Customer Reviews

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Should I be embarrassed that I am a 50-ish woman who took one little skim of this book and got all the way hooked, snuck it from my son, and read it cover to cover? WOW! I am the kind of person who has 5 or 6 books started all over the house; who reads snippets wherever I sit down. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos grabbed my imagination and took me on a mystical and suspenseful adventure, full of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, swirling curses and lively heiroglyphs. I met Theodosia's cute but pesky little brother Henry, and a heroic pickpocketing street urchin, Sticky Will, among many others. One of my favorites was Isis, the hapless kitty that became the recepticle for some dark curses Theodosia tried to remove from one of the ancient vases. I could go on and on about how much fun this story was to read, but I'd better not give any more away. I won't tell you that it was on Theodosia's shoulders to save the whole country of England, or that she had to find a way to go to Egypt and visit some tombs for herself. A real feat for an 11 year old girl. I just CAN'T tell you how she managed to get there, or how scary the dark tunnels to the tombs were. You just need to read it for yourself! If there was anything I would change about this book, it would only be to make the story longer. I hope R.L.LaFevers decides to make this only the first of Theodosia's many adventures.

Things That Are Difficult To Do:

1. Eating broken glass
2. Changing a baby's diaper for the first time.
3. Digesting aforementioned broken glass.
4. Selling a boy on a great adventuresome novel with a female heroine.

It's a bit of a stereotype but one with at least a grain of truth to it. Certain boys of a particular literary persuasion will offer an unpleasant amount of resistance to reading a book when its protagonist is of the feminine variety. This is understood. Few quibble the point. As a result, nine times out of ten a hero who discovers a fantastical world in a fantasy novel will sport a name like Harry or Percy or Sebastian (no one said they had to be manly names). This can make it difficult for girls heroes. Either they have to share the spotlight with a boy (and is pictured on the cover with him if the publisher has their way) or their heroine already exists in a world of her own when the action begins. The latter is the case with one Theodosia Throckmorton. If you called her "spunky" to her face she'd probably grind your foot beneath her boot heel. Theodosia isn't cute or plucky or wide-eyed. She's sly and clever with just half a sandwich more intelligence than her fellow man. "Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos" is not a perfect creation, but it has enough originality and sheer verve to make up for those imperfections a reader might find.

When you're living in Edwardian England as the child of easily distracted museum curators, you have to do a lot of growing up on your own. Theodosia Throckmorton , for her part, has done her fair share. While her mother has been scouring Egypt for artifacts to send to the family's Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Theodosia lives in London at the museum in question with her father and cat. What's more, she has a purpose in life. Unlike anyone else she knows, Theodosia can physically sense the horrid curses and black magic seeping from the artifacts on display. Her job? Remove the magic and keep away from her father's meddling curator Clive Fagenbush . And everything would have been perfectly fine had her mother not brought home that wretched Heart of Egypt. Legend says that should this amulet ever leave its native soil it will curse the country that takes it in and topple the kingdom itself. Now WWI is looming, evil forces are conspiring to steal the amulet for their own means, and it's up to Theodosia to foil the bad guys, find herself some allies, and return the Heart of Egypt to its rightful home.

The book lends itself to love. First off, there's the fact that LaFevers has such a flair for names. It's just a pleasure to read someone who can create her own unique characters without sounding like a slightly sickened Dickens novel. So it was that I found myself chortling over monikers like Sticky Will,Dolge, Sweeny, and Wigmere . The very voice of the book was also a pleasure. I'm rather taken with any heroine who mentally labels her brother a "cad" when he threatens her with imminent education. And I liked the shout-outs to other works of children's fiction. E.Nesbit's, The Story of the Treasure Seekers gets a mention, which pleased me to no end. A pity the author is never named.

Best of all, "Theodosia" works on more than one level. It is my personal belief that LaFevers is making a rather slick anti-colonialism statement couched in an otherwise innocuous fantasy. Theodosia's parents are stealing a country's treasures without so much as a drop of guilt. Heck, her mother even alludes to a possible bribery of "local officials" so as to remove the artifacts from the country. And while you'd never accuse Theodosia of being anything other than a patriot (she even goes so far as to say that she would never "betray" her country) that doesn't mean she can't be at odds with what the nation, as well as her very own parents, does.Less effective perhaps is the tie made between pre-war Germany and this "curse" upon England. Says Theodosia, " Germany was using the power of Ancient Egyptian magic to topple its adversaries. Just like Thutmose III and Amenemhab had." Anti-colonialism I'm willing to buy. The Kaiser using magic? I guess it works in the same way that the Nazis in the Indiana Jones films work. It just seems a little clunky for an otherwise nice book.

