Teen Travels Through Time With Hunky King Tut In New YA Novel

Fifteen-year-old Rosa is one of those rare people gifted with the ability to hear the dead speak to her. Usually, though, the dead are annoying people who want to talk to her while she’s busy doing things like taking math tests; in one such case, when she tries to dispose of the dead person in order to concentrate, she finds herself in a shouting match and is sent to the principal’s office shortly after.

Of course, no one believes that Rosa can actually talk to the dead, so her life isn’t easy, but it’s about to get a lot more interesting. Rosa is already obsessed with Ancient Egypt, but she can hardly believe it when King Tut not only starts talking to her, but appears right before her eyes. Once she stops noticing how attractive he is to her, she realizes that he’s trying to enlist her on a time travel mission that seems not only impossible but downright dangerous.

Hunk or not, Tut has his heart set on his old love, his wife, Ankhesenpaaten. They’ve been apart for centuries, but now she’s trying to communicate with Tut through Rosa, and Tut needs Rosa’s help to lead him to the final resting place of her love.

Time travel does happen, and before Rosa knows it, she witnesses Tut’s life story and is confronted by the fierce general Horemheb, who succeeded Tut’s family as pharaoh and wants to erase all traces of history. Tut’s family history in Ancient Egypt. Before she finishes the story, Rosa finds herself channeling the dead, being locked in a tomb, and discovering that all the gold in King Tut’s tomb is worth little compared to true love.

Cheryl Carpinello’s new novel, Sons of the Sphinx, is a captivating, wacky journey through a fascinating time in Ancient Egyptian history. Readers meet not only King Tut, but also his controversial father, King Akenhaten, and his famous stepmother, Queen Nefertiti. Insights into ancient life are given and Egyptian mythology is explored. Best of all, the story is both entertaining and educational, leading to its designation as a “Literary Classics Award Winning Book.” The book also has a glossary at the back of Egyptian gods, people, places, and terms.

As a long-time educator and author of several other young adult books, including Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend and The King’s Ransom, Cheryl Carpinello knows how to entertain young readers in a way that makes them want to learn more. And as an adult reader, I learned a lot about King Tutankhamen and his time that I didn’t know, and now I want to learn more, so if I feel that excited about this book, I can imagine how excited I would be. been a child reading this book. I’m sure it’s bound to be a favorite with young readers.

A companion volume to the book, titled Tutankhamen Speaks, is also available; tells the full story of King Tutankhamen’s life in his own words.