Jarah was a slave in Egypt. It was a dangerous place to be. The work was exhausting and her family was torn between the gods of the Egyptians and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And her brother…would his Ada be given in marriage to an Egyptian in the palace? Would they ever be free?
There have been several books that my kids have wanted to read that I have had to say, “Let me read it first and we’ll see.” You just never know.
That was not the case when I received A Cry from Egypt from Great Waters Press to review for the TOS crew. I knew that I wanted my 12-year-old to read it, and I was confident that I could hand it to her without having to be concerned about the content.
A Cry from Egypt is written by Hope Auer, a homeschool graduate who has been writing since she was very young. When she gave her manuscript to the publishers at Great Waters, this is what they had to say about it,
We agreed to review it, and we were stunned…the story was engaging, even exciting; the characterizations were rich; the setting made us feel like we were there. Best of all, it dealt with the period before the Exodus, when the Israelites were still in slavery–very interesting, indeed. And it didn’t add to Scripture, either; Moses and Aaron were distant figures, and the story focused on the characters and their families. We loved it so much we decided to publish it!
I was doubly glad to receive this for review because our first 3 weeks of school this year have been focused on ancient Egypt, the Israelites, the plagues, and the Exodus. It fit perfectly!
I gave it to Emily one of the first days of school and told her to take her time and read it. I think she read it in 2 or 3 days! She was totally enthralled. When she finished it, I did an impromptu “interview” with her. Here’s what she said,
Mom: Can you tell me, in a nutshell, what the story is about?
Emily: It’s a re-telling of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, seen through the eyes of Jarah, an Israelite girl living in Egypt.
Mom: Tell me what you liked about it.
Emily: I loved that the main character was a girl! I liked that it was a fictional story but totally based on a true Bible story. It was pretty easy to read and understand; it was very interesting and kept my attention the whole time.
Mom: Was there anything you didn’t like about it?
Emily: Nope!
So there you have it! Right from the reader’s mouth. And, she was excited because at the very end of the book there is a sneak-peek preview chapter for the next book in the series. Yes, Jarah’s story is going to continue in The Promised Land Series. Emily can’t wait for the next book! I was thrilled to have a great option to give her to read that stayed true to the Biblical narrative and was so engaging.
Right now, advance reader copies are available for $12.50 at acryfromegypt.com. You can also find more information at the Great Waters Press website.
And, if you’re interested in finding out what others had to say about the book, please use the link below.
[…] can read the entire review in this post, but here is what my youngest had to say about […]