There are problems here and there. There are no surprises regarding the true villain of the book. You probably won't mind, but LaFevers makes it fairly evident. Another complaint I've heard lodged against this title is that it doesn't effectively take you into Edwardian England. The smells and tastes and sensations aren't there. You can appreciate the plot and pacing, but it's not an evocative novel. I agree with this to some extent. Obviously that wasn't what LaFevers was going for. For the kind of book that it is, you can enjoy the story without feeling you have to have traveled back in time with the author. For all that the author doesn't try to conjure up distinct sensations, she's thought through numerous tricky details. I loved the idea of long-term exposure to curses seeping into a person's soul like radiation into cells. Plus the illustrations by Yoko Tanaka are used sparingly enough to give the book just enough oomph without detracting.

I'm trying to gauge the level of innate kid-appeal in this book, and I'm having a difficult time coming up with anything. What it really feels like is a child-version of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody novels like Crocodile on the Sandbank. Same level-headed heroine. Same magic and vibe. Same exciting Egypt-based fight/flight sequences. You can hardly recommend a book to a kid on the basis of the adult novel it reminded you of. In the end, I'm just going to wait for the child who comes up to me and wants a good adventure story with a bit of fantasy for flair. It won't be a book for every kid out there, true. But when paired with titles like the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer, "Theodosia" should prove popular with any kid attracting to the intelligent and the arcane.

Who could resist Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, by R. L. LaFevers? The book is dedicated to "clever girls everywhere who get tired of feeling like no one's listening". Set in the early 1900's, it's the story of young Theodosia Throckmorton, who more or less lives in London's Museum of Legends and Antiquities. Her mother is an archaeologist, frequently away excavating tombs in Egypt. Her father is museum-obsessed, and frequently works through the night. Theodosia, who has managed through her parents' inattention to dodge both boarding school and governesses, has her own little room at the museum, where she sleeps in a sarcophagus. This alone would be interesting, but it gets better.

Theodosia, who is "cleverer than most", has a rare natural gift for sensing ancient curses, and removing them. When her mother brings home a very important, and seriously cursed artifact, the Heart of Egypt, Theodosia finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy. She has to recover the artifact, after it's stolen by evil-doers, and go to great lengths to un-do the damage wrought by the Heart of Egypt. She wrestles with a secret brotherhood, German troublemakers, an appealing young pickpocket, and her pesky younger brother, Henry. Not to mention stowing away on a ship, facing scorpions, and removing a curse from her black cat. Through it all, Theodosia remains strong and smart, considerably more on top of things than her relatively hapless parents and snooty grandmother. She's very cool.

Theodosia has an appealingly snarky voice (the story is told in the first person). Here are a couple of examples:

"I weighed my options: being followed through the streets of London by a menacing stranger or catching a lift with Grandmother Throckmorton. It shouldn't have been such a difficult choice, but then, you don't know my grandmother." (page60)

"We bade Henry goodbye at Charing Cross Station and waited on the platform until his train pulled away. I realized I was going to miss the little beast. Either that or I had a bit of coal dust stuck in my eye." (page 248)

Another thing I like about this book is that LaFevers isn't afraid to use advanced vocabulary. Theodosia is supposed to be extra-clever, after all. For example:

"Henry sniggered and I gave him my best quelling look." (page 195)

Sniggered and quelling in the same sentence. Who wouldn't love that? The writing style is overall quite straightforward, but sentences like this one lift it above the common.

The book also conveys a sense of reverence for ancient artifacts and places. For example:

"I cannot begin to tell you the thrill of finally seeing the necropolis up close, not to mention the tombs of the pharaohs. I have heard about them all my life, dealt daily with their historic finds, and spent hours trying to cipher out their meaning. And now, to finally experience one in its entirety, as it was originally built and conceived, not in crumbled bits and pieces ... it was as if I stood at the pearly gates of heaven itself." (page 304)

Kids who enjoy hearing about mummies, ancient tombs, pyramids, and Egyptian curses will find this book utterly compelling. Fans of historical novels, especially British historical novels, will appreciate the attention to period detail. And conspiracy buffs will enjoy figuring out, along with Theodosia, who to trust, and who not to trust. In short, this book is a welcome addition to the canon of middle grade mystery and suspense novels. I look forward to the future adventures that are sure to follow.

