The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass

My name is Logan, and there's something wrong with the contest-winning Harmonicandy. My friends and I must figure out where the magical chocolate in our original recipe came from, but a cardboard box has turned up with some strange information about my grandfather. There's a contract about keeping secret any information about the blue cocoa bean and a mysterious land called Paradise. We're going on a tour across the country to promote the Harmonicandy, so hopefully this will give us a chance to answer our questions. Luckily, Daisy is able to make the trip, along with her spy partner AJ, and an amazing suped-up RV. What would make my grandfather stop making the greatest chocolate bar of all time? Who are the people with him in the photograph? Is there any way I can help Henry?


The plot became very interesting once all of the chapters started describing the main events, about a third of the way into the book. I enjoy a good mystery, and this story raised several unexplained issues. There were the mysteries of the amazing cocoa bean, the secret land and contract, and unknown relationships between characters. Finding a cat that barked like a dog was an amusing addition to the cast. Daisy and AJ contribute their spy skills to keep things adventurous, but the real story is the history of Logan's grandfather. I didn't read the first book and felt like I was missing some understandings between characters, like I was an eavesdropper on conversations. I still don't understand the full story behind Logan's scars, and this topic came up often. The early chapters were grouped into parts, and they focused on each of the four main characters. I ended up reading about events from the same time span, so it felt like the plot kept rewinding. With that being said, this book described a mystical journey into the world of candy! Can't go wrong with that!