Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. A. LaFevers (4/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Theodosia Thockmorton series by LaFevers. I actually received the second book "Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris" though the Amazon Vine program and really liked it. After realizing that that was the second book I went back to read this one. The third book "Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus" comes out in April of 2010. This was another great Theodosia book. These are wonderful books for kids interested in Egyptian history, magic, mystery, or just reading about a smart young girl who gets into all sorts of trouble.

In this book Theodosia's mother brings back a whole load of artifacts from Egypt and they are rife with curses. Theodosia has a special talent for being able to sense curses and uses her hard-won knowledge to dispel them. One of the artifacts her mother brings back is the Heart of Egypt. The Heart of Egypt will bring about the fall of England if it is not sent back to Egypt quickly. Unfortunately Theodosia's mother is not the only one interested in it, a nefarious group steals it and it is up to Theodosia, a pick pocket named Sticky Will, and Theodosia's brother Henry to find a way to get that artifact back where it belongs.

LaFevers spins an intriguing and interesting mystery surrounding these Egyptian artifacts. I love Theodosia's resourcefulness and practicality, these coupled with the fact that she is only a young girl make for a number of very humorous moments in the book. I think after Theodosia my favorite character is Will, he is resourceful in a different way and another great character. There are many excellent characters, but by far the strength of the book is the mystery and the interesting Egyptian lore included. The plot clips along at a good rate and never becomes boring.

The only thing I didn't like was that LaFevers makes the parents so clueless, in fact most of the adults in the book are rather stupid and helpless. I kind of wish that at least some of the adults in the book had a clue, but it is a good story nonetheless.

I found this book to be a quick and fun read and suitable for children of all ages. There are some scary parts, but nothing too horrible. Overall a very enjoyable read, very in keeping with the second book (Which I read before this one) I am really looking forward to the third book in this series.