A slightly longer version of this book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on March 22, 2007.

Eleven-year-old Theodosia Throckmorton spends most of her time at The Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father is the head curator and her mother is an archeologist who brings back her latest finds to the museum. Theo is very busy since she has the unique ability to sense dark magic and curses. Using a blend of intuition and science, she has successfully lifted many curses and has learned what to do when your cat is possessed by a demon.

Her mother's latest find is Thutmose's Heart of Egypt. Unfortunately, legend has it that whoever removes the Heart of Egypt from the tomb will bring about famine, plague and pestilence. Members of a secret society give Theo an important mission: return the Heart of Egypt to the tomb to save the British Empire!

Readers will enjoy Theodosia as she is precocious and a lot of fun. Her observations are dry and often hilarious. For example, she is able to identify one of the curators based on his signature scent of onions and boiled cabbage. She is also a sympathetic character because she has learned to be self-sufficient. While her parents love her, they often get caught up in their latest discovery. Theo has learned to fend for herself. She does what she can to get her parents' attention and admiration. Although Theo is often told she is a bit too clever for her own good, this trait helps her stay one step ahead of the villains.

This is a very well-written adventure story that will appeal to adult and younger readers. I started to read this book before going to bed, thinking that I would just read one or two chapters to start. I stayed up late because I kept turning the pages to find out what happened next.

I can't wait for Theodosia's next adventure! [...]
Armchair Interviews says: Two thumbs up for Theodosia Throckmorton!

A "Booklist" quotation noted on the front of this book reads: "A sure bet for Harry Potter fans." That's probably true, but I loved this book and couldn't disagree more with that marketing strategy. It's not a Harry Potter clone, and if you go into it expecting a separate "wizarding world" a la J.K. Rowling, then you may be disappointed.

What you can expect is the exciting tale of Theodosia, an eleven-year old Edwardian sleuth/mystic/ adventurer, who is knee-deep in enough secrets, mummies and magical mystery to keep most young readers quite enthralled.

Theodosia is the daughter of archeologists living in 1906 London. Her mystic powers are not those of Rowling's superstar wizard, Harry. But she's funny, courageous, resourceful and highly intelligent -- and she does have a highly attuned sense of the occult. Every time she gets near a cursed object, she feels as though "icy-footed beetles" are scurrying up and down her back.

Her neglectful parents keep her parked at their London Museum of Legends and Antiquities most of the time, where poor Theodosia is surrounded by curses and black magic -- which only she can see. But she doesn't let that bother her, much. She just digs in and removes the curses as best she can, using "recipes" (which are great fun to read about her concocting). A hilarious subplot concerns her accidental demonizing of her beloved cat, Isis, while trying to banish a curse.

The plot of the novel centers around the discovery of the "Heart of Egypt," a gorgeous over-sized scarab, which Theo's mom has brought home from her latest foray to the tombs of ancient Egypt. It turns out that this scarab has overwhelming black magic powers which could bring down the entire British empire. Aided by her little brother, Henry, and a wily young pickpocket known as Sticky Will, Theo is soon embroiled in dark deeds which include running all over London chasing criminals, discovering secret societies (both good and evil), stowing away on a ship to Cairo, and saving England and the free world.

I loved Theodosia's ability to keep cool in tight situations, and her very real relationships with her parents (she wants more attention from them) and with her little brother (he's annoying, but trustworthy.) The story line moves along quickly, and the dialogue is crisp and mostly period (a few "watching my back" references slipped in, but I don't think most younger readers would notice the anachronism.)

The climax of the book is well-played, and sets up Theodosia for further adventures. I would recommend this book to parents who are searching for entertaining books for young readers into adventure, Egypt, magic or history. And, yes, it's probably going to appeal to the Harry Potter fan -- but let it stand on its own two feet.

Eleven-year-old Theodosia Throckmorton, the likable, intelligent narrator of this tale of mystery and magic set in 1906 London, spends most of her time exploring the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, where her absent-minded father is head curator. Her adventurous mother is frequently off on archaeological expeditions to Egypt. Theo seems to be the only person who can detect ancient curses on the museum's artifacts, and through her study of ancient texts, she has been learning how to remove them, a skill that comes in handy when she accidentally transfers a demonic curse from a statuette of the cat-goddess Bastet to her own poor, innocent cat, Isis.

