R.L. LaFevers has done it again! I love this author and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The first in a new series, the characters, settings and plot are exciting and creative. There is humor and adventure too. The sketches in the book really enhance the story. The cover makes it attractive and inviting to pick up and read. The story is about a young boy, Nate, who has just learned that his adventuring parents have apparently died in an accident. Nate's governess quickly takes her "tidy sum" from the lawyer and sends him off to live with his aunt whom he's never met. Turns out, she's an adventurer as well and off they go to help a phoenix hatch. Things get tricky when auntie is captured by Bedouins and the resulting adventures are very entertaining. I plan to read this aloud to a few of my classes for elementary story time and expect this book to circulate well. I'll be looking for book 2!