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On their first day in Egypt, cousins Adam and Justin, twelve and fourteen years old, are given an Egyptian scarab by a scruffy peddler. When Dr. Khalid, director of the Egyptian Museum, shows a particular andmenacing interest in the scarab, the boys realize they are in danger. Wishing to learn more about the scarab's past, they embark on a journey down the Nile and across the harsh desert to search for the legendary tomb of the Scarab King, an ancient Egyptian ruler.
The "Secret of the Sacred Scarab" is the kind of adventure book boys and girls love! The fast-paced action, the evil villain readers delight in hating, the secrets of the past, and the mysterious ancient setting make this novel a sure-hit favorite for all the young and adventurous at heart. Fiona Ingram's impeccable and fascinating research into Egyptian history illuminates the adventure and makes the secrets of Egypt's past as thrilling to the reader as the boys' dangerous encounters.
The Secret of the Sacred Scarab
Fiona Ingram
iUniverse (2008)
ISBN 9780595457168
Reviewed by Dylan James (age 13) for Reader Views (10/09)
Are you ready for Egypt? In “The Secret of the Sacred Scarab,” Adam’s Aunt Isabel invites him and his cousin Justin to go to Egypt with her on a vacation. They go, expecting excitement, but what they get is way overboard! The boys discover something sinister after an archeologist vanishes. He was trying to find the tomb of the Scarab King, a king hidden away with all his riches. Criminals, ancient artifacts, and the wonders of Egypt combine to give Adam and Justin an experience that comes along once in a lifetime.
I can say, without a doubt, that “The Secret of the Sacred Scarab” by Fiona Ingram is exciting. It is an exhilarating adventure, with strange mysteries and dangerous criminals. It has a great storyline, keeping me enthralled throughout the whole book. Boys and girls around ages 10-12 will enjoy this book the most. Boys will probably understand Adam and Justin’s emotions better than girls and so may have a better reading experience.
The one bad thing I noticed considerably was the realism. The things the characters say and do sometimes contradict each other. For instance, although the characters are turning thirteen in a few weeks, they act nothing like teenagers. They act like eleven-year-old boys. If the characters had been eleven, it would have been more realistic. Also, when the adventure really starts, the characters are really in mortal danger. People try to kill them and steal from them several times. Yet throughout all this, the boys do not tell any adult. They keep silent. And even when Aunt Isabel found out about the situation, she simply lets the boys wander through a strange town unsupervised directly after saying they were going straight home. No matter how unsuspicious the people around you look, no adult in their right mind would do that. Luckily, though, the whole book does not contain these incidents. Only specific parts were like this. If you are not reading with a reviewer’s eye, you will probably not even notice them.
Overall, I loved “The Secret of the Sacred Scarab” by Fiona Ingram and I am glad I read it.
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