the addition of new characters, points of view shifting from paragraph to paragraph, and the whole thing was a bit difficult to read and follow at times.

That being said, this definitely continues the overarching story line of these five Kingdom Keepers - only freshman in high school - trying to save the Parks from the Disney villains. The stakes keep getting higher and higher, the risks they're taking more dangerous, and the problems they're facing more difficult to manage. This book also has a definite "cannot stop reading" feel to it, even if it does suffer at times from Non-Stop Action Syndrome, which I'm not always a fan of.

As for the characters, we're definitely starting to see sides of them that aren't so great; each of them is dealing with changes in their lives, and their feelings for each other. You have watered-down versions of love triangles all over the place, which gets sort of tedious but also fits with the age of the characters. I still really love Finn, but the others have grown on me throughout this book, although I am as annoyed with Philby in this installment as the characters in the book are. I also had qualms with two new editions to the villains: Jack Sparrow and Tia Dalma. I didn't view them as "villains" in the Pirates movie at all, so to see them in that role in the book was a little eyebrow-raising for me personally.

This is the fifth of a planned seven books, and it ends with a cliffhanger which won't be resolved until January of next year when book six is released. While I was disappointed with parts of this one, you can bet that I'll be reading the next installment; I just hope more attention is paid to the editing.

Fifth in the Kingdom Keepers fantasy series for kids set in Disney World in Florida and revolving around a core group of five middle schoolers whose images are being used in three-dimensional holograms, DHIs, to serve as guides at the Disney Parks. In this installment, the majority of the action takes place aboard the Dream, a Disney cruise ship sailing through the Panama Canal on a two-week cruise.

My Take
Pearson is working at creating drama with the new fears he's given Finn about being replaced. I'm thinking Shell Game is more of a bridge novel. Finn is worrying about retirement and being replaced in Wayne's esteem. Then there's the horrifying theory the Keepers come up with as to the real purpose of the Overtakers being aboard.

The biggest aspect of the "bridge" is the first and last chapters...arghhh, so irritating!! And Pearson just leaves us wondering just what has happened to Finn!

It seems rather odd that Pearson only mentions Philby's mother as one of the chaperons and nothing but a reference about guardians for the others. I suppose it was only Finn's situation that caused Pearson to mention it at all. I don't understand why Philby refuses to show the other Keepers how to go all clear? Nor why the Keepers all flee from the sight of Chernabog; they all know what he looks like and they just skip this opportunity to take him prisoner?

It's all cloak-and-dagger for Keepers and Overtakers alike with lots and lots of action and adventure. All within the relatively small confines of the ship with Pearson attempting to work up some romances. Rather clumsily.

Other than the above whining, I enjoyed the story. It had nice bits of tension and drama even if Pearson did leave lots of questions unanswered.

The Story
The Kingdom Keepers' current task is to prevent a theft from the private Imagineers' library and hold off an Overtaker-siege at Engineering Base Camp. The notebook in question revolves around Fantasia and one of its primary evil characters, Chernabog.

The action has hotted up outside the parks as well when Finn finds himself under attack in his own house. And it's not just Finn who is suffering!

A side trip to the Typhoon Lagoon at Wayne's request is both good and bad: on the one hand, the Keepers gain a powerful ally, on the other hand, they lose one as well. This will certainly complicate matters when the Kingdom Keepers board the Disney Dream for the trip to be the first ship through the new Panama Canal! Losing his mother makes Finn's being able to join the cruise much more difficult.

As an inaugural cruise generating great publicity for Disney, the Magic Kingdom has changed up a lot of the usual activities, making it so much easier for the bad guys to slip aboard. Certainly Maleficent has smoothed out OTKs joining the cruise.

The Kingdom Keepers will have certainly their hands full on this voyage!

The Characters
It's this new beta version of the DHI 2.0 and Dill Philby`s increasingly superior airs, a.k.a., Professor Philby, that find Finn Whitman questioning his role as the Kingdom Keepers' leader. Charlene Turner is their physically-fit member. Isabella "Willa" Angelo. Terry "Donnie" Maybeck is an artist and has found his niche within the group--his patience is indeed a virtue. Amanda Lockhart and Jezebel "Jess" are Fairlies, something more than human. Amanda has some magical ability and she and Finn love each other while Jess dreams the future. Both girls are still in fostercare with Mrs. Nash. All seven have a DHI, although Amanda and Jess' are not official. Six DHIs have been created from Cast Members to augment the original Keepers including Kelly Carlson, Bart, Alex Wright, and Megan Fuchs.

