Written by Raphael Simon, who writes under the pseudonym, Pseudonymous Bosch. This Book is Not Good For You is the third installment in the renowned Secret Series. Each of the 5 books in the Secret Series focuses on one of the main 5 human senses (smell, hearing, taste, sight, and touch). This Book is Not Good for You chooses to focus on the sense of taste. It can be classified as an action-packed adventure fiction book. In the previous novels, we are introduced to our protagonists, Cassandra, Max-Ernest, and Yo-Yoji.
The three of them are a part of a mysterious organization called the Terces Society. Their goal is to protect the “secret” (a profound secret of the utmost importance that is fought over, yet shrouded in mystery) from the nefarious Midnight Sun. The Terces Society wants to protect the secret from the world, but the Midnight Sun wants to share its fruits with the world. The secret has been around since the Ancient Egyptians and was the cause of the inexplicable death of a powerful pharaoh. Created by alchemists from the Middle Ages, the Midnight Sun created specialized elixirs to stay immortal. These elixirs cannot cause a person to be truly immortal, and thus has caused the Midnight Sun to try and figure out the secret. Members of the Midnight Sun wear white gloves to hide their true age. The elixirs cause drinkers to look hundreds of years younger. But, they don’t work in the hands of drinkers. This causes their hands to reflect their true age. Driven by the selfish belief that the secret has something to do with immortality, and will truly allow them to live forever. Founded by The Jester (His real name is Hermes) and his lover, a Robinhoodesque woman named Anastasia, the Terces Society was born. They believed that protecting the Secret would prevent the inevitable chaos of the Midnight Sun from getting their hands on the secret. The Jester is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather of Cassandra. They both have pointed elf-like ears, and profound hearing. She is a survivalist named after Cassasandra from Greek Mythology. She is always prepared for a disaster and makes absurd predictions but nobody believes or listens to her. Cassandra has a survivalist backpack to ensure she is always prepared for any kind of life-threatening event. She lives with her adopted mother Melanie and sometimes lives with her eccentric step-uncles Larry and Wayne. Max-Ernest is one of Cass’s (She prefers to be referred to as Cass’s) best friends. He is a wannabe-magician, worry-wort, hypochondriac, and chocolate addict. He lives with his 2 divorced parents. His parents hate each other and sawed their houses in half to create two half houses. They moved their houses to separate sides of the street and compete to decorate their half-houses differently. His parents are constantly diagnosing him with different disorders and conditions he could have, and are overly involved in his life. He is also one of Cass’s first friends and has known her since 6th grade. Yo-Yoji is also one of Cass’s best friends. (His real name is Yoji, but he prefers for people to call him Yo-Yoji.) He moved from Japan and was part of a band called Alien Earache and is an avid sneakerhead. He uses his violin and electric guitar as weapons. A highly-distinguished chef named Señor Hugo (who works for the Midnight Sun) captures Melanie (Cass’s Mother) so that Cass can find him the mythical turning fork (An artifact that he believes will make the perfect piece of chocolate that will lead him to the secret). It is up to Cass and friends to stop him before it is too late.
I thought that this book was very entertaining. Simon’s writing is very captivating and keeps the reader immersed in the story. I enjoyed the way characters were written and the divergent choices characters had to make. The character dialogue, interactions, and relationships intrigued me. I found myself staying up late to finish this book. I just had to know what would happen next. Something that I found very cool was that I could imagine myself as a background character or a main character, in this story. This book has taught me to savor the time I spend with others (it might be the last time you see them again) and to better prepare for the future.
I believe that this book was an enjoyable read. For future readers, I would recommend reading the Secret Series in order, instead of starting with the third book. This book also leads into the next installment in the series (This Isn’t What It Looks Like). I would also recommend reading that book too. It is one of the longer books in the series, but it is just as a captivating read. In closing, This Book is Not Good For You is a marvelous read and reminds you to enjoy the small things in your life before they are gone forever.
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