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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This book shaped me into who I am today! Recently re-read my copy from when I was a child and wow. It inspires imagination and makes you want to root for these kids
- Read this in the 5th grade and wanted to see if it still lived up to how I felt about it then - it did :)
- Great read for high-level reading children
- Fast-paced and interesting to see kids using their imagination and working in history
- Great read for high-level reading children
- Fast-paced and interesting to see kids using their imagination and working in history
So I'm pulling this off of my classroom shelf; 6th grade is definitely as old as one should be to enjoy this one. I had really loved this in 5th grade, as far as I could remember, and I inherited this copy from another teacher in my classroom. After my 5th-grade boy loved Riordan's The Red Pyramid, I thought (but am now smacking myself in the forehead) that he may enjoy reading this with me.
We're absolutely spoiled. The short, suspenseful, action-packed chapters in a year's worth of Riordan adventures has made everything else boring, perhaps. I hate to admit this, but I kept feeling like NOTHING WAS HAPPENING in this book! NOTHING! We persevered, thinking that surely something will happen soon, and the book IS, after all, OKAY..... Yeah, it's cool how the girls play...but that's about it. Yes, in hindsight, things did happen in this book. A lot, actually. If one were to write a synopsis of the plot, it seems like it would be much more entertaining than it is. I'm undecided as to whether the problem was the writing or pacing in the book, the fact that I'm an adult now, the fact that my son is so definitely not the 5th grade girl that I was, or if the problem was simply that we're accustomed to high-paced, shallow, unrealistic action sequences. He recently read both Freak and Max the Mighty, which are also realistic fiction, and he loved that. So I can't explain why this was such a drag. I'd love to hear the reaction of a girl currently in the fifth grade; does this book still have magic?
We're absolutely spoiled. The short, suspenseful, action-packed chapters in a year's worth of Riordan adventures has made everything else boring, perhaps. I hate to admit this, but I kept feeling like NOTHING WAS HAPPENING in this book! NOTHING! We persevered, thinking that surely something will happen soon, and the book IS, after all, OKAY..... Yeah, it's cool how the girls play...but that's about it. Yes, in hindsight, things did happen in this book. A lot, actually. If one were to write a synopsis of the plot, it seems like it would be much more entertaining than it is. I'm undecided as to whether the problem was the writing or pacing in the book, the fact that I'm an adult now, the fact that my son is so definitely not the 5th grade girl that I was, or if the problem was simply that we're accustomed to high-paced, shallow, unrealistic action sequences. He recently read both Freak and Max the Mighty, which are also realistic fiction, and he loved that. So I can't explain why this was such a drag. I'd love to hear the reaction of a girl currently in the fifth grade; does this book still have magic?
An enjoyable kid’s book that accurately captures the intensity and inventiveness of childhood play. There is a larger plot, but it’s not all that memorable— the real point of the story is discovering what new elements the protagonists will add to their game each time they meet up. Parts of the book do feel a little dated, though, and the author drops the “g*psy” slur at the very end (in the 1972 edition, at least— I’m not sure whether later editions rectified this).
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another book brought out of hiding for my nephew's benefit, another book impossible to ignore.
The great thing about Snyder's books is that the only magic around is the magic you make yourself. Her books gave her protagonists control over their often difficult lives and insecurities, gave them happiness and friendship, armed only with books from the library and their wild imaginations.
I've found out by browsing many bookstores that most of Snyder's books appear to be out of print, or simply not stocked. This is a shame, because even if such details like money and fashion are extremely dated (April, in imitation of her absent mother, sports a beehive hairdo and large, false eyelashes to appear glamorous), her writing is still strong and her characters' situations and emotions are still relevant. Snyder wrote simply, but did not patronize her audience. Often very real and frightening elements come into play.
'The Egypt Game' seems to have been one of her few that have remained in print and is an entertaining adventure. Books like this are what keep up my hopes about rereading my childhood favorites.
The great thing about Snyder's books is that the only magic around is the magic you make yourself. Her books gave her protagonists control over their often difficult lives and insecurities, gave them happiness and friendship, armed only with books from the library and their wild imaginations.
I've found out by browsing many bookstores that most of Snyder's books appear to be out of print, or simply not stocked. This is a shame, because even if such details like money and fashion are extremely dated (April, in imitation of her absent mother, sports a beehive hairdo and large, false eyelashes to appear glamorous), her writing is still strong and her characters' situations and emotions are still relevant. Snyder wrote simply, but did not patronize her audience. Often very real and frightening elements come into play.
'The Egypt Game' seems to have been one of her few that have remained in print and is an entertaining adventure. Books like this are what keep up my hopes about rereading my childhood favorites.
This book from my childhood still holds up, and makes me wish I had a special "Egypt" I could escape to with my friends. Reading as an adult, I was more appreciative of the racially diverse group of friends and the little insights into friendship dynamics but I couldn't help but identify more with the adults! There is a murderer on the loose, kids, please don't sneak out to an abandoned lot in the middle of the night!
Nice enough book, well written with lively characters, but definitely not my age group.
I really enjoyed this book. The story is sweet and innocent while at the same time dealing with really serious issues. The author discussed those topics with aplomb and did not stoop to condescension. I also enjoyed the illustrations. While they dated the book, the illustrations were well-drawn and appropriately placed.
I definitely recommend this book.
I definitely recommend this book.
I finished this book just as my anthropology class began.
"My subject was anthropology... Anne used to tease me about anthropology- she said anthropologists were only interested in people in general and she liked people in particular."
I like this description of anthropology in a way. I agree the discipline forces anthropologists to distance themselves from their informants to a degree. I was surprised to see that the Professor was an anthropologist as opposed to an archeologist, since the premise of this book is Ancient Egypt.
I loved this book as a kid and I enjoyed it just as much reading it again now, if not more.
The only thing I did not like was the last line, "What do you know about Gypsies?" It's fun to play at being Egyptians but the Romani people are a real oppressed ethnic minority that still face discrimination to this day that I feel an author shouldn't have written a book about "playing" such a vulnerable ethnic group like that.
"My subject was anthropology... Anne used to tease me about anthropology- she said anthropologists were only interested in people in general and she liked people in particular."
I like this description of anthropology in a way. I agree the discipline forces anthropologists to distance themselves from their informants to a degree. I was surprised to see that the Professor was an anthropologist as opposed to an archeologist, since the premise of this book is Ancient Egypt.
I loved this book as a kid and I enjoyed it just as much reading it again now, if not more.
The only thing I did not like was the last line, "What do you know about Gypsies?" It's fun to play at being Egyptians but the Romani people are a real oppressed ethnic minority that still face discrimination to this day that I feel an author shouldn't have written a book about "playing" such a vulnerable ethnic group like that.
http://dms.booklikes.com/post/1461127/review-the-egypt-game