Theo's adventures involve, in addition to black magic, mummies, pyramids, an evil conspiracy to use an ancient amulet to topple Britain and plunge the world into war and chaos, and a voyage to Egypt to return the cursed amulet to the tomb it came from. The responsibility for resolving the crisis falls on Theo's shoulders, with help from allies such as the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers, her pesky little brother, Henry, and a wily young pickpocket named Sticky Will.

The action-packed story is told with plenty of humor and attention to detail of time and place, and many readers will be fascinated by all the Egyptological lore. This looks like the beginning of a great new series, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book, Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris.

Theodosia lives in her father's British Museum. When they get new artifacts at the museum, only Theodosia can see its curse or dark magic and get rid of it. Later, when the museum gets another artifact called the Heart of Egypt, she sensed a very deadly curse that can destroy the U.S. Will she be able to save them all, or fail? This is a great book of adventure with lots of mystery added.

My daughter said, "If I could give the book more stars, I would."

Theodosia Throckmorton, a precocious and self-assured eleven-year-old girl, can see the curses swirling around the Egyptian artifacts in London's Museum of Legends and Antiquities. Too bad the grown-ups won't listen to her. Her father, the head curator, and her mother, an archaeologist who makes frequent trips to Egypt to acquire new artifacts, don't understand why their daughter continues to give them protective amulets, or at least get them to wear gloves when handling cursed objects!

Good thing Theo's a smart girl; she takes it upon herself to find ways to un-curse the things her parents bring back to the museum, learning how to read hieroglyphics and perusing old papyrus documents about the legends and myths of ancient Egypt. She's not perfect--sometimes her solutions go awry, as when she accidentally transfers a curse to her pet cat, Isis--but her skills keep the museum in good order, leaving her parents none the wiser.

Things start to get bad when Theo's mother comes back from Egypt with a new artifact: the Heart of Egypt, a legendary object that carries with it a curse that could destroy all of Britain and plunge the world into chaos. When the Heart of Egypt is stolen from the museum before Theo can work out a way to dispel the curse, she's sent on a wild chase through London. With the help of her younger brother, Henry, and a young pickpocket, Sticky Will, Theo organizes a plan to find the Heart of Egypt and steal it back.

Theo is an innovative and interesting young girl, and her first-person narration is full of spunk and energy that shapes her character. The narrative voice was easily my favorite part of the storytelling; Theo's narration was compelling, really showing the world through her eyes. The supporting cast--heroes and villains alike--is rendered in great detail, so hat even those characters who might seem larger-than-life are just right for their setting. LaFevers paints a wonderful picture of 1906 London, with nods to the geopolitical tensions rocking Europe at that point, delivered through the perspective of a young girl who cares more for curses than for politics.

The plot moves along at a good pace, spending just enough time on each scene that the reader gets a sense of being there, all of which is only emphasized by the voice of the novel's protagonist. The conclusion is satisfying, but the story's larger questions are left unanswered, in preparation for a sequel I can't wait to read!

Reviewed by: Candace Cunard

Travel with me to a world with curses and magic. There are many great people in this book with different personalities. Some are sneaky, and some are evil! Theodosia is a girl who travels from London to Egypt. She loves learning about curses and magic. She is sneaky and intelligent and the book is written from her point of view. She is always explaining what she is thinking and her thoughts are always so crazy. The story builds up slowly and then when you think that it will get boring, it gets exciting again! The story is generally easy to follow and sometimes it might seem confusing, but it explains what is going on. Some books have a boring exposition, but this book has a really fun exposition! I would give this book a five star rating because it has details and it's just really fun to read. When I finished reading the book, I felt so happy because it was a great book, and I also felt sad because I could not continue reading it!

Some kids don't like historical fiction, and my daughter is one of those. Ever since she had to read Treasure Island in school she steers well away from any book that takes place in a bygone era. It's sad, really. I read this book and thought, this is the one that will change things. I love the voice of the narrator, which the SLJ review says is inconsistent. I think it's great. It makes historical fiction easily readable, and may, someday, lead to my daughter stretching herself to real historical fiction.

Things to love about this book - the voice, the thrilling action scenes in Egypt, the quirky cast of characters, the cursed cat (I have one, too - a complete psycho!), and how Theodosia grows to see her family in a more accurate light (especially her annoying little brother, I have one of those, too).

Enjoy this imaginative and fun story, and let's all hope for more Theodosia.