Jagger Jones & The Mummy’s Ankh

Although he’s a total nerd when it comes to all things Ancient Egypt, Jagger Jones is less than thrilled about taking a trip to Amarna with his mom and little sister, Aria. His mom’s job as a travel writer means that Jagger and Aria are homeschooled, often from exotic locations around the globe, but Jagger would rather stay in Chicago and go to regular school with his best friend. On their first night in Amarna, Jagger is awakened by a mysterious voice calling his name. He follows the voice (and Aria follows him) to a previously undiscovered tomb, from where the siblings are transported back three-thousand years into the past. An Egyptian princess needs Jagger’s help to find nine gemstones, defeat an evil general, save her sister, and manage the old gods. Luckily, Jagger has an encyclopedic knowledge of Ancient Egypt and Aria is armed with a sparkly purse full of useful things…

Jagger Jones and the Mummy’s Ankh is an exciting, action-packed read from the get-go. There’s a certain element of spookiness when Jagger hears the disembodied voice calling to him, and then he and Aria are zapped back in time and thrust straight into a potentially deadly adventure. There’s a lot of humor in the story, too. The relationship between the siblings leads to a lot of snark and laughter, as do their attempts to fit in with the Egyptians. Malayna Evans has a Ph.D. in Egyptology and she has managed to weave a heap of interesting historical facts into the story. There’s a thrilling mystery to be solved and plenty of villains to be fought, and it all makes for a top-notch fantasy/adventure story.