The Hardy Boys, undercover brothers

Gr 4-6-The Hardy Boys make their first foray into graphic novels in this update of the classic series. The Ocean of Osyria, a priceless Middle Eastern artifact, is missing and has been mistakenly traced to Joe and Frank's friend Chet Morton. To save him from the treasure's rabid pursuers, the boys set out to find the necklace themselves. Both followers of the Hardy Boys and fans of graphic novels should form a sizable audience for this highly accessible adaptation. Manga devotees may also be intrigued: with their large eyes and angular features, the characters resemble the heroes and heroines of Japanese graphic novels. Osyria's entertaining mixture of action, suspense, and clean humor does not stray far from the content and tone of the boys' previous adventures, though an overeager attempt to update the series for a modern audience results in a few too many references to PDAs, video games, and the Internet. Simply adopting the popular graphic-novel format should be enough to attract a new generation of readers.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.