A Cry from Egypt

I am an avid reader, as are many of my children.  As a general rule, we are not big readers of Bible-based fiction.  So, we began reading A Cry from Egypt with some trepidation.  The usual complaints of “that didn’t happen in the Bible account” and “that wouldn’t have happened in Bible times” never materialized when reading Hope Auer’s book!  I have been pleasantly surprised and we have greatly enjoyed this read.

     Hope Auer, the author of A Cry from Egypt, is a young lady with a passion for writing historically and biblically accurate, yet interesting – no, captivating, stories.  She is a homeschool graduate and, based on her bio on her blog, is a vey busy woman.  Not only has she completed A Cry from Egypt, she also has a series on her blog about writing.  It is a great series for writers in any genre.  She is very encouraging and shares about struggles as well as successes.  Her book, A Cry from Egypt, is the first book in The Promised Land series.

     We started out using A Cry from Egypt as a read aloud.  This had to stop because I never read fast enough to satisfy the information needs of my kids.  They want to read to themselves.  Ah, the joys of having older children!  I guess I’ll have to wait for grandchildren to sit and let me read to them some day.  But, I digress.  I hate reviews that spoil the plot of a book, so I promise I will not do that; but, I do want to give you a few teasers to pique your interest.

     The basic plot of A Cry from Egypt is actually a simple premise.  Readers are seeing the account of the Hebrew slavery in Egypt and the ensuing plagues when Pharoah refuses to release the Hebrews.  All of this is seen through the eyes of a 12-year old Hebrew slave named Jarah.  Readers experience action, intrigue, love, and faith as they are taken through this frightening time in history.  Jarah’s family interactions are portrayed in such a true-to-life manner that, at times, you feel like a part of the family and the story.  We see struggles they have as they feel pressured to leave their faith in Yahweh and worship the gods of the Egyptians. We see the struggles and uncertainties they face as they wonder if they will ever be freed from their bondage.  As we were reading this, we encountered literary license, as expected, because this is a fictional story based on biblical fact; however, the literary license never taints the truth of the biblical facts. 

     We have enjoyed A Cry from Egypt so much.  Unfortunately, the second book in the series isn’t out yet!  We are such ‘series junkies’ around here that we love to delve into the next book of a great series as soon as we finish the first one!  I will be stalking Hope’s blog and Facebook to see when the next book comes out.  This book was written for kids 8 and older.  My young teens have really enjoyed it, as have I.  Really, I didn’t think that a book with a twelve-year-old for the main character would hold any of our interest, but it definitely did!  Amazingly, this book held the interest of both my boys and my girls.  Hope, you have written something that is sure to become a classic!

     Many of my friends on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have also been reading A Cry from Egypt as well as another book published by Great Waters Press by Hal and Melanie Young and the Raising Real Men website.  To read their reviews, just visit our main crew blog.  To purchase A Cry from Egypt, visit the store on the Raising Real Men website.  The paperback version is only available now in limited quantities as advance reader copies for $12.50, but it should be in full publication soon.

**Disclaimer:  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received the above mentioned product at no cost to me in exchange for this honest review.  No compensation was received and all opinions expressed are mine or my family’s.”