Synopsis:

A compelling story of adventure, romance and intrigue, set in ancient Egypt.
Mara is a proud and beautiful slave girl who yearns for freedom. In order to gain it, she finds herself playing the dangerous role of double spy for two arch enemies - each of whom supports a contender for the throne of Egypt.
Against her will, Mara finds herself falling in love with one of her masters, the noble Sheftu, and she starts to believe in his plans of restoring Thutmose III to the throne. But just when Mara is ready to offer Sheftu her help and her heart, her duplicity is discovered and a bettle ensues in which both Mara's life and the fate of Egypt are at stake.

My Review:

This is a thrilling mystery, love story, and historic event all rolled into one. The characters are so real and easy to relate to, and the dialogue interesting. The scenery description is beautiful, and a lot of Egyptian history is learned from reading it.

Age Stamp:



Pros:

The story of Mara is one full of quick wit and ingeniousness. She is brave, and courageous as well as inquisitive, which sometimes gets her in trouble. The story is adventures, with tales of treasure and fortune, and it promotes aiming high and achieving your goals.

Cons:

They describe swearing in the book in some places, but the words are never actually spoken. The characters of the book also believe in all ancient Egyptian gods. There is some romance in the book, and a bit of flirting. There is a bit of violence, and killing in it, whilst they are raiding a pyramid, but I believe it is quite mild.

Publisher Info, Other Versions, Series Titles & School Curriculum:
The book is published by "Puffin Classics". Book is (c) 1981. It is not part of a series. This book is part of the Sonlight curriculum. Sonlight recommends this for ages 11-13, grades 6-8, Cores 6 & 7.


My Ratings (10 being how much):

Violence: [#] [#] [#] [#]
Fear Factor: @ @
Romance: <3 <3 <3
Language: [!] Mainly using egyptian gods
Christian: (no)
Mature Themes: X
My Rating: * * * * *

4 Comments:

  1. Kiwimama said...
    I opted to pre-read this book before my dd13 purely because it sounded so good and I thought I would personally enjoy it.

    I am quite enjoying it and it is well written and makes the reader really envision life in Ancient Egypt, but I feel there is an underlying tone of sexual tension and romanticism between the 2 main characters that could heighten a young girls yearning for "that loving feeling" before they are truly ready for it.

    Although there is nothing untoward that happens in the story and it is free of any specific sexual references there is that underlying tension that permeates the storyline which I was uncomfortable exposing a 13 year old girl to.

    I am very pleased that I pre-read it as it really did come across very innocently and was highly recommended as quality literature. However, despite it's literary and historical value I have removed it from my daughters reading list.
    Jasmine Ruigrok said...
    I believe your caution was warranted. Though the book is a good one, I wouldn't encourage younger readers to read it as some of the subject matter is a bit above them.
    Anonymous said...
    I disagree that the book is above the understanding of 13 yr. old girls. In the world we live in children and young adults are exposed early to the ugliness of life. I think showing compassion, love and faith in yourself are very important ideas to cultivate early and regularly. I also do not believe in taking books off reading lists. That is not the true American way. Yes, some books (and movies, TV) need to be seen by a child with a parent, or trusted adult when reading. I read this book when I was young and it still holds a special place in my heart.
    Jasmine Ruigrok said...
    Maybe the world we live in isn't doing right by 13yo girls. There are better things to be filling their minds with. I'm glad this book holds good memories for you, as it does me, but if my standards aren't consistent with your "true American ways", then it's probably because I'm Australian.

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