Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by lucillemeeps
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile—57 B.C. by Kristiana Gregory
5.0
I read this book when I was in elementary school and subsequently fell in love with Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt. I was already fascinated with ancient history and Greek and Egyptian mythology- this just deepened my desire to learn more about the period.
This story follows the tale of Cleopatra in her early years, from 12 to 14. She is a young girl growing up in a dangerous time and place. Her father's rule is starting to crumble, and the Ptolemaic rule is coming to its eventual decline. It's interesting reading this book and seeing all of the struggles that Ptolemy and Cleopatra go through to try and secure their future when you know that Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemaic rule. Cleopatra has to navigate her way through the dangerous streets of Alexandria, and the even more treacherous streets of her home, where her sisters ae vying for the throne in their father's absence. He is overseas in Rome trying to get money and an army to suppress uprisings in Egypt.
Cleopatra survives potential poisonings and eventually joins her father in Rome, where she learns more about the political games that surround her future. She is a sharp witted young girl who learns the language of the Romans and is able to understand when they are mocking her father, who relies on translators. Cleopatra faces a culture shock when she comes to Rome and is often comparing it to her idyllic Alexandria. There is a lot of information about the Romans and the city itself. I enjoyed her explorations and her determination to help her father against his countless enemies. She makes allies and enemies, and meets her future partners Marc Antony and Ceasar.
Overall, this is a great coming of age story about a fanstastic historical woman. The details may not be perfect, but its an historical fiction marketed to youth who want an interesting story and to learn some foundations about the time period and the people, not neccessarily a history report of specific situations. I really enjoyed this book, and now that I've written this, I really want to go back and read it for the fifth or sixth time.
This story follows the tale of Cleopatra in her early years, from 12 to 14. She is a young girl growing up in a dangerous time and place. Her father's rule is starting to crumble, and the Ptolemaic rule is coming to its eventual decline. It's interesting reading this book and seeing all of the struggles that Ptolemy and Cleopatra go through to try and secure their future when you know that Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemaic rule. Cleopatra has to navigate her way through the dangerous streets of Alexandria, and the even more treacherous streets of her home, where her sisters ae vying for the throne in their father's absence. He is overseas in Rome trying to get money and an army to suppress uprisings in Egypt.
Cleopatra survives potential poisonings and eventually joins her father in Rome, where she learns more about the political games that surround her future. She is a sharp witted young girl who learns the language of the Romans and is able to understand when they are mocking her father, who relies on translators. Cleopatra faces a culture shock when she comes to Rome and is often comparing it to her idyllic Alexandria. There is a lot of information about the Romans and the city itself. I enjoyed her explorations and her determination to help her father against his countless enemies. She makes allies and enemies, and meets her future partners Marc Antony and Ceasar.
Overall, this is a great coming of age story about a fanstastic historical woman. The details may not be perfect, but its an historical fiction marketed to youth who want an interesting story and to learn some foundations about the time period and the people, not neccessarily a history report of specific situations. I really enjoyed this book, and now that I've written this, I really want to go back and read it for the fifth or sixth time.