Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

When this little gem came across my desk, it looked like the dark offspring of Lemony Snicket and Edward Gorey. I admit, I was intrigued. When I read the book jacket, I was hooked. An eleven year old girl with the run of London’s Museum of Legends and Antiquities who routinely finds and destroys curses attached to ancient objects? Throw in an adventuresome mother, an annoying but clever younger brother and a quick-footed pickpocket, mix in the Cursed Object of all Cursed Objects, add a pinch of world domination and stir with a secret society and you have a delicious, mysterious tale perfect for those young readers looking for something beyond Harry Potter.

Theodosia Elizabeth Throckmorton spends her days, and often her nights, roaming show more the halls of the Museum where her father curates and her mother provides the artifacts from trips to Eqypt. Theo has an unusual gift — she can see the curses attached to many of the ancient objects her mother excavates for the museum. Using ancient texts and her own ingenuity, Theo routinely cleanses the objects so they can be safely viewed and handled by the museum staff. When Theo’s mother returns from a particularly long stay in Egypt, Theo is thrilled, until she sees the object most prized by her mother — the Heart of Egypt — which is drenched with evil. When the object is stolen from the museum, Theo and younger brother Henry embark on a mission to find it and return it to their mother. Along the way, however, they discover the Heart of Egypt is far more dangerous than they ever imagined, and Theo finds herself stowed away on a boat to Egypt where she must return the Heart to the tomb from which it came.

Action abounds in this wonderfully intelligent story. Theo is a pip of a character – a combination of Violet Baudelaire, Harriet the Spy and a young Amelia Peabody – who proves the point that children are far more capable and clever than adults think. The details involving Egyptian magic, and life inside the museum make the story come alive. Theo is a well-drawn character, and drives most of the action; I wish, though, that her parents were more fleshed out, especially her mother. I imagine we’ll see more of Theo in future stories, so LaFevers has time to complete the characterizations. Highly recommended for grades 5-7. show less

I really enjoyed this one, primarily for Theodosia's character/voice and the overall concept: an girl who practically lives in a museum of antiquities, where she has to secretly defuse all the horrible curses her archeologist parents unknowingly unlock (and don't believe in). And I love that aside from the excitement of artifacts and spies and so on, there's this underlying but powerful internal thread: really what Theo wants is to know her parents love her and value her more than the artifacts. I found this aspect of the book quite poignant and moving, particularly the ending.

This is the first book in a series, but it ended in a way I found quite satisfying. On the other hand, I am quite intrigued to see where things go in the next show more books, especially based on certain events in the last few chapters. show less

Theodosia's parents both study ancient Egypt and work for London's Museum of Legends and Antiquities. As a result, eleven-year-old Theodosia spends almost all her time at the museum which is wonderful since she is interested in antiquities, but it's not so great because she can sense the ancient curses that surround many of the Egyptian artifacts. When her mother finds and brings the legendary jeweled Heart of Egypt to the museum, Theodosia is not the only person who knows of its devastating powers, but it appears that she may the only one who can save Britain from the doom to come.

What a rip-roaring adventure! It's almost like The Mummy but with children as protagonists (and I mean that in the best possible way: action, adventure, show more Egyptian curses, chase scenes, but unfortunately for me no Medjai, sigh). Serpents of Chaos also involves pickpockets, a stowaway, hidden burial chambers, a demonized cat, and a secret brotherhood. How's that for excitement!

Amidst it all, Theodosia as a character is solid as a rock. She is clever, independent, daring, and is rather attached to her cat's presence while she sleeps in an empty sarcophagus most nights (her father is the Head Curator and rarely leaves his place of work while his wife is away on a dig). She also realizes that her ability to sense curses makes her different from her parents, and as a result she is essentially an expert in neutralizing Egyptian curses due to her extensive studies while she is stuck at the museum. The adults who surround her on a daily basis fail to recognize her knowledge, which causes Theodosia much frustration. This frustration drives many of her actions throughout the book, and she is determined to prove to her parents that she is of great worth.

