Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure

Fantasy/Adventure

Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure by P.B. Kerr Orchard Books, 2004, 355 pp., $16.95 ISBN: 0-439-67019-5

What do wisdom teeth, The Arabian Nights, an earthquake in Egypt, and a missing couple on a flight to London have in common? Quite a bit, it turns out, for two twelveyear-old twins. John and Philippa Gaunt enjoy an exciting and, at times, dangerous, adventure, thanks to what happens to them after a trip to the dentist-and a little luck.

Luck is precisely what these twins need after they go to stay with their uncle Nimrod. Only John and Philippa discover they have much more control over luck than they ever thought possible. The twins must quickly learn to harness their emerging powers to help their uncle solve an ancient mystery. If they succeed, the balance of Good and Evil in the world will remain in homeostasis; if they fail, Evil will have the advantage, and the whole world will suffer.

It is no surprise P.B. Kerr is also a writer of adult thrillers, as Phillip Kerr. Although the wit and vocabulary may be beyond some young readers, enthusiasts of the Harry Potter series and similar works will enjoy Kerr's suspenseful, yet fun, tale.

Emily Pauly

St. George, KS

Copyright Assembly on Literature for Adolescents -- National Council of Teachers of English Winter 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved