What an amazing story! As Grabenstein moves away from the Mr. Lemoncello franchise, this book is sure to delight fans! Another puzzle quest but with a Route 66 twist, Benjamin and Ethan set off just like their father did with his brothers before heading off to college and they stumble upon a puzzle filled quest for a million dollars. Battling cheaters and wiz kids, the brothers grow a bond that had been questionable.

Such a great story for puzzlers and siblings alike!

This book has an engaging, fast moving plot; it is also a good mental challenge for middle school readers. Recommended!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Another fun read by Chris Grabenstein. It is always more fun to read a story that you can interact with rather than just being an observer. I enjoyed reading this story and seeing the two brothers find a connection before the older one leaves for college.. I enjoyed how the story was able to incorporate geography and famous landmarks along Route 66.

I will probably re read, I'm curious to see if there are any more hidden puzzles in the book like in the Lemoncello series. Excited to see what the next adventure will be!

As a big fan of Mr. Lemoncello’s puzzles and stories, I was so excited to see a new puzzle quest from Chris Grabenstein! As in Mr. Lemoncello’s library, Ms. Pennypickle has plenty of puzzles and problems to solve. The reader can try to solve these as they read, or wait for the characters to solve them. But even more lovable than the puzzles are the characters. Ethan and Benji are typical brothers - the little brother is no longer “cool” enough for the big brother, though he desperately wants to be. They find themselves on Ms. Pennypickle’s quest, and have to lean on each other to make it through each challenge. Other lovable characters are also along for the ride, along with a couple dimwits too. This was a book that was hard to put down, and I think the combination of the puzzles and the fun characters will keep kids reading as well!

I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed all of the characters and their personalities and I really appreciated the variety of puzzles throughout. If you enjoyed the Mr. Lemoncello books, you are sure to love this one as well. Now I want to drive down the Old Route 66 to see all of the places that were mentioned in the book!

Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for honest feedback. I can’t wait to let my Lemoncello loving students know that this book will be published in the Fall!

-5 stars

This was another hit from Chris Grabenstein! I loved the Mr. Lemoncello series (and so did my students!) and was ready for another puzzling adventure. Enter Ms. Pennypickle! There were lots of fun puzzles to solve while also learning more about the interesting geography of Route 66. This is sure to be another standout Grabenstein read, and I can't wait to introduce it to my kiddos. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I am a Chris Grabenstein super-fan, so I was eager to read his newest adventure. In this one, twelve-year-old Benjamin's brother Ethan has just graduated from high school and is very ready to move on to college, not really noticing how sad Benjamin is about his brother leaving. His parents offer Ethan a sweet ride for college on one condition: he must take his younger brother on a road trip much like his father and his brothers did when they were teens. Ethan balks at first, but the lure of a new truck for college is more than he can pass up. Much like the reality game show "The Amazing Race," Ethan and Benjamin were sucked into an orchestrated cross-country scavenger hunt. As the boys gather clues (riddles the reader can help solve!) they work on finding their way to back to each other and strengthen their sibling bond.

As marketed, this one had similarities to the Lemoncello series. The puzzles were very fun (and easier for me to solve than the Lemoncello ones!). This one will likely land on state reading award lists and is a great mystery or action/adventure title to add to elementary school libraries.

Such a fun book. I loved Mr Lemoncello and was worried about a new puzzle book. I might love this more. Great puzzles, great characters great story. This would be a fun class read aloud. Can the students solve the puzzles?