The historical setting is an interesting one. The events occur in what seems to be early 1914, and the author does a stand-up job of simply explaining the complicated international relations that existed at that time and which provide a backdrop to the significance of the Heart of Egypt. I'm curious to read the sequels to Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos for many reasons, but one of the main ones is to find out how the advent of the First World War will be incorporated into the plot if, indeed, it is.

This is a novel that should appeal to boys and girls with its wit, adventure, and magic, and will likely spur interest in ancient Egypt as well. show less

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

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 show more 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! show less

What if one of Walter Emerson's daughters was as daring as the nephew chronicled by Elizabeth Peters? What if Egyptian magic was real? Definitely lively writing, with the independent (and excruciatingly Free Range on an E. Nesbit scale) Theodosia concocting countercharms, removing curses, and investigating frightening Egyptian mysteries, mostly in London. A certain element of absurdist and mannerist fantasy, and the major plot turns are somewhat predictable, but an all-around win of a series. I await the future adventures of the clever and resourceful Theodosia with bated breath-- she puts Hermione let alone Harry Potter in the shade.

my cover says "Theodosia Throckmorton and the Serpents of Chaos." Apparently, the title got changed. Weird.

Theodosia (her last name remains Throckmorton--it's only the book title that's been changed) is 11 years old and lives in London. The story takes place in 1906.

Theo's parents are archaeologists--her father runs a museum of antiquities while her mother is in the field. Her younger brother is away at school, something Theo's been working very hard to avoid for herself for two reasons: she feels it's a waste of her time, and she's busy enough as it is, trying to protect everyone from curses.

See, Theo can sense ancient curses on many of the artifacts in the museum, and she's developed ways of neutralizing them. And nobody else seems to show more realize they're there at all. With her mother and brother gone, Theo and her father spend most of their time at the museum, where he tends to lose himself in work, and she ends up spending her nights sleeping in a sarcophagus. It's safer.

When Theo's mother returns from her latest expedition, she brings the Heart of Egypt, which is seriously cursed. Theo needs to return it to Egypt, but before she can accomplish that, she teams up with her little brother and a street thief to foil evil villains, falls in with a secret society, accidentally curses her cat,... well, life is pretty hectic.

It's a wonderfully exciting story that doesn't talk down to kids, and provides quite a few situations they (or an adult who remembers being a child) can relate to. Even though Theodosia does possess a special gift, and her parents are neglectful and oblivious to the dangers she sees so clearly, the adults in this book aren't painted as bumbling idiots. Theo's parents and the adults of the secret society do their best with the information they have, and Theo knows when she needs the assistance of adults. Likewise, the children are neither completely helpless nor stupid. It's a nice balance. show less

Theodosia Throckmorton (Theo for short), the young daughter of the curator of the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London, is very busy these days. The year is 1906, and the world’s western powers are busily excavating the treasures of ancient Egypt and hauling them across the ocean to their respective nations. Her parents, keen participants in this race for the world’s history, are classic workaholics, and if it weren’t for the fact that she was kept so busy de-cursing all the treasures in the museum, Theo would probably begin to resent spending so much time there. When her mother returns home from a long excavation in Egypt laden with treasures from an ancient pharaoh’s tomb, Theo is faced with an object bearing the most show more horrifying curse she had ever encountered, a curse that could destroy Britain if it is not placed back inside the tomb where it was found. Thus begins a fast paced mystery adventure full of secret sects, ancient curses, and possessed cats.

Written in the first person through the voice of Theodosia, LaFevers recreates the dark and gloomy streets of Edwardian Britain. An absent minded curator for a father, a globe trotting, adventurous mother and a little brother who likes to wreak havoc and who secretly wishes his sister didn’t treat him like mud, compliment the dry wit and intelligence of Theodosia herself. Although the plot sometimes hinges on too many coincidences, and some of the character’s motivation do not seem to be justified (for example, the head of the secret sect insists that it must be Theodosia who finds a way to get herself to Egypt and deposit the Heart of Egypt back in the tomb when he has a whole army of young men to do it), it is all in all a fun read, perfect for those who secretly harbor a desire to grow up to be Indiana Jones (like me). show less