Book Nook Reviews: Five Fierce Females of Ancient Egypt

5. Tetisheri

Tetisheri statue (from the British Museum). 

Credited with being the "Mother of the New Kingdom," Tetisheri was the grandmother of Ahmose, the 18th Dynasty pharaoh who expelled the foreign enemies, the Hyksos, and founded the New Kingdom. Ahmose took great pride in being Tetisheri's grandson and built a mortuary temple in her honor at the site of Abydos. She cared greatly for the Egyptian people and initiated many projects in their favor during her long life.

4. Cleopatra VII         

Cleopatra VII on the wall at the Temple of Denderah

Cleopatra VII ruled over Egypt during the Ptolomaic Period. Although many queens were named Cleopatra, she is the one who is most famous. She was at the center of a nasty love triangle and is said to have committed suicide using an Egyptian Asp. She is popularly depicted in Western culture as a beautiful woman, but not much is known of the real Cleopatra least of all what she looked like.


3. Nefertiti

The bust of Nefertiti.

Nefertiti, who name means the "Beautiful One Has Come," was the Great Royal Wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten. She is known best from her bust, a statue that was most likely used to teach sculptors. She disappeared from the historical record about fourteen years after her husband took the throne and yet she still has managed to captivate audiences for centuries.

2. Hatshepsut

Statue of Hatshepsut from Djser Djser

Hatshepsut was the first female pharaoh of the early 18th Dynasty. She declared herself king and initiated many temple building projects. During her reign, she was responsible for the proliferation of the cult of Amun. She built her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri in a terraced format and commemorated her divine birth and the expedition to Punt. In ancient and modern times, there has been speculation that she was consorting with her chief advisor, Senmut. After her death, the Egyptians attempted to erase her memory through the process of proscription.

1. Sekmet

Statue of Sekmet.

While not technically a woman, Sekmet is the fiercest of the fierce females in Egypt. The feline goddess of protection and pestilence was in charge of keeping Egypt save from disease and also for causing it. She has developed a very popular cult in the modern year, as evidence by the fact that it was impossible to find a normal picture of her.


That, Book Nooks, is the list of the top five fierce females of ancient Egypt. Please check the side bar lists for some great books on the ladies above. The book on Hatshepsut, Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, is particularly delightful.

Book Nook Reviews: Kane Chronicles Trilogy

Graffiti in the Seti I Temple in Abydos.

Egypt Month is underway!                         

I just uploaded the first video of the series! It includes a discussion of the Kane Chronicles Triology--a series focusing on two siblings who suddenly find out that the Egyptian myths they learned are real. Check out my video for more information about the series and check back tomorrow for more of Egypt Month!

 

Thanks for watching!

xoxo The Book Nook

Divergent-Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication: 2011
Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.


Let me start my saying that I have been on such a dystopian kick this year! The majority of the novels that I have read for my 2011 challenges have been in the genre of dystopia. With that being said, this review is going to be a little different in terms of format compared to my other ones. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel, other than the amazing plot and characters, was the language. Everything that Roth wrote I wanted to have as a tattoo or put on my walls. Therefore, my review will consist of both my thoughts and some of my favorite quotes. Without further ado, my review of Divergent.

Divergent is both a novel and a work of art. Veronica Roth is able to create such beautiful and vivid imagery which is an ideal writing technique for dystopian because so much of the world is unimaginable for the twenty first century reader. Likewise, her imagery really sets the mood for the novel. Roth uses the environment and the character's surroundings as a vehicle for her message. I also really like the way that she built suspense especially through the use of one-liners. 

"My mother was dauntless." 

Roth really put an emphasis on building her world. I loved how caricatured the factions were because when they are that extreme it is easier to see their ideals and processes. Within that, I enjoy the use of the initiation as a vehicle for plot and character development. As the characters go through their initiation, we are learning about them. 

"I believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that causes one person to stand up for another."

"Somewhere inside of me is a merciful girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things...you coward."

What's more is that the novel really stresses the need for personal diversity and temperance. People are not one-sided! That is what is beautiful about our own society and what Tris is hoping to get out of hers.

"I feel like some one breathed new air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent."

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Summary: Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, and does Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?



