Tag Archives: Egypt

Review: Tales of Ancient Egypt by Hugo D. Cook and Sona Avedikian

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Tales of Ancient Egypt by Hugo D. Cook

Tales of Ancient Egypt
Hugo D. Cook
Illustrated by Sona Avedikian
Neon Squid
Published October 1, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Tales of Ancient Egypt

Discover amazing true stories and breathtaking myths from ancient Egypt in this book by TikTok Egyptologist Hugo Cook, featuring stunning illustrations from Sona Avedikian.

Everyone knows the story of Tutankhamun, but the ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 3,000 years – which means there are loads more amazing tales to be told! Egyptologist and TikTok star Hugo Cook (aka Hugo the Egyptologist) has scoured ancient texts and translated hieroglyphs to bring readers stories of love, betrayal, and royal scandal featuring pharaohs, priests, gods, and goddesses.

The book combines historical stories, including the time Cleopatra hid in a sack to be smuggled into a palace to meet Julius Caesar, with rip-roaring myths, like the Cinderella story of a peasant girl who married the pharaoh when he found her slipper.

Told with great fun and impeccably researched, readers will slip into a tomb at night with a band of mischievous tomb robbers and witness epic battles featuring elephants and ostriches. Interspersed through the stories are pages explaining the history of ancient Egypt on the banks of the Nile, from how pyramids were built to a step-by-step guide to wrapping a mummy.

With a beautiful cloth-textured cover featuring shiny foil, Tales of Ancient Egypt is the perfect gift for kids interested in ancient Egypt.

My Review

My older daughter would have absolutely loved this book when she was in later elementary school. She had a couple of books on mythology and folklore, but we didn’t have anything on ancient Egypt.

Almost all the stories or fact collections are limited to a single spread, which makes this book easy to read even for readers intimidated by its size (the hardcover edition is 9.25″ x 11.25″ and 151 pages). Each spread shows brightly colored illustrations featuring characters with expressive faces. The backmatter includes a glossary and a list of deities. One of the things I wish it also included are some recommendations for further reading.

The book includes both historical accounts and facts as well as mythological tales. Myths are labeled as such to avoid any confusion. I liked the mix of the two as they often added context to one another. For example, the story of Khaemweset includes some factual information as context and then transitions to the myths about him.

This is a book that kids interested in mythology or history will enjoy. The format makes the information easily accessible and entertaining while offering many cool historical tidbits. I can see this being a book that I give for Christmas this year.

Content Notes for Tales of Ancient Egypt

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Stories feature characters from Egyptian mythology, famous ancient Egyptians, and facts about ancient Egyptian life.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to love and romantic partnership.

Spiritual Content
Contains stories of Egyptian mythology and ancient Egypt’s pantheon of gods. Some mythological stories contain characters who perform magic or sorcery.

Violent Content
Stories contain situations of peril and brief references to murder or attempted murder, especially via poison or stabbing. One illustration shows a wincing Cleopatra allowing a snake to bite her hand. No gory descriptions. Brief description of the process of mummification. Someone tells a man to throw murder his children, and he tosses them out a high window. Later, he realizes this was a nightmare. Crocodiles devour an army trying to cross the Nile.

Drug Content
References to drinking beer. Several instances of death by poisoning.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

What the River Knows
Isabel Ibañez
Wednesday Books
Published November 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About What the River Knows

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old-world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

My Review

Last year, the book I read by this author, TOGETHER WE BURN, was one of my favorite books. I’ve enjoyed the other books she’s written, so I went into this book fully expecting it to be amazing. And it really is.

The story is different than I expected, though. I liked how quickly Inez reaches Egypt and her quest there begins. It did feel like she was often at the mercy of other characters or that there were brief lulls in the action.

It really might just be me, though. I started and stopped a lot during my reading, so that might have made the book seem choppier than it is. Once I got to about the 60% mark, I felt a significant uptick in my investment in the book, and I think I read from there to the end in one sitting.

I love how this author creates strong, independent characters and delivers some great connections between female characters. The romance, as in her other books, definitely had me hooked.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book and loved getting to read a book set in Egypt. I think fans of Isabel Ibañez’s other books will not be disappointed in this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Inez and her family are Argentinian. Some characters are Egyptian. Others are British.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to more than kissing. One kissing scene is pretty intense.

