Mara, Daughter of the Nile holds up amazingly well for a 60+ year old YA book. Set in ancient Egypt, it's the story of Mara, a bright, feisty slave girl who unexpectedly finds herself forced to act as a spy for both sides of a conflict over the throne of Egypt. Either side is likely to immediately kill her if her duplicity is discovered. And then her heart starts to get involved ...I had very fond memories of reading Mara years ago, and I was delighted and, frankly, relieved when my re-read live...

"Then the stars went out, for the bark of Ra, in fiery splendor, burst out of the East. Sunshine flooded the wide desert and the long, green valley of the Nile. The night was over; a new day has dawned for the land of Egypt." Generally, I do not reread books. I have a short attention span, I constantly seek novelty, and once a book or a film has been watched, even if I greatly enjoyed it, I will never reach for it again. There are only a few books that I enjoy rereading, Mara, Daughter of the

Egypt, mid-1400s B.C. – Mara calls herself “the daughter of Nobody and Nothing.” She has been a slave for as long as she can remember, but her pale eyes and ability to speak Babylonian suggest that once she was free—and did not come from Egypt. Now in her late teens, she’s endured a succession of cruel and ignorant masters. She yearns, above all else, for freedom. Freedom comes—with a steep price. Mara is purchased by a nobleman in Queen Hatshepsut’s inner circle. He needs a spy to report on the...

Old review below. I disagree with myself. This book is a banger. It holds up.=============I am going to open up my heart to you guys. I read this book when I was, oh, maybe 7 or 8, and it was my favorite book for YEARS. I re-read it countless times. It was the only book from my childhood I brought with me to college. It may have been, in large part, the reason my mom once bought me a t-shirt that said "Kathleen" in - wait for it -HIEROGLYPHICS.I have no idea if this is actually a good book or no...

Thanks for the buddy read, Jeannette! :DMara Daughter of the Nile was originally published back in 1953, and I find that books that were written during that time, always make me think of old movies. It’s the way the characters talk and interact with each other. The hero doesn’t just kiss the heroine. He pulls her into his arms and gives her a grand sweeping kiss that should have music playing in the background. Now don’t get me wrong, I happen to love this because I think it’s breathlessly roman...

I adored this book when I first read it at age 10, and still love it 20 years later. I cannot recommend it highly enough to young lady readers who have any interest at all in Ancient Egypt. Mara is a slave girl sold to become a spy who ends up embroiled in a plot to overthrow the (female) Pharaoh Hatshepsut. McGraw's attention to detail and knowledge of the time are impeccable, her characters are alive and engaging, there's a nice little romance, plenty of drama and suffering for the cause, and

Good? Wackily historically inaccurate? (It's an older book, so . . . forgivable.) Also how did a character go from being beaten (!) to near death (!!) twice (!!!) to happily chatting with her lover 20 seconds later? That's not how being beaten to death works, I'm quite certain.

Mara—ambitious and intelligent slave—gets caught up in a scheme to dethrone the pharaoh Hatshepsut while serving as an interpreter to the pharaoh's half-brother Thutmose. Yet Mara finds herself drawn to one side more than the other, particularly towards a handsome noble.To be honest, I skimmed the last half of this book. It was so overly wordy and unnecessarily detailed with Mara doing dumb shit and being treated like a silly girl or the wiliest seductress that ever lived that I was tired of the...

This book is better than five stars. Honestly, I couldn't love a book more, this was the very first I ever reread. Before that, after I finished a book, no matter how much I enjoyed it, I never picked it up again - I knew what was coming, and how it ended, and there was no reason to revisit until I read this book. One of the first books I ever truly loved, it gets better every time you read it.A very sweet, complicated story about Hatshepsut's reign and ultimate overthrow. And Mara's right in th...

I'll not write a long review since others have already said everything there is to be said, but I will say that I can't believe how beautiful this was. I wish I could read it all over again. Five Stars easy, it was a million times better than my last book.Mara was a delight, she was a sweet little trickster who didn't know which people to side with. Whichever side she chose to spy for, there was danger and intrigue. From robing the dead in their crypts' to appearing before Pharaoh, Mara gets ent...

Aaaaaah. Sheftu! ❤️ One of the very *few* school assigned books from Middle School that I remember loving so much and completely wrapped up in because of the setting and beautiful love story. I clearly had a thing for Romance even then. lol

Mara intently fixed her gaze on the young man before her, who asked, "What is the message, Blue Eyed One?""'What are your thoughts?'" she quoted. "'Shall you tell me of the plot? Have you found the writings favorable?'"Sheftu, with a casual smile that was yet guarded, replied, "Are those his words, or yours?""By the Feather of Truth, I only quoted them exactly.""From your thoughts, no doubt."Ai, he knows, but I will not let him best me, thought Mara. I will get the truth of him.... "Is this book...

I loved this in junior high and dug it out again for a "light" read -- it's actually more intense than I remembered, but still fun. For being written in 1953, Mara is a surprisingly strong female character, a slave-turned-spy for two opposing masters. She's smart, quick on her feet, speaks Babylonian, plays both sides, and even stands up under torture. The romance novel aspects are the least interesting elements, not because they're particularly silly but just because McGraw's beautiful descript...

