The Secrets of the Pied Piper 2: The Magician’s Key

Many years ago, siblings Max and Carter found a land where the Pied Piper led the children of Hamelin many years ago. The story behind the Pied Piper, I don’t remember. (Ask Rick Riorden if you want an updated version of the story.) But anyway, only Max made it back from the land, and she is determined to find Carter. She has to find the only key to the magical land. But unfortunately for her, that key is controlled by a magician who is a soul stealer. Back at the land, Carter is having problems of his own. His friends got lost, and he is with the Pied Piper himself. Both Max and Carter embark on a quest to find each other and bring the children of Hamelin home.

The Secrets of the Pied Piper: The Magician’s Key by Matthew Cody is the second book in the series, so I found it hard to understand. In addition, I did not find the characters to be well-developed. The people do not always act like real people would act. The action in the book also jumps around too much for my taste. It takes about ten chapters to really get into the action. The last chapter kind of ends in a cliff-hanger, and it seems that the author cut his story short. This book would be hard for a child under eleven to really grasp and also hard for someone who hadn’t read the first book in the series.