ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Think way back to the 1920s and adventure series like Tom Swift or Bomba the Jungle Boy, and you'll get an idea of what readers are in for here. The Voelkels' first novel in the Jaguar Stones series, Middleworld (2007), introduced 14-year-old Max Murphy, the only child of world-famous archaeologists. (These are just the kind of work-obsessed parents one to taking a kid into a tomb and then forgetting all about him at an adventuring kid needs.) Mayan Death Lords, a deadline to find a precious stone to stave off the end of the world, and lots of Mayan lore make this a fact-packed, thrilling ride. Rick Riordan fans will love it.

Horn Book (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

After rescuing his parents from the Mayan underworld, Max Murphy (Middleworld) owes the repulsive Lords of Death any favor they request. Max's assigned task will secure his family's freedom, but it will also grant the vile Lords omnipotent domain over Earth. Despite some plot holes, this globetrotting adventure has satisfying doses of action, suspense, and awkward adolescent romance.

Kirkus Reviews

Fourteen-year-old Massimo "Max" Francis Sylvanus Murphy saved his archeologist parents from the Maya underworld Xibalba (and Ah Pukuh and the 12 Maya Lords of Death), but he had to promise to help Ah Pukuh get the final Jaguar Stone ( Middleworld , 2007). If Ah Pukuh, Maya God of Violent and Unnatural Death, doesn't get the stone, Max's parents will have to return to Xiabalba. If Ah Pukuh does get it, he will rule for the next bak'tun (cycle of years) and the world will end. Max and his "modern Maya" friend Lola set off to Spain to get the stone with the help of two howler monkeys inhabited by the spirits of a Maya King and his mother. Can Max keep his parents safe, rescue trapped friends from Xiabalba and not end the world? The Voelkels, a husband-and-wife writing team, continue the chatty, silly adventures of the inept and often annoying Max with this chock-full-o-Maya-minutiae middle volume in the Jaguar Stones Trilogy. Neither characters nor plot is particularly interesting or believable. Mostly foolish (with an occasional thrill); even fans will find it overlong. (Fantasy. 8-12)

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Gr 4-6 In this sequel to Middleworld (Smith &; Sons, 2007), 14-year-old Max and his friend Lola are on another quest to save his parents from Ah Pukuh and the Maya Lords of Death. This time they have to go to Spain to retrieve the Jaguar Stone from his ancestor's castle and return it to Xibalba, the Maya underworld. On his return from the castle, Max discovers that Lola has been abducted by Count Antonio de Landa, who is working with the Death Lords. Max and the two Howler monkeys that are possessed by the spirits of Maya royalty, Lord 6-Dog and Lady Coco, set out to save Lola from marrying Landa and retrieve the precious stone that was taken by Ah Pukuh. The authors use Maya mythology and terms and add interesting facts about Spain and Spanish culture. This is a fast-paced book, and the action starts right away. There are so many holes and contrivances in the plot, however, that make this story hard to believe, even for fantasy. Erik Carlson, New York Public Library