What worked:
The book opens with Natalie (she’d rather be called Cincinnati since that’s where her “Pops” lives) stealing an artifact from the museum where her mother works. However, her cousin Sebastian steals it from her so Cincinnati will need to get it back to break a family curse. Readers can imagine there are many curses to exorcise since Pops stole hundreds of relics from their original sites. It’s Cincinnati’s intention to retrieve all those artifacts from museums around the world and return them to their countries of origin. It seems like an insurmountable task for a twelve-year-old seventh-grader.
Cincinnati’s never been too concerned about making friends since she has a scholarship to a private school of students with wealthy parents. Who cares about a bunch of snooty kids? Her best friend is Sebastian, the son of another museum worker. Sebastian is highly knowledgeable with a talent for creating replicas of ancient relics. Cincinnati comes to the aid of another anti-social student named Parsley and she surprisingly wants to be Cincinnati’s friend. Parsley would like to keep her family life secret but Cincinnati’s impulsiveness makes that a challenge. The unlikely trio band together to help Cincinnati break her family’s curse.
The Spear of Destiny creates the challenge that drives the adventure. Cincinnati’s initial plans to break her family’s curse are a complete flop so finding the spear may be the solution. This challenge is even more difficult due to other relic hunters competing with her plus it’s almost impossible to keep it a secret from her mom. The identities of the hunters may surprise Cincinnati but she’s shocked to discover one of them is willing to kill. The Spear of Destiny holds its own curse that’s confounded relic hunters since the time of Christ. The spear’s holder may get all of their wishes fulfilled but its downside might ruin their life.
What didn’t work as well:
Some readers might be bothered by Cincinnati’s friendship with Parsley. Too often, Cincinnati uses Parsley’s resources to further her treasure hunting so the foundation of their friendship is questionable. Parsley is looking for adventure in her life but Cincinnati’s sincerity toward her friend feels wrong. However, Cincinnati’s behavior provides room for her to grow as a person.
The final verdict:
This book will appeal to lovers of ancient relics and folklore. The livers of Cincinnati and her mother are centered around archaeology and Cincinnati’s main motivation is resolving the curses that have plagued her family for years. It’s a fast-paced adventure and I recommend you give it a shot.

Cincinnati (known to her mother as Natalie), is determined to break the curse that has been haunting her family ever since her grandfather, a famous explorer, plundered certain relics from a different land. But in her efforts to return even one relic, she's foiled by a conniving classmate. Cincinnati must team up with some unlikely friends to restore the relic and break the curse once and for all.

I'm really intrigued by the way this book addresses the concept of plundered national treasures. I enjoy a good exploration book now and again, and finding artifacts is always one of the best parts of any mission. But this book takes a different angle, making the adventure about returning something that should have really stayed in the country where it was "discovered." There's a lot of meaningful conversation around that topic, and while the plot gets pretty crazy at times, I appreciate the way the characters are able to analyze right and wrong, shifting away from Euro-centric thinking. The characters are quirky and the dialogue is expressive. My only complaint is that the plot got a little too implausible for my tastes at times, but perhaps that's the sort of thing you'd like, in which case, I recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Great-great-great? granddaughter Natalie (aka Cincinnati Lee) wants to follow in her relative's footsteps to become a world-famous archeologist. With a single mother who works at the Cosmopolitan museum, Cincinnati has had a very unusual upbringing. What she wants to do is restore stolen native artifacts currently in museums around the world and return them to the rightful owners--hoping to break the "curse" that has plagued her family. Enlisting two friends in her quest, Cincinnati takes lots of risks to solve the riddle of where the Spear of Destiny can be found; all the while trying to stay ahead of a couple of shady antiquities dealers who are also seeking the spear.

From a kid's standpoint, this has a lot of action and just enough danger to keep the pages turning. From an adult standpoint, the obvious rip off of Indiana Jones movies and the things Natalie is able to accomplish without adult aid are unbelievable. Her background is never mentioned--she is half Chinese but aside from food mentioned and "red paper money envelopes", nothing else about her cultural background is incorporated into the story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I couldn’t put this book down! Cincinnati is the kind of spunky, determined hero we all want to root for, and her adventures are packed with humor, heart, and edge-of-your-seat action. The stakes are high, but so are the laughs. It’s like an archaeological treasure hunt mashed with a heartfelt family drama, and the result is perfection. Finished in less than two days because I just had to know what happened next. If you love clever middle-grade adventures with strong morals and stronger personalities, pick this one up immediately!

If you were a kid in the late 80's you might remember Chronicles of Prydain author Lloyd Alexander had a series of paperback chapter books about a character named Vesper Holly, who was a seventeen-year-old treasure seeker and adventurer in the vein of Indiana Jones, but in the 19th Century. Cincinatti Lee, Curse Breaker takes that concept and modernizes it, but with a bit more direct references to the famed film series and a contemporary setting.

12-year-old Cincinnati (Natalie) Lee takes her first name from the city where her Pops, her great great (great) grandpa lives in a nursing facility. "Pops" just happens to be a 135 year old famous archeologist (allegedly still alive from drinking from the fountain of youth) who hunted for treasure to preserve it in museums instead of letting it fall into the hands of scavengers and antiquities dealers. The problem is, now he's been cursed by the very possibly-magical items he stole from their places of origin. So Cincinnati takes it upon herself to get them back and break the curse by returning the artifacts to their places and people.

Well, at least at first. Things take a turn after a botched attempt at retrieving the first item from an antiquities auction when she discovers another hunt, this time for the Spear of Destiny, and things take off from there with an increase in danger, intrigue, and international adventure. Heilig's reverse treasure hunter makes for a good time, with fun characters who are well drawn and emotional conflicts that feel relatable. There are fun references to world art, literature, and history throughout, which may help spark curiosity in young readers to explore these topics on their own. It's all very Indiana Jones, right down to the fedora, but with a bit more fast-talking sneaky kid adventure to it.

I love adventure stories for children, and I really love anything set in a museum. This book didn't disappoint! The voice is punchy and Cincinnati Lee is a character I think fiery middle graders will be able to relate to. I found myself wishing the specifics of the titular curse were explained in more detail, and the ending felt a bit rushed, but it was a really fun read overall. It gets extra points for all the references to classic works of art, literature, and music.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC!

This reminded me a lot of what I enjoyed about the genre when I was younger. The characters had that feel that worked well overall and enjoyed how they were used in this universe. Heidi Heilig does a great job in keeping the reader engaged and how everything worked overall.