David Baldacci to write final book in second series of ’The 39 Clues’

David Baldacci, author of the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series, the Camel Club series, and the Shaw and Katie James series, will soon extend his talent for writing adult fiction to a juvenile audience. A September 23, 2010 press release from Scholastic Corporation reveals that Baldacci will pen the final installment in the upcoming second series of The 39 Clues, a multi-media adventure series designed for children 8-12 years of age.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the 39 Clues team,” Baldacci commented.  “A multimedia approach is wonderful fun and reaches young readers in new and innovative ways, greatly enhancing the odds of making them lifelong readers. There can be no worthier goal.”  

The 39 Clues concept includes books, collectible clue cards and an online game in which readers take on roles from the stories and win prizes. Part One of The 39 Clues, which consisted of ten books, launched on September 9, 2008 with Rick Riordan’s The Maze of Bones.

In the YouTube video accompanying this article, Riordan (Tres Navarre series) discusses the concept behind The 30 Clues, which centers around a quest for the secret source of the Cahill family’s immense power. Fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her eleven-year-old brother, Dan, battle other members of the Cahill dynasty in a search around the globe for the 39 clues to that will lead them to that knowledge.

Part Two of The 39 Clues, “Cahills vs. Vespers,” will add the ruthless Vespers to the mix. This group wants to acquire the power of the Cahills to further their own evil pursuits. This second series will begin on April 5, 2011 with the release of Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson. Six additional installments will follow, written by Gordon Korman, Jude Watson, Peter Lerangis, Roland Smith and Linda Sue Park. David Baldacci’s concluding work will appear in March 2013.

Baldacci commented on the challenge of writing the concluding book in an established series during a September 22, 2010 interview with Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life blog. “I hope I don’t screw it up. There’s lots of pressure,” he admitted. However, Baldacci added that he views that pressure as a positive influence on his work, causing him to strive to make each novel distinct from the others. “I really love doing this stuff,” he said. “I love putting these stories together, and I’m very excited about trying to write a really compelling story for The 39 Clues. For me it’ll be my first novel all over again.”

The interview concluded with a question as to whether Baldacci might, as have his colleagues John Grisham, Kathy Reichs, Harlan Coben and Elizabeth George, decide to write additional children’s novels in the future. “I think that this won’t be the last time that my pen sort of goes in that direction,” he answered.