"An engaging, eventful, history-based fantasy with realistic protagonists and an enjoyable, twist-filled plot." -Kirkus Reviews
*****
"a rollicking ride...this adventure novel hits the sweet spot" -BookLife Reviews by Publishers Weekly
*****
"This book was awesome!" -10-year-old book blogger Emmie from "Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them", rating 4.5 of 5
*****
"Perfect middle grade action fun!" -Carmen S., Library Media Specialist
*****
"Every night I was so excited to go back to the book because I wanted to read more...I really hope there are more books in the series." -11-year-old son of Goodreads reviewer SK
*****
"I LOVE this! A fun adventure story . . . exciting . . . hilarious . . . The plot pacing was great, especially for a middle grades novel. I work with 3rd-5th graders, and I think this book would do an excellent job of holding their attention. Such a great ending!" -Megan S.
*****
"Skillfully written, clever, suspenseful, flowed effortlessly, had a hard time putting it down." -Jim C.
*****
"This is exactly the type of adventure story that kids go for, the setting is fantastic. It is obvious that you are experienced in writing adventure tales. And you manage to hit the beats, the plot all keeps rolling along at a good clip and you don't get tied down or let anything slow the forward momentum." -Fay C.
*****
"Well done . . . great atmosphere packed into this book . . . Fits right in with what good middle grade is all about. The pacing was fast, which is a great way of captivating the reader and I liked the ending a lot." -Bethany V.
*****
"Interesting and exciting. You really captured the essence of a middle grade story. It had over the top action and suspense that really capture the imagination of someone this age. You did a great job taking our main characters, especially John, and changing him for the better over the course of the story. I thought this was an incredibly fun story and one I would've absolutely devoured as a kid." -Juliette T.
*****
"The characters are authentic, you pass on their struggles and emotions well. " -Klaudia K.
*****
"Excellent. You've hooked me. Excellent build-up of tension and suspense. The plot is captivating. I love how everything feels high stakes from start to finish (as in, I felt something matters and I felt endeared to your characters)." -Stu M.
*****
"The Eye of Ra is an easy and enjoyable read. I enjoyed learning about Ancient Egypt in a way that never felt forced or didactic. I also enjoyed all the close encounters with the scary inhabitants. You have some great moments of conflict and drama in your story. I enjoyed your use of evocative description." -Amanda S.
*****
"This book would be a top choice for the students in my class. They'd eat up the adventure! Your tense scenes are so well-written. I didn't see the twist in the plot coming. What a great surprise!" -Elaina B.
*****
2020-01-16
In this debut middle-grade novel, young siblings from the 21st century are mysteriously transported to ancient Egypt, where they find friendship and danger as they search for a way home.
John isn’t looking forward to summer vacation on his last day in the fourth grade. His family will be moving from Colorado to Maryland for his dad’s job. Unlike his big sister, Sarah, who is excited about the change, John is sure that he’ll be unhappy and friendless there. During one last mountain hike, the siblings stumble on a strange cave where a hieroglyph of an eye transports them to ancient Egypt. They meet Zachariah, a “brown-skinned boy, barefoot and bare chested, wearing a white kilt-like wrapping,” and find they are able to speak his language. The son of Imhotep, the king’s pyramid architect, Zack, as John and Sarah call him, invites the pair home. (The siblings tell the family they are shipwrecked refugees from a distant land.) Gartner seamlessly mixes history with fantasy in his well-crafted tale, integrating into the plot facts about pyramid engineering, gods and goddesses, housing, and food (the book includes a recipe for an ancient Egyptian dish). With emotional authenticity, Sarah’s ready acceptance of the adventure gives way to empathy for her younger brother’s homesickness and her own fears and doubts. John responds to their experience with disbelief, cautious acceptance, a desire to return to his own time, and analytic fascination—the stars in the Egyptian night sky are so abundant and bright, he reasons, because there’s no pollution. Respect for readers shows, too, in the author’s expressive language: “A lazy cloud” reclines against a lofty mountain pinnacle, “waiting for the sunset show”; Imhotep offers resonant assurance that friendships form with “shared experience and time.” And, after providingvivid encounters with scorpions, a tomb robber, a cobra, and a Nile crocodile, Gartner surprises readers with multiple plot twists having to do with an unsavory time traveler; concerns that the eye transport device could change history; news of a bizarre, anachronistic archaeological find; and a fun little kicker for an epilogue.
An engaging, eventful, history-based fantasy with realistic protagonists and an enjoyable, twist-filled plot.
