"Elsa Marston knows her turf and how to tell a story." (School Library Journal) "Marston's cloak-and-dagger tale clips along from page one. ...The energetic cast and plot will catch and hold junior high readers with a taste for richly detailed suspense." (Kliatt) "The plot is complex, fast-paced.... The combination of mystery, romance, and an exotic setting will appeal to many teens." (VOYA) "This engaging new edition has updated the story's setting with references to Islamic fundamentalism ... as well as to modern development and the uneasy coexistence of past and present...." (Multicultural Review) |
THE CLIFFS OF CAIRO ... a moment of discovery that leads to dangers Tabby could not possibly have imagined... Sixteen-year-old Tabby Sherwood, living in Cairo while her dad works as a geological consultant, is fascinated by the traces of Cairo's medieval, "Arabian Nights" glory. But when she buys a small wooden icon as a gift, she's not prepared for all the trouble that follows. Why does that suave art collector want a little picture of a saint, which she bought for practially nothing? And why does the Egyptian maid who works for the Sherwoods act so strangely? An independent type who loves to explore the city on her own, Tabby can't tell her parents about her puzzling misadventures--including a weird encounter in the ruins of a medieval palace. But she has an ally in a handsome Egyptian student of architecture. He takes her seriously--to the point of risking his life at an ancient mosque on the edge of the cliffs overlooking Cairo. An intriguing mystery laced with humor, THE CLIFFS OF CAIRO offers an accurate picture of life in modern Egypt. (Many of the things that happen to Tabby are based on the author's own experiences when living in Cairo in the 1960s!) This is a new edition of a book that came out in 1981, to enthusiastic reviews. In paperback, THE CLIFFS OF CAIRO is available from Amideast (www.amideast.org) and from Amazon.com. SOME QUESTIONS TO TALK ABOUT . . . Tabby's determination to do what she wants to do gets her into trouble. How would you describe her behavior? If you lived in a foreign city, what sorts of places and things would you most like to explore? What do you know about the problem of theft of antiquities (that is, objects that represent the past culture of another society)? Is this something you feel concerned about? Have you ever seen something, for instance in a museum, that made you want to know more about the person who made it or the culture it came from? |
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