|
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 shows a particular and menacing 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" by author Fiona Ingram 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. 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.
|
Joining their tour group in Cairo, Adam is given three small scarabs by a peddler who disappears when the police arrive. Suddenly their average run of the mill tour is replaced by mystery and intrigue, some which place the boys in danger and some which give them insight into not only the three scarabs but another unique scarab they discover has been slipped unknown into a pocket of Adams’ pants.
When they discover that the famous archeologist James Kinnard is missing, the boys are more than ever drawn to finding out what is so special about the scarabs they now have in their possession. They have a feeling that Kinnard’s disappearance is somehow mixed in with the mysterious peddler and the searching of their room. But it isn’t until their Aunt’s camera is stolen and they are suddenly given a much more expensive version by a highly placed Egyptian man, who just happens to be around when the thief is caught, that they are drawn even deeper into the mystery and become more involved as the days pass watching and waiting for the next turn in their adventure.
Even meeting Dr. Faisal Khalid, the head of the Egyptian museum somehow makes them uncomfortable and when they follow some men into a hidden room, they boys know they are in for trouble if they do not discover, before someone else does, the real importance of the scarab they hide so carefully.
Add to this a trip down the Nile, a face in their window, the story of the Scarab King, ruins galore and the appearance of many sinister characters and you have the makings of a book any young reader will find not only riveting but fun to read as well.
I highly recommend this for the young adventurer in your life. Through it’s twists and turns the author leads the reader to an end and puts two young boys and assorted characters through many exciting and mesmerizing times.
It is a book that young readers will cling to for it’s excitement and suspense and a book that older readers will enjoy for the pure joy of reading a book filled with possibilities of treasure in Egypt.
I know, I enjoyed this book as much, as my young son will and I intend to obtain every copy I possibly can, of books, author Fiona Ingram has written. For in this day and age of real life horrific tales, this is one that safely takes the reader into a land of mystery and intrigue yet delivers them in the end safely back at home, ready for the next adventure of Adam and Justin. And that in my opinion, is what makes a successful writer for young readers, that safe ending that is premised by excitement, promise of treasure, adventure intertwined with twists and turns galore!