Wayne Kresky is one of the original Imagineers and is the reason the Kingdom Keepers can project themselves back into the Park at night. He directs their objectives. Wanda Alcott, Wayne's daughter, has a very small part in this installment. Cast Members and characters of the Disney theme parks have begun to take sides. Gladis Philby is Philby's worried mother--she's very anti-Keepers--and their chaperone on the trip.

Mattie Weaver is a Fairly and a friend of Amanda and Jess. She's still "imprisoned", but when she gets the message from Amanda, nothing will hold her back. Dillard Cole is Finn's closest friend outside the Keepers and he keeps popping up.

Captain Cederberg is in charge of the Dream; Robert "Uncle Bob" Heinemann is the security officer with a difficult job; Christian is the director of entertainment; and, Storey Ming is a member of the crew, I think, and is helping the Keepers.

Maleficent, the nasty witch from Sleeping Beauty, is the chief villainess and she's teamed up with Cruella De Vil and the Evil Queen at the Magic Kingdom. For the cruise, she's working with Jafar and Tia Dalma. Somehow Maleficent has spelled other middleschoolers to do their dirty work--recognizable by their green eyes. Greg "Lousy" Luowski is Finn's nemesis at school and one of the chief OTKs. Others include Robbie Barry and Sally Ringwald, a conspirator who gets turned. Triton is the King of the Sea and is a powerful backup.

Chernabog seems to be the mastermind behind the Overtakers, a group of Disney characters who want to take over the parks and create their own version of Wonderland.

The Cover
The cover is all-metaphor and finds a close-up of the evil Maleficient's eyes forming the background, the Miss Tilly is a ship caught in the rocks while a squid-like arm reaches out for Finn and Amanda riding a bright lime-green inner tube on a rushing wave of water at Typhoon Lagoon.

The title refers to the carny game in which a peanut is hidden beneath one of three cups and the mark must choose under which cup the peanut is hidden as the carny moves the cups around to confuse his target. In this Shell Game, the Overtakers have hidden the server they are using to project their own holograms and the Kingdom Keepers keep trying to guess where it is.

I've been reading The Kingdom Keepers since the first book was released, before the series was even a series, and I've always loved the stories. And this book, the newest edition to the series, for the most part, didn't disappoint.

The plot thickens even more in this new volume, and I was both surprised and delighted by the new plot twists. Having the Keepers on the cruise was a great way to put new tidbits into the story that weren't there before, and to give the story room to expand away from the parks, and make the plot even harder to figure out (and no, I didn't figure anything out until the end, and my head is still spinning). I really liked how the characters matured throughout the story, and it's interesting to look back, and see how different they are from the very beginning. There was a lot of character interaction, and more focus on the character's relationships with one another in this volume, and I really enjoyed seeing more interaction, and less action -- though there was plenty of action.

As always, the plot was well crafted, and we were able to see some of the behind the scenes of Disney (this time, the cruise ship). New villains were added, and the fact that the Keepers old rivals played an even bigger part made the plot all the more enjoyable, because it brought their problems home, not just into Disney. Also, their lurking fear of what is to come, and their uncertainty about their "jobs", really added to the plot, as well, and created a dimension that really wasn't there before.

The only things that I didn't like about the book were the fact that the beginning seemed a bit abrupt, and that at a few, small parts throughout the story, it seemed rushed, and I would have liked to have had a bit more of certain scenes. Also, some parts of the book seemed a bit mature for the intended audience, but these were small, as well.

Overall, I really loved this installment, and after reading the end, I'm very excited for the next book in the series! There was a great cliffhanger at the end of this book, and I have a feeling that the next book will be a major turning point in the series.

I would definitely recommend this series, especially to those who are Disney fans -- and even if you aren't, and you're a reader who loves a good dose of action, adventure, and fantasy, you would enjoy these books. Four of five stars.

