Motocross Madness

My son couldn't put this book down. So many boys don't like to read (probably the "cool factor"), but the Hardy Boys books always keep my son reading. He loved this one in particular since he races motocycles. He said it isn't acurate always in the terms used and such, but he really enjoyed it.

The latest (and, sadly, last) Hardy Boys story finds Frank and Joe at a motorcycle rally held to benefit a disabled young woman. Of course, this being a Hardy Boys story, there are plenty of thrills and mystery. Someone breaks into the rally sponsor's office, there's a mysterious fire, the Boys' friend has his motorcycle stolen, all in addition to plenty of motocross action! Naturally, Frank and Joe are deeply involved in the case and pursue the criminals right up to the exciting conclusion!

For those of you who may not know, Motocross Madness, #190 in the long running Hardy Boys series, will be the FINAL volume in the series that began in 1927. The characters of Frank and Joe will live on in a new spinoff series, called Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers, to be released in June 2005, but it won't be the same Hardy Boys as you've come to know them. Over the years, there have been other Hardy Boys spinoff series, such as The Hardy Boys Casefiles, Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermysteries, etc., but those series were published right alongside the original Hardy Boys Mystery Stories series, which continued to add new volumes. The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories had gone through many changes since 1927, including changes in publishers, going to paperback, having rewrites done, etc., but they still managed to survive through it all, and a collector could count on seeing a new title come along almost as sure as counting on the sun rising each day. Now however, the sun has set, and the last volume has arrived. It's hard to believe that this series has lasted through 16 Presidents, is older than The Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge, became a series only 15 years after New Mexico and Arizona became states, and a mere 24 years after the Wright Brothers invented the airplane, and yet continued clear until the 21st Century. I'm going to miss that thrill of looking forward to the next title in the series....