EGYPT GAME

Rating:
Summary: Fun to re-read
Review: I loved this book as a child, and when I re-read it last week I enjoyed it just as much as I did then. I am really sorry to see that many of the kids who reviewed the book here did not like it. Perhaps it is a bit dated; maybe kids don't play complex pretending games as often anymore and thus can't relate to this plot. But if you know a young person who does enjoy imaginary games, this book would be a great choice for them.

I didn't find the book boring at all. In fact, I read it really quickly, excited to know what would happen. Will April be able to adjust to her new life? Will the murderer be caught? Will the kids get to keep playing the Egypt Game, and how will it grow and change when new participants join in? And, most suspenseful of all, is there really anything supernatural going on?

In addition to enjoying the plot, I liked that the main characters were from a variety of cultural and racial backgrounds; I don't see that too much in currently popular kids' books. They also have very different personalities, and they all react in their own ways to the book's events. Something else I liked was the fact that the characters enjoy reading for pleasure; they share books with each other and so on.

The book really doesn't give a lot of concrete info about ancient Egypt, but I think it could definitely kindle some interest in the topic -- I think many kids would be amazed at and curious about the elaborate ceremony for Pete-ho-tep, for instance. But really, the story is more about friendship and growing up.

Rating:
Summary: As wonderful as I remember
Review: I read this book when I was in the fourth grade. (My best friend and I were reading through the shelf of award winners.) She read it next. As soon as she finished the book, we set up our own game, a cross between the Egypt Game and what we'd understood from her older sister's class production of Macbeth. We had hours of fun playing that way, and I loved having a book that showed characters who played imaginatively. (And there aren't that many role models who don't spend all their time on their computers or on the organized sports field these days. See the preceding review from the person who said that she didn't like the way the characters used too much "ammagination." I ordered this book recently to read aloud to my third graders, and they loved it! Now there are several Games going on in our neighborhood. The book was as good as I remembered it.

Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: The Egypt Game is one of my favorite children's books with an Egyptian theme. My absolute favorite would have to be The Cat in the Mirror by Mary Stolz which I highly recommend. It seems that so much of the best Egyptian themed fiction (especially fantasy) is written for children. Another recommendation that comes to mind is Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

Rating:
Summary: probably the best reveiw ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: The Egypt game is really excellent. My classmates think it was bad, but I think it was great! the book could use a picture of the alliigator stone; the pictures were good nonetheless. I think the book should end right there. Then in the sequel, they are all grown up and they're kids are playing the gypsy game. I would give this book a 10/10. this is because it had a good plot, and I love good plots.I don't think a book about Egypt could be anymore exciting than this!

Rating:
Summary: Iman's Review's
Review: This book isn't a book I would perfer to read again, because at the begining it is really boring and finally at the end of the book it gets good. It's about a girl named April who moves to California and meets Melanie and Marshall. They go to an old lot and make a place they call Egypt. They meet two mew members, Ken and Toby, and let them join. They get to keep the yard afther a accident and they continue the game of Egypt would have changed the begining so it would be more excited.

Rating:
Summary: The Egypt Game
Review: This was a good book, even with some minor (and major) flaws. Basically, the premise is this: April Hall, a girl from a rich family is sent to her grandmother's while her mother goes on tour as a vocalist. She starts out, like the multitude of seemingly identical (at first) characters in a lot of books that often come from this sort of beginning, a snotty brat angry at the world for no good reason. Her grandmother attempts to make her socialize, and eventually she gives in and visits the apartment of the Rosses, a family of African Americans. She acts extremely snobby to their daughter, Melanie Ross, who eventually makes April quite a bit less snobby. In the Professor's, a man who runs an antique/junk shop, back yard, they discover several Egyptian looking objects. They are both very interested in Ancient Egypt, so they begin the Egypt Game. Eventually, Melanie's little brother, a new girl in fourth grade, and two prankster boys in their grade all become involved in the Egypt Game. These other four, while all of them are vital to the plot, are certainly not as vital as April, Melanie, and the Professor.

My only two issues with the book was the fact that a lot of it was spent with the children constantly living in fear of a murderer who remains at large for around ¾ of the novel (keep in mind that the murderer comes into play about ¼ of the way into the book, and that's up until extremely late in the book.)
Also, the fact that no character except April, Melanie and the Professor are very deep. The brother is childish, the girl not at all deep, and indeed almost never talked about, one prankster is perhaps right on the line, in my opinion, of becoming a major character; if he got just a bit more development, he would be. The other boy is the shallowest of all characters, as he is just'well'there. He's just an arrogant guy that does absolutely nothing and says 'Sheesh' a lot.

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