Spiritual Content
There used to be people who could create magic. Now, the magic only remains in artifacts, which transfer some of their magic to someone who touches them.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Several characters carry guns. In a couple of scenes, people fire their guns at others. References to domestic abuse.

Drug Content
One character was formerly addicted to alcohol. He still occasionally drinks. Others drink alcohol recreationally.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: In a Perfect World by Trish Doller

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In a Perfect World
Trish Doller
Simon Pulse
Published on May 23, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About In a Perfect World
Caroline Kelly is excited to be spending her summer vacation working at the local amusement park with her best friend, exploring weird Ohio with her boyfriend, and attending soccer camp with the hope she’ll be her team’s captain in the fall.

But when Caroline’s mother is hired to open an eye clinic in Cairo, Egypt, Caroline’s plans are upended. Caroline is now expected to spend her summer and her senior year in a foreign country, away from her friends, her home, and everything she’s ever known.

With this move, Caroline predicts she’ll spend her time navigating crowded streets, eating unfamiliar food, and having terrible bouts of homesickness. But when she finds instead is a culture that surprises her, a city that astounds her, and a charming, unpredictable boy who challenges everything she thought she knew about life, love, and privilege.

My Review
I am so in love with this book. The romance and the vivid setting and the relationships between Caroline and her parents (who were cool, but still parental–not the easiest balance to strike, but I thought they were awesome!) made this an unforgettable story. I liked the way Caroline’s experiences in Cairo made her think about the way women get treated, but also made her separate individuals from culture.

In writing this book, Doller doesn’t shy away from some of the political and cultural issues an American might face in moving to Egypt. In a Perfect World, despite the rosy glow of its title, explores a Cairo still in the aftermath of a revolution. While women are free to choose what clothing they wear, many face cruel or gross comments by some men even if they’re dressed modestly by Western standards. The story shows more than those extremist views, though. Caroline meets several devout and incredibly kind and giving Muslims. I liked that such a broad spectrum of people was represented in the story and felt like it added a lot of value without adding a lot of preaching.

Some readers may be uncomfortable with the idea of romance developing between a Muslim and a Catholic. I always feel like I can’t really pass judgment there since my own family crosses lines of faith. So that’s going to have to be something readers feel out for themselves. I liked that Caroline and Adam approached the possibility of their relationship knowing how serious those differences were between them, as they both highly valued their faiths. That totally resonated with me in my own life and relationship.

I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Trish Doller at ApollyCon last spring, and we talked a bit about this book (which wasn’t out yet at the time). I remember being totally intrigued and pre-ordered myself a copy after I got home. I’m SO glad I did, and so glad I was able to spend time with such a thoughtful, amazing author who challenges her readers to think even while telling deeply moving stories.

In a Perfect World is a great fit for Sarah Dessen fans as well as fans of romance or cultural stories in general. It’s a pretty quick read, and still a pretty new release, so keep this one in mind for the holidays, either as a fireside read or a gift for the reader in your life!

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Caroline and her (white Catholic) family move to Egypt for a year. Adam and his family are Egyptian and Muslim. Caroline meets lots of Muslims of varying practice and beliefs. Some are kind to her and some judge her pretty harshly.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently. Maybe four or five times through the whole book.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One brief reference to a boy putting his hand up Caroline’s shirt. (It’s implied he had her consent.) In Cairo, some men (strangers) make lewd comments to her and one unknown man touches her butt in a crowd. Caroline describes her frustration and humiliation at the experiences as well as her frustration at the men she talks to about it who sort of shrug and say, that’s just how it is here. (Not everyone responds that way.)

Spiritual Content
References to Catholic prayer and traditions. Caroline talks openly about her anxiety about living in a Muslim country and wonders how women who wear the hijab feel. She listens to the call to prayer—her mother explains what it means.

Caroline visits the church supposedly set on the place where Jesus once was. She thinks about him and his family as people who, like her, traveled to Egypt as foreigners.

Violent Content
Caroline hears about a bomb destroying an area of Cairo. At one point, she knows at least one of the victims killed in the blast.

Drug Content
Her parents make a comment about not being able to bring wine as a gift to dinner hosts who are Muslim. School friends invite Caroline to a beach trip in a place where there are bars. Her parents don’t allow her to go.

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