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THE GENIUS FILES

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Full Name: Coke McDonald and Pepsi McDonald
Nationality: American
Organization: The Genius Files
Occupation Agent

Creator: Dan Gutman
Time Span: 2011 - 2015

ABOUT THE SERIES

Coke and Pepsi McDonald are agents for The Genius Files.

They are pretty darn young to be agents for anything but then again, every agent with The Genius Files is pretty darn young so they shouldn't feel too special but then again being determined to have genius IQs is special so ....

How these two youngsters got their unusual first names - and these are their actual names and not nicknames or pet-names or stuff like that - is pretty fun to read - I'll leave it up to you to get the first recorded adventure and do just that - but it starts with their father being a history professor at San Francisco State University and having written a book on the impact of coal in the Industrial Revolution. Trust me, the explanation is short and fun.

Now on to the bit about the organization they are agents for - well, will be if they live long enough.

Dr. Herman Warsaw was an American citizen who had been born in Poland but then moved to the States and he was really rich because he had invented a GPS thingie which you put under the skin of your pet so you always knew where the rascal (pet, not Dr. Warsaw) was. He then decided to spend his time being a consultant at the Pentagon. That is where he was on 9/11, except he had stepped out for a smoke break or else he would have been at his desk when the plane hit and he would have been dead. somehow that gave him the idea of using kid geniuses to, well, fix things - or replace them. 

Anyways, it took a few years before his idea got government funding and with that money came the testing of every grad school kid of a certain age to find those who would qualify to be Young Kid Geniuses. That is when the sneakiness started and these kids "were being secretly recruited to carry out some of the government's most important-and dangerous-missions. Their kids would be like unmanned drones, assigned to solve the problems that could not be solved by adults".

Coke and Pepsi McDonald were two of those kids. They just don't know it. Nor do they have any idea why suddenly all sorts of strange people start trying to kidnap them or chase them or even - yep - kill them. Luckily, these two are pretty smart. Heck, they are geniuses!

Good Lines:
- According to the quote before the first adventure, "Do stupid stuff, and even stupider stuff will happen to you." - Nobody said this but somebody should have."

YOUNG ADULT BOOKS

Number of Books:5
First Appearance:2011
Last Appearance:2015

1 Mission Unstoppable Mission Unstoppable
Written by Dan Gutman
Copyright: 2011

"Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think their family’s cross-country RV vacation is nothing to get excited about...until they’re chased off a cliff, locked in a burning school, and receive mysterious messages in codes and ciphers. From California to Wisconsin, it’s a race against time to find out who’s after Coke and Pep, who’s leaving the notes...and just what being a part of The Genius Files entails!"
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2 Never Say Genius Never Say Genius
Written by Dan Gutman
Copyright: 2012

"They never asked to be geniuses. They never asked to get lowered into a basket of boiling French fries, either. And they certainly never asked to be frozen in soft-serve ice cream, stampeded in a wild stadium riot, or kidnapped on a high-speed roller coaster. But that's what happens when a red-haired villain named Archie Clone is chasing you across America. This just might be the most dangerous road trip in history—and the most awesome!"
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3 You Only Die Twice You Only Die Twice
Written by Dan Gutman
Copyright: 2013

"The genius twins Coke and Pepsi have narrowly escaped a vat of a Spam, a pit of boiling fry oil, and a score of crazed adults all bent on killing them. But just when they thought they were safe, their arch nemesis Dr. Herman Warsaw reappeared, engaged to their Aunt Judy! Whoa—didn't he die already?! Now, as the twins continue their family road trip from Washington D.C. through the South, it will take every bit of their genius abilities to outwit their wacky enemies. It doesn't help that their parents remain totally oblivious! When they finally get to Graceland, Elvis's home in Memphis, Tennessee, Coke and Pepsi come to an explosive conclusion you'll have to read to believe!"
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4 From Texas with Love From Texas with Love
Written by Dan Gutman
Copyright: 2014

"After their explosive escape at Graceland, twins Coke and Pepsi are ready to resume their trip across America—only now in a convertible instead of the RV. They travel through Arkansas and Oklahoma, visiting weird-but-true tourist stops along the way, and finally end up in Texas, home of the Weird Capital of the Country, Austin. The twins' many enemies—the bowler dudes, Mrs. Higgins, and Dr. Warsaw—all swear that they're done chasing Coke and Pepsi for good. But when the twins start receiving more codes and ciphers from a mysterious robotic voice, they know someone's after them. They just have to figure out who before the mystery villain finds them first."
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5 License to Thrill License to Thrill
Written by Dan Gutman
Copyright: 2015

"When we last left our heroes, Coke and Pepsi McDonald were in Roswell, New Mexico, and they had just seen a strange beam of light. Now their cross-country road trip is about to take a detour that's out of this world—literally! Once the twins get their feet back on the ground, they embark on the final leg of their trip, which will take them from the Hoover Dam all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Chased by nefarious villains, the twins will be trapped with a venomous snake, pushed through a deadly turbine, and thrown into a volcano. And craziest of all, their parents might finally believe them!"
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MY COMMENTS

I am not a real genius, despite what I might have told you back in my drinking days. I mean, maybe my IQ test from back in middle school might have ... well, that was a long time ago and I have definitely not shown any proof of anything since them. Well, picking a terrific woman to marry was pretty darn smart. Other than that, not so much!

So, I ramble on about that to state that at no time during my youth did I have to deal with the kind of problems Coke and Pepsi have to survive. And looking at those very scary dangers, I think I am lucky do not be a real genius.

But ... these books were a hoot to read and while I am not in the demographics for them, I still enjoyed them a lot.

GRADE

My Grade: B+

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