To our surprise, our recent list of YA books based on Greek mythology has become one of the most popular on the site. Given that we have particularly fond memories of burying ourselves in books about Ancient Egypt and Egyptian mythology (and virtually anything containing mummies), we thought it might be a good idea to do a round up of some young adult and middle grade novels dealing with these themes.

Below is a brief list of books that teens and young readers might enjoy. As always, it’s in no way comprehensive, so if we’ve missed a major work, or even just a fun one, please leave a comment or send us an email, and we’ll add it to the list.

Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner

Blurb: Nefertiti may be the dutiful daughter of a commoner, but her inquisitive mind often gets her into situations that are far from ordinary, like receiving secret lessons from a scribe. And she’s the kind of girl who acts first, and apologizes later whenever she witnesses injustice or cruelty. But she is also extraordinarily beautiful. And news of her striking beauty and impulsive behavior attracts the attention of her aunt, the manipulative Queen Tiye, who sees Nefertiti as an ideal pawn in her desire for power. Even though Nefertiti is taken from her beloved family and forced into a life filled with courtly intrigue and danger, her spirit and mind will not rest. She continues to challenge herself and the boundaries of ancient Egyptian society.
See also:

______

Ramose: Prince in Exile by Carole Wilkinson

Blurb: Someone is trying to kill Prince Ramose. If they think he is dead, he will be safe. Pampered, selfish and very much alive, Prince Ramose lives in disguise in the Valley of the Tombs. How will this spoilt prince survive such a brutal place? Can he outwit those who want him dead?

See also:

____

Pharaoh: The Boy Who Conquered the Nile by Jackie French

Blurb: Prince Narmer, first in line of succession, meets an oracle who changes his life. Ousted from the line by a disfiguring struggle with a crocodile, Narmer travels, learning much about faraway lands and his place in the world. Most of all, he learns what it means to be a true king and leader.

____

Tut Tut: The Time Warp Trio Series by John Scieszka

Amazon.com blurb: A delightful children’s story about Ancient Egypt and time travel. In the tradition of all books by Scieszka and Smith, although it is perfect for ages 6-10, adults will get a smile too from the offbeat humor and weird predicaments in which the Time Warp Trio find themselves.

____

The Reluctant God by Pamela Service

Blurb: While his brother prepares to mount the throne of Egypt as the next member of the Twelfth Dynasty, the teenage prince Ameni is sealed in a secret tomb in a state of suspended animation, to be revived four thousand years later by the fourteen-year-old daughter of an archeologist.

____

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Blurb: Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.  One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.  Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them–Set–has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe–a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

____

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R L LaFevers (see our review; see also our review of Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris)

Blurb: Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father may be head curator, but it is Theo—and only Theo—who is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum. Sneaking behind her father’s back, Theo uses old, nearly forgotten Egyptian magic to remove the curses and protect her father and the rest of the museum employees from the ancient, sinister forces that lurk in the museum’s dark hallways.

See also:

____

Pharoah’s Daughter by Julius Lester

Blurb: Born into slavery, adopted as an infant by a princess, and raised in the palace of mighty Pharaoh, Moses struggles to define himself. And so do the three women who love him: his own embittered mother, forced to give him up by Pharaoh’s decree; the Egyptian princess who defies her father and raises Moses as her own child; and his headstrong sister Almah, who discovers a greater kinship with the Egyptian deities than with her own God of the Hebrews. Told by Moses and his sister Almah from alternating points of view, this stunning novel by Newbery Honor-author Julius Lester probes questions of identity, faith, and destiny.

____

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Blurb: The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she’s not sure they’ll have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard behind the A-Z Antinques and Curio Shop, Melanie and April decide it’s the perfect sport for the Egypt Game. Before long there are six Egyptians instead of two. After school and on weekends they all meet to wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on their secret code. Everyone thinks it’s just a game, until strange things begin happening to the players. Has the Egypt Game gone too far?

____

Akhenaten: Son of the Sun by Moyra Caldecott

Blurb: I tell you this three millennia after these events took place. Mark them well. They did not end with my death, and they will not end with yours. In ancient Egypt during the magnificent eighteenth dynasty the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his queen, the strong and beautiful Nefertiti, are engaged in a dramatic battle against the wealthy, corrupt and dangerously powerful priests of Amun. Haunting and full of surprises, Akhenaten: Son of the Sun gives a fascinating glimpse into an ancient civilisation. It is a story about hate and love, despair and hope, but more than that it is the story of extraordinary spiritual and psychic powers being tested to their limits. Akhenaten: Son Of The Sun is part of Moyra Caldecott’s acclaimed Egyptian sequence, which also includes Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun and Tutankhamun and the Daughter of Ra. The fourth book of the sequence, The Ghost of Akhenaten, is set in the present and carries on the theme. Chronologically, Akhenaten: Son of the Sun is the second in the sequence, although it was written first.

See also:

____

A Place in the Sun by Jill Rubalcaba

Blurb: When Senmut, a young stone sculptor, is exiled for life to the gold mines of Nubia, he must count on all his skills in order to survive. A novel of bristling intrigue, set against the dramatic historical backdrop of 13th century b.c. Egypt.

