Race tegen de klok

The sense of adventure feels so vivid—I'm curious whether the setting was based on a real place or entirely imagined. Did the environment shape the challenges the characters faced?

The story kept me on the edge of my seat but also made me laugh out loud. How do authors like Gordon Korman decide when to lean into humor versus suspense?

Some chapters felt like a breath before the action picked up again. I'm wondering if this was planned to give readers a breather or if it evolved during writing.