Lester features a fictionalized account of a Biblical story in which an Egyptian princess rescues a Hebrew infant who becomes a prophet of his people while his sister finds her true self as a priestess to the Egyptian gods. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Lester (To Be a Slave) creates a captivating story and a compelling portrait of a Moses torn between two cultures, from the time of his discovery in the bulrushes to his solo flight to Midian. A brief introduction explains that the author has "removed Moses from sacred history and [has] sought to put him into human history"; thus he changes "Moses" to "Mosis" (meaning "is born," a shortened form of the Egyptian name "Tuthmosis") and plants the seed for the spiritual conflict that begins to grow within the great would-be leader. In a prologue, narrated by the eponymous heroine, Mosis confesses that he has just murdered an Egyptian. Lester immediately grabs readers' attention and goes about answering the resounding question posed at the prologue's end: "Why, Mosis?" The author plants many surprises along the way. To begin with, the titular heroine is not Meryetamun, daughter of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great, who takes the baby from the bulrushes. Instead, she is Mosis's sister, Almah (Lester carefully documents his logic in creating her character), an independent thinker whose scholarly father taught her the Egyptian language of Khemetian. Her fearlessness and honesty when she meets the princess leads to Mosis's--and all male Habiru (Hebrew) babies'--imminent salvation and results in her and Mosis's adoption into the pharaoh's family. Through impeccably researched details, Lester imagines a titillating paradise within the pharaoh's palace walls. He appeals to all five senses as he evokes the exotic smells, sounds, costumes, jewelry and worship practices the girl discovers there. Readers witness for themselves why Almah and Mosis are inexorably torn between the faith of their Habiru mother (who remains in the palace for Mosis's early childhood) and the Khemetian aesthetics and beliefs. Almah's narration in part one describes her tantalizing seduction into the Khemetian way of life. Her perspective provides the perfect contrast to Mosis's narration in part two; she possesses the ability to respect both sides and to choose what she believes to be right, while he lives in confusion until he is forced to make a choice. Mosis's pain is palpable as he describes his betrayal by the men in the palace to whom he felt closest. The murder that begins the novel is transformed, by the conclusion, into an act of love. By painting the Khemetian and Habiru cultures as equally compelling, Lester reenacts an ancient society completely interdependent, with power struggles as potent as any in the modern world. Here Mosis has not reached the Red Sea; he is a young man of faith and doubt, as human as readers themselves. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 6-9-When Meryetamun, the daughter of the Pharaoh, rescues one of the Habiru baby boys condemned to death and takes him to raise as her son, his sister Almah goes with them to live in the palace. Attracting the attention of the Pharaoh because of her resemblance to his dead wife Nefertari, Almah is declared his daughter, displacing Meryetamun. At the same time, the princess finds herself increasingly at home among the Habiru people. This rich and fascinating retelling of the well-known tale found in Exodus makes clear Lester's view of the complex nature of the relationship of Khemetians (Egyptians) and Habiru (Hebrews). First told in the voice of Almah and later in the voice of Mosis, the story moves inexorably toward the point at which the young people must decide who they really are. While in some cases characters seem to change without sufficient reason, Almah and Mosis are convincing in their struggle to find their identity. Almah, who becomes a priestess of Eset and dances naked at the festivals, is clearly the same person who, as a child, spontaneously removed her dress each morning to receive the life-giving rays of the rising sun. Mosis, slow in speech and unsure of what he wants, is moved to action only when he is rejected by those whose approval he seeks. Lester has moved well beyond the Cecil B. DeMille view of ancient Egypt and re-created with the great care of a scholar a place, a time, and two cultures that ultimately we can only imagine, but the questions he raises about identity, loyalty, and religion are as familiar today as they were thousands of years ago.-Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 6-9. Lester, who has very successfully turned biblical tales inside out, now retells the story of the young Moses and the sister who saved him. Here, the sister is not Miriam, but an older sister, Almah, who has an affinity for things Egyptian. When the pharaoh's daughter, Batya, takes Moses as Hebrew boys are being killed, Almah is pleased to find she is going along to the palace. The tension between the Hebrew god, Ya, and the deities of Egypt is the story's underlying theme, but it is personalized by the spiritual struggles of Almah and Moses, both of whom tell the story. Almah chooses to be absorbed into the pharaoh's court, becoming a priestess who dances naked at public ceremonies. Moses, brought up as a grandson to the pharaoh, is caught between his Egyptian upbringing and his Hebrew heritage, and must eventually decide which deserves his allegiance. Lester writes with verve and obvious pleasure at surrounding his characters with the grandeur of Egypt, a civilization for which, as he notes in an afterword, he has always felt an affinity. Some of the religious posturing may be lost on the audience, but readers will respond to the strong cast of characters who struggle with life-and-death issues, physical and philosophical. (Reviewed April 1, 2000)0152018263Ilene Cooper From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.