Travel back to 1330 BC Egypt--When15-year-old Rosa agrees to help the ghost of King Tut find his lost queen Hesena, she doesn't count on falling for him. Once back in Ancient Egypt, Rosa discovers that finding Hesena is not all she must do and is not as easy as she thought it would be, even though she carries part of that lost queen in her soul. She must also keep out of the reach of the living Horemheb--who crosses mortal boundaries using Seth's evil magic--if she is to stay alive to make it back home.
Ancient history and fantasy mingle in Sons of the Sphinx, the latest in Cheryl Carpinello’s Quest series. Fifteen-year-old Rosa is visited by the ghost of the teen pharaoh Tutankhamen, and she agrees to go back in time to ancient Egypt in order to help him find his lost queen, Hesena. But that already-difficult task is further complicated by two things: the sorcery-fueled evil of General Horemheb, and the very strong chance that she herself is falling in love with Tutankhamen.
In a series of short, fast-paced chapters, Carpinello takes this fairly standard YA fare and makes something very lively and sometimes quite touching out of it. Her Tutankhamen stubbornly remains something of an empty character throughout the book, but Rosa is a thoroughly charming creation.
Recommended for fans of historical YA.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Sons of the Sphinx by Cheryl Carpinello is a historical, time travel fantasy suitable for young adult and pre-teen readers. Rosa is not your ordinary tenth-grader; she hears the voices of dead people and can communicate with them. Her grandmother had the same gift, but Rosa is not so sure what a great gift it really is. Those voices interrupt her when she's trying to take tests, and she's gotten F's and ended up in trouble at school because of them. People have also started to wonder about her outbursts in the middle of class. One afternoon, when she's at home working on a history project about ancient Egypt, she's interrupted by a voice that mispronounces her name, which is then followed by a physical manifestation, who claims that he's Tutankhamen, and that only she can help him and his queen.
Cheryl Carpinello's coming of age fantasy, Sons of the Sphinx, educates as it entertains. I loved reading about the various time frames that Rosa and Tutankhamen visit, and got a kick out of seeing the Sphinx in pristine shape through their eyes. Rosa is a plausible and funny main character who's been absolutely hopeless with guys and then finds herself with a gorgeous guy who just happens to be thousands of years old ... and is already taken. Sons of the Sphinx is filled with suspense and adventure as the two time travelers work against deadlines and the machinations of the evil Horeheb. Carpinello is masterful in her descriptions of ancient Egypt and makes this time travel fantasy very enjoyable indeed. Sons of the Sphinx is highly recommended.
