First up in my middle-grade adventures is the first book in the Theodosia series by R.L. La Fevers, titled Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. The settings alternate between Victorian London and Egypt, and the author clearly knows her ancient Egyptian history and magic (with some liberties taken to create scary situations).
I’ve actually read all four books in the series now (can I get a sticker?) and am a little disappointed there aren’t more, although the last book did provide satisfying closure for secrets and questions revealed in the earlier books.
Our feisty heroine, Theodosia, has several secrets she’s trying to keep from her not terribly attentive parents, all the while hoping to gain their attention and approval. Luckily she’s resourceful, brave, and takes matters into her own hands to protect the people around her when they clearly can’t do it for themselves.
Her father runs a Museum in London, its collections in competition with those of the British Museum. Her mother is absent at the start of the first book; as a professional archaeologist, she’s off on a dig in Egypt and is sending back artifacts for the museum. Unfortunately, only Theodosia can tell when an artifact has a curse on it, and she’s devised several ways to test for this, and to counteract such spells.
She can’t explain her abilities to her parents because they simply don’t believe her and worry that she’s “peculiar.”
So when she finds she’s the target of an evil secret society (the Serpents of Chaos) bent on using magic to throw the world into Chaos and start another world war, she must hide her skills, her meetings with allies, and the real reason strange things are happening around her.
It’s left to Theodosia, and her friend Sticky Will to meet the threat of these sinister forces, since the adults have trouble believing what they see, and never quite grasp the dangers that threaten the children.
What I love most about these books is the narrative voice of Theodosia. She’s smart, assertive, and has strong opinions without that snarkiness that seems to be the bane of contemporary kidlit. LaFevers also convinces me that the narrator is British, and her word choice is appropriate for the period, with nary an anachronism. I enjoyed spending time with this smart, unappreciated child who has rollicking adventures while employing ancient magic.
Highly recommended. A girl-centered world of magic with fast pacing and suspense. My candidate for a great adventure movie for girls.
(Image Credit: A wedjat eye of Horus, an amulet of protection from the Metropolitan Museum of NY. The wedjat eye is important throughout all the Theodosia books.)