Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter: A Book Review

Cleopatra's Moon
Author: Vicky Alvear Shecter
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Release Date: 2011
Pages: 368
Source: Personal Collection
Synopsis: Princess of Egypt

Cleopatra Selene is the only daughter of the brilliant Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius of Rome. She's grown up with jewels on her arms, servants at her feet, and all the pleasures of a palace at her command, and she wants only to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a great and powerful queen.

Prisoner of Rome

Then the Roman ruler Octavianus, who has always wanted Egypt's wealth, launches a war that destroys all Selene has ever known. Taken to live in Octavianus's palace in Rome, she vows to defeat him and reclaim her kingdom at all costs. Yet even as she gathers support for her return, Selene finds herself torn between two young men and two different paths to power. Will love distract her from her goal--or help her achieve her true destiny?

Epic in scope and ravishing in detail, this novel reveals the extraordinary life of a girl long hidden in history: the remarkable Cleopatra Selene.

My Review: Cleopatra Selene has for centuries been eclipsed by her famous mother, Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Egypt. Now in Shecter's novel, Cleopatra Selene takes center stage as she narrates her young life. We are shown how remarkable a woman she truly is. Through Shecter's novel, we get to see the aftermath events of Cleopatra's famous suicide.

Cleopatra Selene is the daughter of history's most famous star-crossed lovers, Marcus Antonious and Cleopatra VII. She is Princess of Egypt, and her father crowned her Queen of Cyrenaica and Crete. However, her perfect life has changed when Octavianus waged war on her mother. Octavianus emerges as the victor and invades Egypt. Rather than succumb to Octavianus, both Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra VII commit suicide to maintain their honor. Now orphaned, Cleopatra Selene and her two brothers are forced to leave their homeland and become captives to the new Roman Emperor. With danger at her every turn, Cleopatra must make decisions that will ensure her survival and eventually to achieve her ultimate goal to be Queen of Egypt. Along the way she finds love with another captive prince, Juba of Numidia, whose father had also committed suicide rather than submit to the Romans.

I found Cleopatra Selene to be wise, intelligent, and ambitious. Cleopatra Selene is in every sense a survivor. She is a woman that is faithful to her homeland, yet at the same time, she adapts to her fate. I found that she was more successful than her mother because at the end, she greatly triumphed and was allowed to have her happy ending. I also loved her love interest, Juba. Juba was smart, kind, and very protective of Cleopatra Selene and aided her as much as he could. The two of them are a perfect match for each other because they are just alike.

I also liked how the author has portrayed the Egyptian religion and customs. For instance, there is an Isis cult in Rome. I also liked how she talked about the notions of free will, which is the main theme of this book. In this novel, Cleopatra Selene is given the choice to make the right decisions. It is not the gods, but Cleopatra Selene who shapes her own destiny.

Overall, this is a thrilling novel about the interesting but little known life of Cleopatra Selene. This novel is filled with danger, twists, and turns. It is filled with love, friendship, family love, and loyalty. Most of all, this is a young girl's story of survival who was forced to live among her enemies. This book will delight both fans of young adult and historical fiction.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Guest Post by Elisa DeCarlo: From Corsets to Chemises: Fashion as Liberation

Today's guest writer is Elisa DeCarlo. Elisa DeCarlo has published two novels, Strong Spirits and The Devil You Say as well as The Abortionist's Daughter . Her work is also in a number of anthologies. Elisa has also written and performed a number of solo shows across the country. In 2013, the Exit Press will publish an anthology of her stage work. Elisa was born in Westchester, NY, and grew up there and in New York City. As an actress, she has performed in television, radio and film. In her guest post, Elisa DeCarlo talks women's fashion in the 1910s. Be sure to check out my review of The Abortionist's Daughter soon. Thank you, Mrs. DeCarlo. From Corsets to Chemises: Fashion As Liberation In The Abortionist’s Daughter , which is set in 1916, the evolution of the main character, Melanie Daniels, is not only shown by her thoughts actions, but also her clothes. Since I am an obsessed fashion buff, I had to write about the clothes! Queen Victoria ...

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein: A Book Review

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer Author: Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Religion, Mythology Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: 1983 Pages: 256 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: With the long-awaited publication of this book, we have for the first time in any modern literary form one of the most vital and important of ancient myths—that of Inanna, the world’s first goddess of recorded history and the beloved deity of the ancient Sumerians. The stories and hymns of Inanna (known to the Semites as Ishtar) are inscribed on clay tablets which date back to 2,000 B.C. Over the past forty years, these cuneiform tablets have gradually been restored and deciphered by a small group of international scholars. In this groundbreaking book, Samuel Noah Kramer, the preeminent living expert on Sumer, and Diane Wolkstein, a gifted storyteller and folklorist, have retranslated, order...

Interview with Helen R. Davis

Today I had pleasure of interviewing Helen R. Davis. Mrs. Davis is the author of Evita; My Argentina , and the alternative history novels Cleopatra Unconquered , Isaballa Unashamed , and The Most Happy about Anne Boleyn. In this interview, Mrs. Davis talks about why she went from writing a straight biography to alternative histories, how she does her research, and more importantly, what to look for in the future! Thank you, Mrs. Davis! Your first novel was about Evita. What drew you to write her story? With so many films, biographies and documentaries on such an enigmatic woman I felt one thing lacking: Evita's voice. Her autobiographies don't really tell her story other than the political aspect of it. I wanted to imagine how Evita felt growing up and struggling as an actress. Evita was a very complex woman with her charity and extravagant lifestyle. What do you readers to take away from Evita...My Argentina . That Eva Peron was a human being, not the ...

History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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