Alexandra Lanc~
Author Of: The Foxfire Chronicles

Life is never easy when you are a Kingdom Keeper. Finn and the others are rotating shifts guarding the computer base that houses their DHI's and other vital computer information for Disney World. Meanwhile, the Overtakers have stolen a journal that contains vital information on the creation of one of the worst Disney villains of all time.

But that fight will have a wait since the Kingdom Keepers are set to sail on the Disney Dream as it undergoes a passage from Florida through the Panama Cannel to California. This two week cruise is going to be fun and games with minimal appearances - except that the cruise has hardly left port before the Overtakers try to kill them. Can these kids figure out what their latest scheme is?

I enjoy these books for the Disney characters and references, but I feel like the plot is wearing thin. We get very little new information, and the kids are no closer to defeating these villains than they were in book one. Finn's jealousy and Philby's attitude are also wearing thin. It doesn't help that the book ends with a cliffhanger, so I felt like little was resolved.

On the other hand, the action scenes are fun; they still get my heart pumping.

I definitely do want to see how things end, but I'm hoping that one or two books is all we need to wrap it up.

well first off know that i love the kingdom keepers, have since the first book came out i have loved all of them so far. the disney the villains the technology, how the author blends fantasy with facts and accurate details of all the parks. Honestly my favorite book series out there by far, the first book I've read over 60 times and i still enjoy it.
sadly i hate to admit that this volume honestly didn't add up to all the hype. it focuses mainly on the disney cruise ship so i enjoyed all the details about that, but it never went anywhere. plus it ends in a cliff hanger, that would be good if the book hadn't started to just get good maybe the last two chapters. basically its like this book was cut in half and we only got to see the first half, all the disney characters were good including a few new ones, however i don't know what the "dough boys" were all about and I'm a really true disney fan.
so all in all i love the series but this book was kinda a dud hopefully the next one will be better, but either way still a great series.

I have read all the Kingdom Keepers, and enjoy them a lot. I love the characters and the scene and just the overall plot. But for this installment, I have more criticism than normal. I don't know if this can relate to lots of you guys, but I enjoy when there is a little bit of pain, as bad as that sounds. The book had lots of moments that could have turned into something fun, but nothing ever happens, except with Charlene, and she doesn't show up the rest of the book. The DHI state allows them to be a hologram, which is really interesting, but now there is no fear involved so they are basically invincible, which is not as fun as it should be. Another thing, I think that there was lots of details, which was really helpful, until it got to the parts of action, where I felt like the words were just jumbled and I couldn't really picture in my head the scene and what was going on, which I think is essential when you want to enjoy a book. Finally, and this could go both ways on the spectrum, the character development was kind of confusing, but left so much room there had to be a follow up book, which there is. There are so many questions to be asked and things answered, like why is Philby acting this way and what is up with these relationships, what happens to Finn's mom and who is the girl with the pink/red hair that just randomly shows up.
Anyways, it left me with a lot of questions and was good enough that I have to get the next book, but it is not my favorite one of the series or books.

I like this series because I love Disney World. This one was not as good to me, probably because the majority of the novel took place on the Disney Cruise, which I have never been on. I've grown to like the characters, but they all seem a bit stiff to me. Otherwise, it is an enjoyable tale.

Having read each book in this series, I have been very excited to see the characters and author grow. While the characters are expected to grow, the author has grown through learning more about Disney and incorporating it into the books. The plots become more complex, particularly as the characters age, allowing the reader to grow with them if they are a teen. Shell Game takes place almost exclusively on a Disney Cruise itinerary, the first of its kind, as the others take place in the theme parks. If you love Disney, these books are definitely an adventure to tide you over until your next theme park visit.

Kingdom keepers!!! They are the best!!! I'm crazy about Disney and this book is the best!!! Full of mystery and suspense. But if you didn't read the first book you probably will have no idea what there talking about! Like who knows what DHI stands for if they never read the first book!?

My kids love how this story tickles their imagination. They all shouting and thrilled about the story. So, everytime I go to their room they get so excited to listen on the story which is really great. The Earth Dog Story

my daughter loved these series ever since i bought her the first 4 books.now that i got her the 5th book (shell game), she enjoyed it so much that she made me read it.i thought it was a great book!! i cant wait for the next book because of the cliffhanger at the end!!!