Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. 2007. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 343 pages.
I don't trust Clive Fagenbush.
How can you trust a person who has eyebrows as thick and black as hairbrushes and smells of boiled cabbage and pickled onions? Besides, I'm beginning to suspect he's up to something. What's worse, I think he suspects I'm up to something. Which usually I am.
It is so easy to love Theodosia Throckmorton. (It is also easy to love Isis, her cat.) This eleven-year-old is intelligent, brave, and extraordinarily gifted. Her parents are curators at a museum; her mom is an archaeologist. Their specialty is Ancient Egypt. (In fact, when the novel opens, her mom is away exploring.) What's Theodosia's special gift? Well, this child has a way of sensing when something has been cursed. And her parents are bringing back cursed objects all the time. So Theodosia is kept busy removing curses. Of course, her parents are too busy to notice how their daughter spends her days and nights. She is always researching and learning as much as possible. Because you never know when you're going to need to know something. And it turns out Theodosia is right to be prepared. Because one of the "cursed" objects she brings back threatens the peace and security of a nation.
What did I love about this one? I loved the characters. I loved the setting--London and Egypt. I loved the mystery. I loved how LaFevers brings this time period to life. How she uses the politics of the day to tell a great story--to bring Egyptian gods and goddesses to life. I loved the focus on Egyptian mythology!
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
4 comments:
What a cute book! I've never heard of this one, but I am constantly on the look out for books of this type....I've clipped your post here and will definitely go looking for this one.
I just finished this book too, and your review captures so well all the things I loved about it. Now I am off to read the next 2 books in the series.
Not sure if the book is one that'll make it to the TBR pile, but I do love the cover.
I adored this one. I've been giving it to kids who liked the Enola Holmes series and also for the Percy Jackson fans who want a new set of mythology to learn about. Super exciting read.
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