Book Review - The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Synopsis:  The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she's not sure they'll have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard behind the A-Z Antinques and Curio Shop, Melanie and April decide it's the perfect sport for the Egypt Game.

Before long there are six Egyptians instead of two. After school and on weekends they all meet to wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on their secret code.

Everyone thinks it's just a game, until strange things begin happening to the players. Has the Egypt Game gon too far?

First Line:  "Not long ago in  large University town in California, on a street called Orchard Avenue, a strange old man ran a dusty shabby store.

Random Quote:  "So that was the way Set started - Set the god of evil and black magic.  At first he was just supposed to be a character in that particular game, and that first day he was represented by a picture of a man with an animal's head that Melanie drew on a piece of cardboard and tacked to wall.  But once he got started, he seemed to grow and develop almost on his own, and all out of control; until he was more than evil, and at times a lot more than Egyptian.  For instance, at different times, his wicked tricks included everything from atomic ray guns to sulfur and brimstone."

Review:  I picked this up again on a recent trawl through the children's books at my local library.  I was looking for something else and got engrossed and suddenly remembered this book.  I loved this book when I was a kid.  I read it many times because it so captured the kind of kid I was - one whose play depended on books and imagination.  I just wish I could have found friends as cool as the ones in this book.

Image via Wikipedia

Re-reading this as an adult I remember all the reasons I loved it.  It's smart and doesn't assume that kids are idiots.  It deals with serious themes, but doesn't pound you over the head with them nor does it trivialize them - they are part of the world we all live in.

There are so many subtleties in this book - the relationship between April and her Grandmother, the latchkey kid phenomena, the loneliness of the shopkeeper who watches the kids play through his window, the frightening events in the neighborhood.  All of these bits of the story are interwoven with the day-to-day lives of the children and their playing at being Egyptian.  This book is also effortlessly multicultural and that's pretty wonderful, too.

It was so great to revisit this old friend and nice to see how much I still love it after all these years.  If you have a kid with imagination this is a wonderful read (good for adults with imagination, too)!

Reading Challenges:  2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge