In the 21st century landscape of bits and bytes, everyone leaves a digital footprint ... even the most advanced cyber criminals. And that’s where the Trackers come in. Four tech-savvy kids armed with high-tech video cameras and esoteric coding skills, the Trackers can find almost anyone, anywhere. Told through a collage of videos, text, and websites, Trackers #1 follows Adam, Finn, Lewis, and Emily as they become entangled in a high-tech, high-stakes game of cat and mouse with Shantorian, the world’s most dangerous hacker. At least, that’s who they think they’re tracking....
As the four dig deeper into the shadowy world of online crime, they soon learn that things aren’t always as they seem.
Was This Book Worth My Time?
Two years ago at our annual book fair, my students came across a book that told a story about a mysterious abandoned mill and a small town with lots of secrets. Not only was it a "scary" book but the book had stops along the way where readers had to go online to watch video of what the characters had found on their adventure. Skeleton Creek is still the one book in my library that never actually stays in my library. Patrick Carman had me at that book. If you can get my reluctant readers to read to the back cover, you are my hero.
I was anxious to get my hands on this new series by Carman. Trackers is a mystery book aimed at techies. Like Skeleton Creek, Trackers also had videos to view. I like that the story is written as an interview as many reluctant readers are drawn to a novel that doesn't "look" like a novel.
One thing that I thought was ingenius was that Carman attached all of the transcripts of the video segments. This way, if you weren't able to get to a computer, you could just flip to the appendixes and read the transcripts.
Overall, this book was a hit with me, and I'm sure it will be another one those books I just can't keep on my classroom library shelf. :)
What Bothered Me About the Book?
The ending was a bit of a let down. The whole way through the book I thought these kids had got themselves into a big mess of danger. However, at the end I realize that it wasn't as much danger as I had been lead to believe. Also, Carman absolutely leaves you hanging. As much as I like series, this is the part I despise. :(
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