Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra
Charlie Thorne #3
by Stuart Gibbs
Adventure
Realistic Fiction
Review #1
* * * * Stars (Great!)
Charlie Thorne is on the run. Yet again. And this time, she has to avoid her step-brother, his girlfriend, their agency, and the other foreign governmental agencies. She is determined to find her way through a series of clues that Cleopatra has left behind—and these clues lead to a great treasure.
There are a few problems, however. First, Charlie is captured by the Israeli secret service. Then she’s captured by the Egyptian secret service. After that, she also has her brother and his girlfriend (the CIA) tailing her, and beyond that, she has a very rich person who she has made very angry also tailing her.
As Charlie runs around the globe, she puts together pieces of history as well as figuring out the different endings to different stories. Her chase leads her through Egypt, Israel, Rome, Greece, and even some islands in the ocean, culminating in an unlikely destination.
Throughout the story, she will have to see if her wit and sheer smarts are enough to get her out of trouble—and if she can finally learn to actually trust others and work as a team.
This book was enjoyable because of the challenge and the little bits of history spread throughout it. It also had plenty of action and intensity, while still keeping it a middle-grade ish novel. Readers will definitely be on the edges of their seats during this story. For middle school readers.
