Cleopatra's Moon

July 11, 2011
This fascinating historical novel explores the tumultuous history of Cleopatra VIII Selene, the only daughter of Cleopatra VII and Marcus Antonius. "How was it that I went from a Princess of Egyptâthe daughter of the most powerful queen in the worldâto a prisoner of Rome, and now, to the bride of a petty ruler in the scrubs of Africa?" a teenage Cleopatra Selene wonders, before the narrative rewinds a decade to her upbringing in Alexandria and the dissolution of the Egyptian empire. The early sections highlight the high stakes, political pressure, and dangers facing Cleopatra VII's reign and the rich complexities of the Egyptian religion. Shecter (Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen) strongly sketches court life and highlights the differences between Cleopatra Selene's youth in Alexandria with the more restrictive court of Rome where Selene and her brothers move after her parents' deaths. In Rome, Cleopatra Selene and her brothers dodge palace dangers, including an attempt on their lives, with grace. Cleopatra Selene proves a stalwart heroine, and the novel's atmospheric setting and romantic intrigue are highly memorable. Ages 13âup.

July 15, 2011

Following in a parent's footsteps is never easy...especially when your parents are Cleopatra and Mark Antony. 

From the little known about the lives of Cleopatra Selene and her two brothers, taken to Rome after the deaths of their parents to live in the emperor's compound, Shecter has written an entertaining but ultimately thin first novel. The first-person narration follows Cleopatra Selene from age 7 to 16 as she grows politically savvy, falls in love and sets her own course. The author has written nonfiction books for children about this era (Cleopatra Rules!, 2010, etc.), and here the historical context and characters are well drawn. The sadistic family plotting in Octavianus' compound makes for intriguing storytelling, and Cleopatra Selene's loneliness, terror and ultimate bravery are well developed. Yet she's just not believable as a brainy 25th-century-BCE princess, exhibiting a 21st-century naïveté (especially regarding espionage) and the subtlety of a school bus. Conversations with her beloved introduce the audience to philosophical concepts of Stoicism, free will and women's rights, but there's almost an avoidance of issues of slavery and sovereignty, for all their essential part in the plot.

Readers will enjoy what is still a romantic and exciting story, but with the tease of such rich material they'll miss the meatiness of such storytellers as Katherine Sturtevant, Megan Whalen Turner or Robin McKinley. (character list, author's note) (Fiction. 10-14)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

August 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-Based on the lives of Cleopatra's children, this book is narrated by the queen's only daughter, Cleopatra Selene, whose father was Marcus Antonius and whose name means moon. Starting in Alexandria just as Octavianus is attacking the kingdom, Cleopatra Selene goes from a happy childhood at age seven to seeing her father kill himself, losing her mother, and being shipped off to Rome to live in the house of her enemy. Having been crowned queen along with her twin Alexandros, as the next king before being whisked out of Egypt, Cleopatra holds on to the hope that somehow the followers of Isis, her mother's patron goddess, will help them escape back to Egypt, all the while convinced that Octavianus's wife is trying to poison her family. She turns away from her own heart and focuses on power, allowing herself to be seduced by Marcellus, the next in line to rule Rome. At 16, Cleopatra Selene is married off by Octavianus to the King of Mauretania, which leads to an unexpected ending. An afterword describes the history surrounding the plot. This novel has romance, drama, heartbreak, and adventure, all rooted in an accurate and descriptive historical setting. Shecter writes about the world of ancient Egypt and Rome with wonderful detail, making it come alive and bringing in the Jewish culture that existed in both Rome and Alexandria. Her characters are skillfully fictionalized, and readers will connect with the hardship suffered by the children, particularly the deaths of Cleopatra Selene's brothers. A fantastic read with some valuable history.-Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Shecter, author of nonfiction books on Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII, moves her scholarly interest in ancient Egypt seamlessly into the fictional realm with this dramatic account of the life of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony. As a child, Selene wants nothing more than to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a powerful queen, but she instead becomes a hostage of war when Roman ruler Octavianus invades Egypt, defeating Marc Antony and ensuring his claim to the Roman Empire. After her parents' deaths by suicide, Selene is forced to live with her two brothers in Octavianus' hostile household in Rome, where she schemes futilely to reclaim the Egyptian throne. Based on historical records, this is an often-tragic tale of a determined young woman who must adapt to the loss of everything she's known in order to recognize the new possibilities before her. Shecter brings ancient Egypt and Rome to life with vivid period details and a fascinating take on a neglected historical figure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)