Cleopatra's Daughter

Hey everyone! Didn't think I'd be back did you? Ah ye of little faith. I have arrived and I am reviewing a book that I just finished reading yesterday. I figured since it's fresh in my mind why not go ahead and do it? Well here we go: this is my review on Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran, (kudos to my mom by the way she's the one that spotted this one)

Characters: Kleopatra Selene: daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony/the last of the Ptolemies/moves to Rome to stay with the Roman emperor Octavian's family
Alexander Helios: son of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony/twin of Selene/spends most of his time trying to prevent Selene from doing something drastic
Julia: daughter of Octavian/engaged three times since she was two/has been forbidden to ever see her mother again
Marcellus: a potential heir to Rome/currently betrothed to Julia/has a bit of a gambling problem
Juba and Agrippa: two of Octavian's most trusted allies/live in the family compound with Octavian and his sister Octavia/both very sympathetic towards the slaves
Octavia: sister of Octavian/hates her brother's wife Livia/loves to do charity work

The Plot: Kleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy are the future kings and queens of Egypt. All of that changes when their father, Marc Antony loses his final battle and commits suicide as Octavian, Antony's rival for power in Rome, sweeps into Egypt and takes the throne from Marc Antony and his wife, the famous Cleopatra. As they are taken captive, Cleopatra commits suicide and Selene, Alexander and Ptolemy are to accompany Octavian back to Rome. But along the way, Ptolemy dies and Selene cannot help but wonder how much longer she and her twin Alexander, the last of the Ptolemies, will survive. They arrive on the shores of Rome and find a land that is so unlike their own Selene instantly contemplates running away. But her fear of this new land and her hope that she may one day return to Egypt prevents her reckless escape with her brother. Terrified that Octavian may decide that they are no longer useful at any point, Selene is desperate to prove her worth while not losing the part of her that will not comply with Octavian's will. As slave rebellions rock Rome, Selene is forced to question everything she knows and how far she is willing to go to return home.

What I liked: Okay so I really really REALLY like historical fiction. Sorry, I know it's kind of nerdy and all, but as I have said before I wouldn't be doing this blog if I wasn't a nerd. Just for the sake of clarity, I guess I should tell you why I like historical fiction. I like historical fiction because it captures the essence of a time and takes you to a place that has actually existed. It gives you a taste of what really happened during a particular time, and it gives you a sense of what life was like. It also breathes life into these people that you read about in your history textbooks and they each get a life of their own. I am a major history geek and I want to focus on ancient history, so this was a really awesome book for me to read. Also, I have been OBSESSED with Ancient Egypt for as long as I can remember. I love reading about Ancient Egypt and the mummies and the pyramids and how the pharaohs built these incredible monuments, some of which still hasn't been discovered. Ancient Rome is also a favorite period of mine too. But back to Cleopatra's Daughter now that I have brought my tangent back home - I thought all of the characters were extremely well developed which I found very surprising. I would have thought that because it was a historical novel, that Moran would be limited by the characters and the fact that we don't really know all that much about these people. I was caught off guard though, and pleasantly though. Selene, who had this personality which was very aware of the social injustices of her time, was so close to her brother and had such care for him. I found this very endearing because most of the sibling relationships in the novel were dysfunctional at best. And the fact that she loves architecture made her more real. Also, Alexander, the boy who loves to gamble, ride horses, and yet has a secret that he has hidden for almost anyone. No, I'm not going to tell you what it is (but by the way, I totally called it). I thought all of the events that Moran included shaped the novel beautifully. By having the children required to attend the trials of "criminals" (I put it in quotes for reasons that become clear if you read the book) you got a very accurate, penetrating description into Roman life. I thought that was truly special.

What I didn't like: *MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS.THIS WILL RUIN THE REST OF THE BOOK. IF YOU DON"T WANT IT TO BE RUINED, PROCEED TO SPOILER FREE ZONE* I thought Juba's romance with Selene was rather sudden. Don't get me wrong, I liked Juba the best because I thought Marcellus was an idiot. But all of a sudden, Selene who has been moping the whole novel over Marcellus (yes she was moping-it was pathetic because not only was he engaged but it was to her best friend) and then she suddenly realizes how awesome Juba is. All very very sudden. *SPOILER FREE ZONE* Also, there is a scene that Moran had to include but it made me actually kind of sick. One of Julia's old friends is pregnant and giving birth to a child with an old man that she is married to. He is about sixty and she's about thirteen. When he sees its a girl, he tells the maid to take the child "to the dump". It was in the middle of winter. It was awful. But then Octavian, the ruler who killed Selene's parents, has killed slaves without even caring, says that he wants to leave the old man's house. The old man says something to the effect of that it's too cold and that he should stay. Then Octavian says "I'm sure your daughter would have liked to stay the night as well. When you shiver, remember how cold it is in the dump." OH SNAP. But I had a really hard time stomaching the fact that girls younger than me were married to guys older than my dad and were already pregnant. They had no control over their lives and could be married as many times as their male relatives decided. Sometimes, I am really glad I didn't live in Ancient Rome.

Overall: 8 out of 10. While I really liked it, I found that Selene's random romance with Juba was too quick and kind of took away from the ending of the book.