I love the books being written for children today. The characters are good, honest, clever, witty, resourceful and resilient, and they have a well developed sense of right and wrong. But they also have all the real insecurities and frustrations of real youth, so even in stories told in fantasy settings the characters are real and easy to identify with. This is good news not just for kids, but also for grownups who like a good read. You can write down to most adults and get away with it, but you cannot write down to kids. Kids are far too smart for that. I like series which balance escapist adventure with real-life emotions and imperfections, which give me a protagonist I can cheer for. Author R.L. LaFevers has created such a character.
It's 1906, and eleven year old Theodosia Throckmorton (I love that name!) has her hands full. Her father is head curator of London's Museum of legends and Antiquities, and her mother is returning from an archaeological dig in Egypt. Theo has a unique talent: she can see the black magic and ancient curses surrounding the museum's artifacts. Her parents love her, but often get so wrapped up in their work that they forget it is time to go home, or even time to eat, so Theo fends for herself, and sometimes her little brother when he's not away at boarding school. She reads ancient texts and learns how to remove those curses, and does a pretty good job of it - until her mother returns with The Heart of Egypt, which carries a curse more vile than anything Theo has encountered, a curse which threatens to crumble the British Empire and start an unimaginably terrible war. Our intrepid heroine won't let that happen. She is both aided and thwarted by secret societies both good and evil, her cat Isis, her younger brother Henry, street urchins Sticky Will and his brothers Snuffles and Ratsy, her stoic Grandmother Throckmorton who believes Theo needs a firmer hand if she is ever to learn how to behave like a proper young lady, and other museum employees whose loyalties are sometimes in question.
Does that sound like too many characters to keep track of? It is not. The author has created a lovable and courageous heroine in her trilogy and her supporting cast is as uniquely voiced as she is. But it is Theodosia who shines: part Nancy Drew, part Indiana Jones, part Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody, with maybe a bit of Percy Jackson thrown in to the mix. Three times Theodosia saves the British Empire: in Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris, and just released this year, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus. She does this while feeling that no one is truly listening to her or believing in her, and uncertain of her parents' love for her, but finding within herself a way to use her talents to do the right thing. As I've stated in previous posts about other characters, because it is the right thing to do, even if no one else believes it to be so. I hope the latest in the trilogy won't be the last we see of Theodosia. It would be a good place to say goodbye, as she becomes a little more self assured and the adults in her life come to appreciate and accept her for who she is (something us adults are reluctant to admit even we hope for) - but I do hope that Theodosia isn't quite done saving the Empire, nor stimulating imaginations of children and adults alike.
Book 1:
Book 2:
Book 3:
Well-said and well-written. Your review is engaging and insightful for me; it provides an excellent recommendation. Thanks for sending me the link, because, while my intentions are good, I get to neither my FaceBook account nor your blog as often as I intend.
ReplyDeleteA couple of minor points:
"She is both aided and thwarted by secret societies both good and evil" -- I think you mean something like: "...secret societies, some good, some evil"? This sounds like each society has both, which is probably true, but from your comments Saturday, I thought each had a separate focus...
"But they also have all the real insecurities and frustrations of real youth, so even in stories told in fantasy settings the characters are real and easy to identify with" I know that this is acceptable in advertising, marketing, web writing, and some books, so it's probably just my purist nature that rebels against using a subordinate clause as a sentence in and of itself...but...IT DRIVES ME NUTS! (...which explains a lot of my odd behaviour, right? It's such a common practice!)