Let's hear it for strong female protagonists found in books published in 1953!Also, let's hear it for being able to describe any book in this way: Spies! Intrigue! Plotting! Romance! Gold! Pharoahs! Swashbuckling! Betrayal! Anguish! Drama!What a captivating story. Now, first things first. The history isn't quite accurate. But, that's okay. This is historical fiction, right? As long as you can ignore the real events, this is a great story. That said-- truth, or lack there of, does not take away f...

oh, to be a young girl living and dreaming in ancient egypt, dangling the lives of two monarchs and the fate of a country in my own calloused palm mara has always known to look out for herself. as a slave, she knows that her only true ally is herself, and she can never trust or rely on others. she is told that she is unworthy, beneath others, but mara is defiant. she may lack power, but she is not downtrodden and she is not defeated. mara is not content to keep her head down, but she dreams

2018 ReviewStill one of my favorite historical fiction novels. No matter how many times I re-read it, still terrific! Earlier ReviewMara is an Egyptian slave girl who dreams of freedom, a full-belly, and a life no longer devoted to thievery. When a mysterious stranger buys her and offers freedom in exchange for information about a band of rebels, she determines nothing must stand in her way...But life has a way of playing tricks, as Mara discovers herself solicited and serving the very rebels sh...

This was great fun and a smooth, easy read--in fact I fairly tore through this one and could not wait to find out what happened.McGraw knows how to keep the plot moving and her heroine, Mara the slave girl, is spunky, intelligent and conniving enough to be plausible in her new role as a double agent in the royal court. I'm far from being an Egyptologist, but I've traveled to Egypt and spent enough time in the Egyptian galleries of various museums to know that McGraw gets all sorts of little deta...

Mara is a slave girl in Ancient Egypt. Determined to change her fortune and be free. No matter what it takes. When a messenger from Queen Hatshepsut purchases Mara and makes her an offer to spy and act the part of a royal interpreter, our heroine sees her chance.But then Sheftu, a scribe who is not a scribe, decides he has a hold over her as well and hires her to spy for the King Thutmos III instead. Which Mara realizes is also a chance.And all these chances add up to . . . something very much o...

I love this story. I loved it even more the second time reading it. It is the type of book that I only find once in a blue moon. Immensely intriguing, fast-paced, captivating characters, and edgy yet lighthearted enough to keep me from spending days bemoaning the darkness of mankind.  It took me to ancient Egypt. With all its flowery over the top descriptions (which I loved), it brought me to the bank of the Nile watching the ships sail into the dark. I got see a world ablaze with ambition, hope...

Mara, Daughter of the Nile was a superb novel. I was surprised and delighted by the depth of the story, the crazy awesomeness of the plot, and... yes, the entire book in and of itself.A richly historical book to be sure. We explore Egypt and her culture, customs, kings and queens. Of course, this historical depth includes mentions of gods and goddesses, and also a slightly creepy scene down in the tombs of Egypt's dead kings. That I could have done without.But yes, the overall story was just ver...

Great story! Engaging heroine, smart and plucky without being overly sassy and a hero I am absolutely in love with. I love a ruthless, driven, obsessed man that DOES NOT want to be distracted by a pretty girl. There's just something so sweet about watching the poor guy struggle with his feelings. The setting was superb, and since I haven't read a lot of Egyptian anything it was new and refreshing. The secondary characters were fleshed out, interesting and unique. The plot was right up my alley,

I read this book at 27 years old when a friend told me this was her favorite childhood book. Having just read it, I can safely say MY CHILDHOOD SELF MISSED OUT ON SOMETHING AMAZING. This is definitely a book I will cherish and pass down to my children. I loved it having read it as an adult, and I can only imagine how much I would have loved it as a child. This was an enchanting tale filled with action, adventure, romance, and intrigue, and I was engrossed immediately. I miss quality literature l...

This was an awesome book. Not sure what I was expecting but this exceeded..by a lot. And was it really my fault that I was imagining the awesome river boat father figure guy that, sadly, I can't remember the name of, as Sam Axe? I think not.Highly recommended to all.

I am embarrassed to admit how much I love this book.

This book is a lot of fun. I would particularly recommend it to tween/teen girls. It's exactly the sort of romantic adventure I would have loved to death at that age. I still love it now, but that's because there's a little tween girl still living inside of me--a little tween girl who would have been frightened and thrilled by the action and more than a little intrigued by the dashing hero, Sheftu. He's totally the guy young girls dream of having an adventure with. You can tell the book was writ...

LOVED this as a kid (read it in Mrs. Derrick's 5th grade ARP class), although the language and plot are quite complex for a children's book. It's a revolution story, a character study, a love story, and a portrait of ancient Egypt under the reign of Hatshepsut all at once. I don't usually recommend books for the sake of "getting a flavor" of a particular region or time, and I don't claim that this book is accurate, but it did spark a long-abiding interest in ancient Egypt and ancient history for...

I adored this book. In one word, I would describe it as vivid--the characters, the setting, the plot, everything comes together so gloriously and creates a beautiful, capturing book. Do give it a read!

I think this was the first book that turned me on to historical fiction. I checked it out over and over.

Hard to believe this was first published in 1953! That alone deserves a round of applause for a YA historical standing the test of time so well. Overall, just a lack of book chemistry.

DNF @45%.I really wanted to like this one, I truly did. I'm a sucker for ancient Egypt and political intrigue, but this was so flat for me. I even left it for a week to see if that would give me a reset to see if I liked it more when I picked it up again, but I didn't.The writing of Mara is like mixing someone who is 12, young, naïeve and foolish, with someone who is old enough and confident enough to use what they have to get what they want, it's too contradictory and doesn't match the age she'...