Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Alex has always been sickly. Crippled with pain, Alex is often relegated to sitting around, watching as life passes him by. Things start to go from bad to worse though when his mother curates a new exhibit in the Egyptian wing of the museum. Then he dies. He shouldn't have woken up. He shouldn't have been able to come back, but perhaps his mother knows a bit more about the Egyptian Book of the Dead beyond just academic knowledge.
Michael Northrup has a gift for action adventure stories with great characters. The pacing is this book was spot on, walking a careful balance between plot-driven and character-driven. There is little unnecessary details, but this keeps the story focused and short, which is perfect for its target audience. Don't let it fool you though, this book is dark and creepy, and the amount of scorpions in this story is enough to make your skin crawl. Can't say I wasn't warned though since the author did tell me about them himself on Twitter.
Alex and his friend Ren are smart and I love when kids have to sneak around to solve a mystery since the adults are blocking their way. Adults are only a minor inconvenience when there are scary things going on. Also, I love anything to do with Egypt and I have been that way since I was a kid. Ancient mummies coming to life, the Book of the Dead, museums. Sign me up. Since this is a series, there is a bit of an open end, but I wasn't too bothered by it since I am promised another book and the mystery in this one was solved. Additionally, there is a game available at www.scholastic.com/tombquest, that is kind of awesome.
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