Review Detail

Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra

Middle Grade Fiction 736

Off to the Mediterranean

September 01, 2022

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Charlie evaded authorities in Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation and Charlie Thorne and the Lost City, and now feels that there are further clues to be found while she's wandering around the world with the Einstein's Pandora code lodged in her photgraphic memory. She's managed to break away even from her half brother Dante and his coworker and love interest Milana, and has crashed a party in order to look at a tablet inscribed in Latin that may have clues from Cleopatra on it. It's owner isn't thrilled to find her in his private quarters, and even less thrilled after she chloroforms him and escapes. This is just the beginning of Charlie's adventures being chased by just about all of the secret service organizations around the world, who all want something from her. Since Charlie has money she has stolen from a company that stole her computer program, money is no object. When she meets up again with Dante and Milana, they follow the clues and find directions and objects that no one else in two thousand years has been able to process or find. These clues take them from Greece to Italy to New York, and Charlie seems to be unstoppable. Will she be able to find clues from all of the brilliant minds that have left them behind?

Good Points

Charlie has all of the qualities that many middle school students want-- autonomy from parents (who aren't dead, just unsupportive), unlimited money, super intelligence, awesome spy skills, and reason to travel the world. This is heavy on exciting chase scene, and the excitement rarely lets up. There are lots of people after Charlie and her knowledge, but she manages to constantly get the best of the bad guys. In this case, I was a fan of the bad guys being somewhat bumbling and definitely evil; while I appreciate a nuanced villain, Charlie is a more straight forward character. Her hunting down a college friend so she could get help from the girl's aunt was an interesting peek into her past. This was definitely a romp equal to or better than the first two books. It's hard to keep up that energy, but Gibbs does a great job.

There's a lot of really interesting and helpful history of the ancient world, and since this is part of the 7th grade school curriculum, this is a great inclusion. Since I taught Latin a lifetime ago, I am always tickled to see books that include this era. This did, however, make me wonder how long it would have taken Cleopatra to get all of her clues in far flung places, given the rate of travel during her time, and whether her children would have been able to figure out the clues AND do all of that traveling!

There's definitely at least one more adventure coming up, since Charlie mentions finding Isaac Newton's secrets, but I hope this series wraps up in five books. Like the world traveling adventures of the Thirty Nine Clues series or Stokes' Addison Cooke series, Charlie Thorne books are a great way to have virtual adventures.