At the end of summer school, Benjamin was given one task—find his missing brothers. Should be easy right? But Benjamin can't locate a trace of them anywhere. Then he finds a mysterious file written in ancient Lemurian with his name on it, which wouldn't be so weird except the file happens to be several thousand years old. Who would have known about Benjamin that long ago? And then Benjamin and his friends begin to wonder, have they been looking not in the wrong place, but in the wrong time?

Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com

At the end of summer school last year, Benjamin Holt had one outstanding homework assignment - to find his two missing brothers. The thing is, Benjamin has no idea how he is ever going to accomplish this, especially since he won't be in Lemuria for a long while. What perplexes him even more is the fact that he and his brothers are the three people that keep the worlds in balance. This news is almost too much for him to bear, especially since he is so young, but it also pushes him farther to find the whereabouts of his brothers.

Over spring break, Benjamin gets the opportunity to intern at his father's law office, where he finds a mysterious file with his name on it. The only problem with the file is that he can't read it, as it is in ancient Lemurian, but at least he now has some sort of clue.

When he finally arrives back in Lumeria, he is greeted by his telegen pals continuing on with their studies, along with learning the art of time travel. With this new power in tow, the Emerald Tablet Alliance sets off across the earth in search of the missing brothers.

Goodness, these books are good! They are so jam-packed with adventure that it is hard not to love them. With the combination of the great plot and characters, along with the flawless writing, it was quite difficult to put the book down.

The world that was created - Lemuria - was so cool. What was even better about Lemuria was that it felt real. You could hear the footsteps on the path and the bell jingling when the characters walked into a shop. The characters were also very interesting. Benjamin was so determined to find his brothers that I felt myself cheering for him along his journey - which sounded like a lot of fun! Also, they all just clicked together. It was interesting to see their relationships unfold, and again, it was all very real.

The ending was probably the best part of the book. It made my heart race with anticipation, which I never wanted to end. Sadly it did though, leaving lots of room for the next book.

THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD is definitely suitable for anyone looking for adventure and fun. I compared the first book of the series, THE EMERALD TABLET, to the PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS series, but after reading this book I dare say that they are better!

I cannot wait to read more from PJ Hoover, as she is absolutely fantastic, and I urge everyone, young or old, to pick up a copy and see for themselves how cool Lemuria is! ( )