Eye of the Moon

Eye of the Moon

Illustrator	Larry Rostant
Cover artist	Karin Paprocki
Country	Great Britain
Language	English
Genre	Historical Fiction
Set in	Ancient Egypt
Publisher	Aladdin
Pages	336
ISBN	978-1-4424-1188-3 (paperback), 978-1-4424-1189-0 (ebook)
Followed by	Eye of the Sun

Eye of the Moon is a children's historical novel recommended for ages 8–12. In the story, Isikara, daughter of the embalmer at at the temple of Sobek, ran away with Tuthmosis, the son of King Amenhotep III. The main characters ran from Wosret, the highest of high priests, who wants them dead.

Plot

Isikara and her brother Katep lived in the temple of Sobek in Thebes with their father Henuka. Everything was satisfying until one day, Katep was bitten by a crocodile. His arm was reduced to a mutilated stump. Katep was frustrated that he was useless in the temple, so he left Egypt in a boat.

Several days later, the royal barge of Queen Tiy visited the temple. However, instead of Queen Tiy, the high priest Wosret was sitting on the throne. Apparently, Queen Tiy and her eldest son Tuthmosis died, and Wosret came to request their mummification at the temple.

Isikara eavesdropped on the conversation between her father and Wosret. She discovered Tuthmosis was still alive. Wosret attempted to poison the crown prince to let his brother, Amenhotep the younger, rule. Henuka refused to stab Tuthmosis's heart with a needle to murder him thoroughly. Isikara accidentally knocked over one of Queen Tiy's canopic jars in surprise, causing Wosret to discover her overhearing the conversation.

When Wosret and the other high priests left for a brief time, Henuka urged her to escape with Tuthmosis through a secret passageway. He gave her a senet board to assist her with navigating through the tunnels. To buy time, he replaced Tuthmosis with a peasant boy similar in appearance who recently died.

Tuthmosis woke up in the passageway. With clues from the senet board, he and Kara arrived at where the tunnel led to: Tuthmosis's father's burial chamber. Navigating through the chamber using markings he carved as a child, Tuthmosis soon approached the tomb exit.

Kara and Tuthmosis were left in peace, thanks to the festival of Sophet. Tuthmosis sought the help of a Nubian girl named Ta Miu. Ta Miu provided them with a boat, blankets, wigs, peasant clothing, and food.

Both dressed in the disguise of wigs and peasant clothes, Tuthmosis and Kara encountered the royal barge on the river at nighttime. They lied about their identities, claiming they were peasant sisters mourning for their deceased dog. Thankfully, Wosret did not recognize them.

Kara and Tuthmosis paused at small villages for food along the way to Nubia. They met with the royal barge once again. Unnoticed, they dove underwater, using papyrus reeds to breathe.

While Kara and Tuthmosis were in the desert, they were captured by nomads called the Medjay. The Medjay leader Naqada and his followers brought Kara and Tuthmosis to their camp in an oasis. In the camp, Kara and Tuthmosis met a rebellious girl named Anoukhet. Anoukhet had a plan for them to escape together with the old camel tender: The camel tender would bring two camels, and the group would escape at night with food and clothing.

At the night of the escape, Kara was alert for Anoukhet's signal. However, she did not intercept anything. She crept to Neqada's tent and found Anoukhet tied inside. Neqada was threatening to gouge Anoukhet's eyes out with his hawk. Kara grabbed Anoukhet's dagger and thrust it at Neqada, accidentally murdering him. The group ran away before dawn.

After successfully hiding from the Medjay, the escape group arrived at Syene. The old camel tender left with one camel as payment. After a night sleeping in the alleys, Tuthmosis, Kara, and Anoukhet discovered their camel stolen. Anoukhet landed everyone a donkey-delivery job to the South by saving her employer's life.

After journeying South, Tuthmosis, Kara, and Anoukhet finally reached Nubia. Tuthmosis wanted to ally with the Kushites, promising peace from Egypt if they help him regain his throne.

When the trio met the Kushite army, Kara was shocked to see Katep as a phalanx leader: He had saved the former commander from drowning. Katep was dubious that the soldiers would accept two girls and a prince into their camp. In the end, Anoukhet's deft bow skills caused both her and Kara to be accepted.

Although talented with a throwstick, Kara was inexperienced in archery. One day, Tuthmosis brought her to the bow maker. The bow maker suggested she be a fletcher, one who gathers feathers from wildfowl to make arrows.

One day, the border supervisors announced the Egyptian army approaching; a battle was near. When the soldiers went to battle, Kara followed. However, she failed to catch up, and was captured by Egyptian soldiers.

Kara was used as a human shield by an Egyptian charioteer. Anoukhet saved her from being struck by her own arrows by shooting her capturer. Anoukhet then jumped from the cliffs the Kushite army was on to escort Kara to safety, but instead got caught herself.

The Egyptian army decided to cut off Anoukhet's bow fingers. Kara protested, which resulted in her fingers getting cut off as well. The Egyptian army was celebrating, believing the Kushites have surrendered, when Tuthmosis appeared.

Tuthmosis told the Egyptians his story. The Egyptian commander was not sympathetic and called the prince a traitor for hiding among the Kushites. Katep, in response, shot at the commander's feet. Tuthmosis then revealed that each of the Egyptian soldiers has an arrow aimed at his heart. The battle ended soon after the commander was shot in the heart, with victory to the Kushites.

Anoukhet was furious Tuthmosis did not attempt to regain his territory. Tuthmosis replied he wanted his country to be ruled not by fear or bloodshed. He planned to soon return to Thebes.

Reception

Critical reception has been mostly positive. Eye of the Moon received reviews from the School Library Journal, Library Media Connection, and Children's Literature. School Library Journal commented that "the landscape...is described in rich sensory terms".^[1] Library Media Connection described the book as "packed with information" and "sure to appeal". Children's Literature commented that "the complex names and customs may be too overwhelming for less proficient readers".^[2]

References