See also:

____

The Ugly Goddess by Elsa Marston

Blurb: Resigned to her fate as consort of the god Amun, 14-year-old Princess Meret prepares to be confined in a temple for the rest of her life, with only a statue of the ugly goddess Taweret for company. Meanwhile, a young Greek soldier Hector determines to save her from that fate in the hopes of winning her love. And when the magical statue of the goddess disappears, it is the lowly shopsweeper Bata who finds it. When the three meet and join forces in a desperate race across the desert, they find that the very security of Egypt is at stake. Although only Bata knows the secret of the statue’s powers, the wry and long-suffering goddess uses all her wisdom and humor to guide the young people in their quest. With its fast-paced plot, exciting adventures and escapes, and hint of romance, the stories of these three very different young people who come together in ancient Egypt make this a book that appeals to boys and girls alike.

____

The Akhenaten Adventure by Philip Kerr

Blurb: Meet John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve-year-old twins who one day discover themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn. All of a sudden, they have the power to grant wishes, travel to extraordinary places, and make people and objects disappear. Luckily, the twins are introduced to their eccentric djinn-uncle Nimrod, who will teach them how to harness their newly found power. And not a moment too soon . . . since John and Philippa are about to embark on a search to locate a monstrous pharaoh named Akhenaten and his eerie tomb.

____

Channeling Cleopatra by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Blurb: Powerful. Beautiful. Seductive. Cleopatra had it all. And soon, through genetic “blending,” any woman will be able to share her secrets, her wiles, her way with men. First, though, her genetic material must be found. Forensic anthropologist Leda Hubbard jumps at the chance to be the first person to find Cleopatra’s final resting place. And the chase is on-for whomever gets access to Cleopatra’s genetic material will also gain access to all of her knowledge. And though some want to channel Cleopatra for love, others have far more sinister motives.

____

The Egyptian Box by Jane Louise Curry

Blurb: Tee (short for Leticia) Woodie and her family have moved into a big, old house that is a part of her father’s inheritance from Great-uncle Sebastian. While exploring the contents of Great-uncle’s antiques-and-junk store, they find a parcel marked FOR DEAR LETICIA, MY SHABTI BOX. The decorated Egyptian box inside holds the shabti, a colorful wooden figure of a girl in painted mummy wrappings from the waist down. The writings on those wrappings are ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Charles, Tee’s younger — and very curious — brother, borrows the figure and uses the Internet to discover what sounds the old hieroglyphics stand for. When he reads the Egyptian words aloud to Tee, strange things begin to happen. That evening, slow in answering her father’s call to come and dry the dishes, Tee reaches the kitchen door only to hear the clink and rattle of plates and cutlery being put away. Peering in, she sees a costumed figure busy at work. Egyptian costume? The shabti? Surely not! But it is. Soon Tee is thinking of ways a secret, magical shabti-servant can help her with homework…with school…with…All goes well until the shabti begins to enjoy taking Tee’s place. A frightened Tee must get her back into her box, but – can she?

____

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Blurb: Ranofer struggles to thwart the plottings of his evil brother, Gebu, so he can become master goldsmith like their father in this exciting tale of ancient Egyptian mystery and intrigue.

____

For All Time by Caroline B. Cooney

Blurb: Annie Lockwood is testing Time. She’s traveled through it before, but always at Time’s bidding. Now she is asking Time to take her to the year 1899, when Strat is in Cairo. But Time doesn’t like to be tested. In what feels like a cruel joke, Annie is transported to ancient Egypt, thousands of years before Strat was born — to a world far removed from the one she knows. Meanwhile, in 1899, Strat is photographing the same pyramids that Annie walks among. But while Strat eagerly awaits Annie’s arrival, another visitor arrives: his father, Hiram Stratton, Sr., has come to Egypt to collect his son. Powerless, Annie and Strat both look to Time. Can its force, which brought them together once, help them find each other again?

____

The Blue Hawk by Peter Dickinson

Blurb: In an ancient kingdom controlled by the sinister power of the Priests, Tron is a temple-boy in training, devoted to performing vital rituals to O and Aa, the gods of the Sun and Moon. But when he overturns a solemn sacrifice of the Blue Hawk, Tron is in deadly danger and must run for his life.

__

The Oracle by Catherine Fisher

Blurb: In the distant land of deserts and islands, the servants of the god rule the land, his wishes conveyed through the Oracle and interpreted by the High Priestess. Mirany is the new Bearer, afraid of her perilous duties for the god in the rituals of the Oracle, and fearful of her secret questioning …Does the god truly exist? The priestess is corrupt and in secret partnership with the General, ruler, since the God-on-Earth, the Archon, has no real power – chosen as a child, his face always masked, never seen by outsiders. Should any national tragedy occur, he is also the sacrifice. When the old Archon dies, his spirit migrates into a child, and there are several candidates for succession. But Mirany begins to experience the real visions of the god, discovers which child is the rightful heir, and that the General and High Priestess intend to choose another child and seize power. With only a tomb-robbing scribe and a mad musician for allies, Mirany begins her quest – knowing that, if she is betrayed, her fate will be to be walled up alive in the Archon’s tomb …

See also: