An immersive read for lovers of historical fiction.
In this conclusion to the Secrets of the Sands trilogy, Sesha and fellow scribes Paser and Reb accompany Pepi to the Hyksos capital of Averis.
Their goal is to see the ailing king, who is Pepi’s uncle, and prevent war with Thebes. Yanassi, the king’s son and presumed heir to the throne, and his bride-to-be, Theban Princess Merat, are already attending upon dying King Khyan. As they sail to Averis, Pepi shares a prophecy likely unknown to Yanassi: The next Hyksos ruler will come from the line of the physician, ushering in 40 years of peace and prosperity. Pepi believes it refers to Sesha, daughter of Thebes’ royal physician, who’s been posing as his betrothed. Sesha is uncertain—Pepi’s her mentor and friend; she has no desire to marry him but believes Pepi might in fact be the king’s son. She’s confused when the king insists that he isn’t. Could the prophecies mean that Ky, Sesha’s beloved brother and a Theban heir, will inherit the throne of Hyksos? Seeking clarification, the scribes undertake a dangerous journey to the oracle only to hear her prophesy something shocking and unexpected. Sesha excepted, characters remain somewhat underdeveloped, and the interpretation of prophecies and political strategizing slow the pace. Fortunately, Sevigny excels at worldbuilding, layering the minutiae of daily life in convincing detail—in her hands, ancient Egypt, perennially fascinating, becomes a character in its own right.
An immersive read for lovers of historical fiction. (Historical fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4597-4435-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dundurn
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit...
The author of the Anastasia books as well as more serious fiction (Rabble Starkey, 1987) offers her first historical fiction—a story about the escape of the Jews from Denmark in 1943.
Five years younger than Lisa in Carol Matas' Lisa's War (1989), Annemarie Johansen has, at 10, known three years of Nazi occupation. Though ever cautious and fearful of the ubiquitous soldiers, she is largely unaware of the extent of the danger around her; the Resistance kept even its participants safer by telling them as little as possible, and Annemarie has never been told that her older sister Lise died in its service. When the Germans plan to round up the Jews, the Johansens take in Annemarie's friend, Ellen Rosen, and pretend she is their daughter; later, they travel to Uncle Hendrik's house on the coast, where the Rosens and other Jews are transported by fishing boat to Sweden. Apart from Lise's offstage death, there is little violence here; like Annemarie, the reader is protected from the full implications of events—but will be caught up in the suspense and menace of several encounters with soldiers and in Annemarie's courageous run as courier on the night of the escape. The book concludes with the Jews' return, after the war, to homes well kept for them by their neighbors.
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0547577095
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1989
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