24.9.12

A Cry From Egypt


     My girls share my love of reading. I handed this book A Cry From Egypt to my 13 year old daughter Emily who read it on her own and shared that she found it interesting. She also shared that a fly was buzzing around as she read the portion about the plague of flies which made that annoyance even more realistic. In her words: "The book gave me a better understanding of the plagues. As I read, I kept wondering what would happen next which made it hard to put it down." She read over half of it the first day, and now she is asking me if the sequel is available yet. (A preview chapter of the second book in the series is included at the end.) It was a hit!

     Though technically classified historical or Christian fiction, the book has Biblical history as well as researched Israelite history from that time period woven into the story. In the preface, the author shared: "My goal in writing this book was to give others a glimpse into the lives of people who were impacted by God's awesome power... and to encourage others in their faith." This book met that objective. She further shared: "I wanted children, young adults, and adults to be able to read something that would encourage them and inspire them to spend more time in the Word studying God's plan for the world and His plan for His Chosen People."

     The book is the story of Jarah, a young Israelite slave, and her family. From her point of view you can visualize how it might have been to actually be in that position. The story progresses from Egypt in the time of Moses to their exodus to the promised land. As Emily noted, the plagues are described in detail. Clothing, hairstyles, scenery, beliefs, and the classes of people during that time period are all described clearly. Though the story takes place parallel to Biblical history, it is not adding to the Bible. This is a story that can aid in your children's understanding of that time, especially if they like to read (or be read to.)

     Everything isn't depicted softly. Slaves beaten, the atrocities accompanying the plagues, and other harsh realities of that time are shared in the story. Through it all, though, God's power and love is evident.

     Links to websites with period specific clothing and architecture are also included with the story.

     Hope Auer is a homeschool graduate who began writing this book while studying ancient Egypt and continued from there. She was a member of a writer's group with Hal and Melanie Young's sons. She now blogs at A Cry From Egypt  and shares a series about writing.

     The cover artist/illustrator Mike Slaton is also a homeschool graduate.

     Hope's historical fiction book A Cry From Egypt is available from Great Waters Press for $12.50 (194p. paperback). This book is for ages 8 and older.



     Hal and Melanie Young, the Publishers at Great Waters Press, shared a copy of the book A Cry From Egypt for this review.  They wrote the book Raising Real Men (voted 2011 book of the year by the Christian Small Publishers Association) which I had the opportunity to review last year. They also offer live webinars, workshop CDs, and character building resources for children. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. 


      Disclaimer as required by the FCC: We received a copy of this book at no cost to me for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. See what other crew members shared in their reviews here.
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Jennifer

6 comments:

  1. My girls and I love reading each others' books.
    What a great tradition you have begun.

    Fondly,
    Glenda

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  2. i have the first chapter and it left me wanting to read more. Would be a good book to read with my boy.

    annette @ A net in Time
    http://anetintimeschooling.weebly.com/a-net-in-time-blog.html

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  3. I want the book because I love Egypt and because I know the book is going to be AMAZING!

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  4. I love historical fiction, as do my children. Can't wait for us to be able to jump into what life was like for them.

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  5. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of "A Cry From Egypt".

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  6. I have heard really good things about the wonderful descriptive storytelling style of this book. The topic of Ancient Egypt is very intriguing.

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