This book was the perfect hybrid of dystopia and mystery. There was just the right amount of suspense to keep me going. I literally had to keep reading because I needed to know what was going to happen. If you're looking for a page-turner, this is a novel I highly recommend. I've been on a dystopia kick this past year and of the many dystopia novels I've read, this one is definitely up there in terms of favorites. The plot is amazing and is always moving, the characters are versatile and fairly well devloped, and the setting is frickin' awesome. The characters and the Glade were definitely the best part of this book. Also, the mystery surrounding the whole plot keeps the book moving along nicely. I can't wait to read the sequel, The Scorch Trials, and the conclusion to the trilogy, The Death Cure, which is out next month. This is definitely one to pick up!

Thanks for reading!
Theresa
The Book Nook

Top Ten Tuesday (7)

The Book Nook's Top Ten Books That:

I Need to Read Already!

This week's Top Ten Tuesday features the Top Ten books that everyone has read but me. There are many so be prepared.

1. Divergent- Veronica Roth (Don't worry its on my immediate TBR).

2. Bumped- Megan McCafferty

3-6. The Mortal Instruments Series- Cassandra Clare

7. Beauty Queens- Libba Bray (Some stupid spoiler spoiled the ending so now I'm waiting until I forget what happened to read it).

8-10. The Iron Fey Series- Julie Kagawa

What books are you out of loop on?

Thanks for reading!
Theresa
The Book Nook

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

Title: The Bar Code Tattoo
Author: Suzanne Weyn
Summary:
Individuality vs. Conformity
Identity vs. Access
Freedom vs. Control
The bar code tattoo. Everybody's getting it. It will make your life easier, they say. It will hook you in. It will become your identity.
But what if you say no? What if you don't want to become a code? For Kayla, this one choice changes everything. She becomes an outcast in her high school. Dangerous things happen to her family. There's no option but to run...for her life.

I actually really enjoyed this book and the style in which it was written. It had a vague similarity to XVI by Julia Carr and my feelings for the two novels are alike. The premise was interesting but in some parts the execution feel thorugh. For me, the biggest issues I had were the idea of showing versus telling and last minute plot developments. Throughout the beginning hlad of the novel, Weyn relied more on telling us about the world she invented rather than slowly revealing it to us throughout. At times, this was distracting because I was more worried about what the slang words meant than the development of the plot. Weyn also throws in rather large plot points that should take the whole novel in a few paragraphs. Even with the fact that there's a sequel some of the points are too much for one novel. A little suspense could have taken the book farther.

This is a great dystopia novel for the younger half of the young adult reading group. There's not much violence, no bad language, and no thematic elements. It still has the dystopia themes but its packaged in a lighter form.

Thanks for reading!

Theresa
The Book Nool

Book Nook Reviews Giveaway

Want to win either Across the Universe by Beth Revis or Plague by Michael Grant? Click the link for more information.

Theresa
The Book Nook

Book Nook Reviews on YouTube

This is me, Theresa.

This link will take you to my YouTube.

If you click it, you can see me talk about books.

I think you should click it.

Click it.

Just do it.

Click....

You'll be happy that you did.

Click it.

Click.

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I still think you should click it.

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Theresa

The Book Nook

Jane by April Lindner

Title: Jane
Author: April Lindner
Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: October 2010
Summary: Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?  An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

       When I read modernizations or retellings of fairy tales or classic stories, I try to go into them thinkthat they are different, unique tales. That is, I don't compare them to the stories on which they are based. First, its unfair to both the original and the retelling. More importatly, however, it is unfair to me. In doing that, I close myself off to experiencing a novel. For these two reasons, I try not to compare retellings with the originals. With that in mind, I went into Jane viewing it as its own novel not as a retelling of Jane Eyre. In this case, however, it was very difficult to separate the novels because they were so similar. Lindner really stayed true to Jane for the most part. Jane stays true to the tone of Jane Eyre. The gothic nature, the beautiful prose, and the sweeping romances of Jane and Nico were all exactly the same. Sometimes, however, the similarity was to a fault. At times I felt like Jane was just the paraphrased Jane Eyre. There were whole conversations that were almost verbatim.
       In all, I enjoyed the book as a stand alone when not comparing it to the original. Plus, if you've wanted to read the classic version but are afraid or intimidated, this version is much more accessible.

Thanks for reading!
The Book Nook