Comments for 3 Below

3 Below: 08/22/14

3 Below by Patrick Carman is the sequel to Floors. Leo's father and Remi's mother are married on the roof of the Whippet Hotel. Before they can even cut the cake, they are whisked away by Merganser D. Whippet for a surprise honeymoon. Meanwhile, Leo and Remi are facing a massive tax bill.

The Whippet Hotel, set in an undisclosed Manhattan block is known for its unusually themed rooms. Floors gave readers a tour of its inner workings. In 3 Below, the solution to the tax problem lies in the three subterranean levels.

And here's where my suspension of disbelief is severely challenged. It's probably because I'm a property owner and therefore a payer of property taxes. They are predictable and timely bills. But they also have some wiggle room � both in paying without penalty, and with paying an extra percentage as penalty. Now take a world famous hotel that everyone has heard of and think of the land it sits on, which by its own value would more than pay for the taxes of one overdue bill.

But no, the taxes have to serve as an artificial deadline that forces the two boys to explore the "dangerous" bits of the hotel. Remi and Leo are sent with a shopping list of things they need to complete their quest and pay the tax bill.

3 Below reads more like a Roald Dahl novel than Floors does (including lots of BFG reminiscent bodily noises). There's magical monkeys, an incredibly stinky cat, and a whole lot of burping.

The final act though makes up for the unnecessary silliness. Finally the potential danger manifests. It's also the closet thing to an explanation for all the secrecy to the three basement floors.

There's a third book, The Field of Wacky Inventions which concludes the adventures of Leo and Remi.

Three stars

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