Wow, I must've read this book a hundred times as a teenager. I still pull it off my shelf from time to time and read it again.

This was one book that I remember reading when I was in fourth grade. I bought this copy for my daughter, who is a total bookworm. If you are interested in Ancient Egypt, this book is wonderful.

I first read this book when I was eleven years old, and have loved it ever since. I cannot even count the number of times I have re-read it. It is excellently written with a deep plot, well-made characters, and an amazingly believable feel of the world of Ancient Egypt. Even if you are not a fan of ancient Egyptian books, you will soon become interested in the characters and before you know it, caught up in a whirl-wind of spies, secret plots, Pharaohs, and above all, the love story of two young Egyptians.

I have loved this book since i first read it so many years ago. Mara, its lead character, is a joy to get to know

This is a wonderful little book. It is mainly geared to female readers, boys will not enjoy the romance (IMHO). Mara is resourceful, spunky and at times self serving. Above all she is a survivor. Nice romance with a girl power theme.Interesting Egyptian setting which is different from the usual Celtic/British background for so many of these novels.If you enjoyed this, older teens and adults will enjoy Judith Tarr's Lord of the Two Lands.

This novel is excellent for a number of reasons. I recieved it as a gift, and I read it in one day.
Pros:

Mara (the heroine) is a character with a distinct personality. She jumps out at you on the page rather than just sitting there as a bunch of words jumbled together.

The descriptions are vivid and exact, and the writing style flows effortlessly.

The story is gripping and intriguing and takes a few unexpected twists.

It seems very historical, though I am no expert on ancient Egypt.

The cover is very beautiful for those who like "pretty" books.

Cons:

None that I can think of.

I highly reccommend this book to avid readers, young or old!

I never much like reading until this book came along. I was forced to read this book back in the 4th grade. And after reading it I was forever hooked on adventure/romance/mystery novels. I thank you so much for this Mrs. Baker (my 4th grade teacher).

The characters truelly come to life and makes you feel as if you are right beside them every step of the way.

Because of this book I now have collections (literally box on top of box) of adventure/romance/mystery novels. I recommend it to any and all readers 9+ years old. If you like adventure, intrigue and some mystery this is the book for you!! A must read!!

I am 14 almost 15 and I just finished reading Mara, It is the most awesome book I've ever read! It's filled with action, adventure, and romance. I am deperatly trying to find another book like it because it was soooo good! I REALLY hope someone makes a movie about it! I would so buy it! I was assigned this book for ancient history, and I only had a week to finish it. I knew I was going to have to read it alot to finish it and I didn't want to, but once I started reading it again i couldn't put it down! Normally I don't read alot but this book changed that! I REALLY REALLY REEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLYY HOPE SOMEBODY MAKES A MOVIE ABOUT THIS BOOK!!!!!! If you want to read an awesome book than you should definately read this one!

I ordered this book as a supplement to our Ancient Egypt unit. We read "The Golden Goblet" together, and "Mara" was recommended on the Amazon site as another good title. I read this myself on my way to Florida, and found that the situations are more adult and mature in nature. There was nothing wrong with anything that happened in the story, everything was 'clean', but I couldn't see my 9 and 12 year old listening to or reading it with interest. Highly recommended for any mature teen to adult who would like to read some good historical fiction from that time period!

Just enough romance to keep you hooked, completely clean. Lots of tension between right and wrong. Good character development.

i read this book many years ago on a summer reading list & enjoyed it so much that i own several copies that i still read. this was my first introduction to ancient egypt, pharaohs who were female, river travel on the nile,etc. it is an engrossing adventure that a tween or adult would enjoy. mara made an impression on me because of her guts & sharp mind & any book with a ballsy heroine who achieves way more than what she aimed for is okay by me.enjoy!

I read this when I was a preteen and obsessed with all things Ancient Egyptian. Highly Recommended!

I honestly don't remember when I bought this book, was probably my sophomore or junior year of HS, but I'm a freshman in college now...and I'll still rank it amongst the best pieces of literature I've ever read.

Whether it was the playful (albeit dangerous at times) banter between her and Sheftu or the stunning descriptions of the lotus gardens this book is a masterpiece and my only criticism was that it was not longer......

I was 14 years old when I first read this enchanting masterpiece. It has great characters, great romance, great plot, not to mention just plain suspense.

This book had me captured after about the third or so chapter (or whenever it was when she became Sheftu's slave) and I was instantly hooked, reading for hours at night.

No it is not historically accurate with the queen being the villian, but it's just a novel! It is for enjoyment, and that is certainly what it is.

The only flaw is that it's somewhat slow paced (atleast it was for me at the very beginning). I couldn't get into it with the first chapter, which is the key into to any novel, but was sucked in once I read more into it.

If you are hesitant about reading this book, don't be, for it is surely worth your time.

I found this in my school library when I was in 5th or 6th grade, and I checked it out over and over and over again the very first year I found it, way back in nineteen eighty-mumble. :) By the time the library card was finally replaced, my name was in all but 5 of the spaces. I loved this book so much. Like other reviewers, I am slightly peeved that the great queen-pharaoh Hatshepsut is made out to be a villain in this novel, especially as I was so interested in her that I did my history project on her reign. (But then, ever notice how Hatshepsut isn't even mentioned these days in all the Discovery Channel programs on Ancient Egypt.) Still, Mara's adventure is captivating and keeps you reading to see what will happen next. The final sequence had me white-knuckled the first time I read it, and I felt her fear and her pain even as I admired her courage. I highly recommend this book, and am very glad to see it's still in print after all these years! :)

My mom read this book aloud to me before I was even old enough to read it on my own. After that, when I was old enough to read at this level, which is probably about sixth grade or so, I read and re-read this book. I recently came across this book on a trip home, and picked up and read it again. It is such a vivid novel that I can still remember the emotions that it roused up in me at such a young age. it is about bravery, patriotism, selflessness, and love. Of course, reading it now it is hard to believe that Mara was so young, but I still loved it. I read the whole book in one sitting. I had forgetten what a wonderful book it is. and, on a more sentimental level, I could still hear my mom's voice reading it to me when I read through it again.

Mara was a exciting love story about a slave who was "rescued" by young, tall, hansome Lord Sheftu. I liked most parts of the book, but let's face it, life isn't really like that! It makes a good fiction book and maybe one day I'll read it over, but I really think if it had more "real life" in it, it might be more popular. For those of you who (girls most likely)enjoy fiction love stories such as "Love Comes Softly" or historical love stories you may find this book to your liking. I just couldn't get over thinking that this isn't really going to happen (besides the fact that it is based hundreds of years ago)!I know it sounds boring but,I like the romance to be spread out and not plopped down in two or three chapters like it was just put there to make the story more interesting If you don't think about the love parts I would say it was a pretty good history novel. The only other thing would be that it was a little hard to keep up with and the names were a little hard to pronounce. I have to agree with other readers, "It WOULD make a great movie.

It was a little hard to understand, but I did get most of it. I would read it again! This really is the best book I've ever read! It is a book about a girl named Mara,who is a slave and yearns for freedom. She has a cruel master but another man wants her. This new master has a quest for her. To find out what it is, read the book.

I first found this book as a sixth-grader, in the library of the elementary school which I attended. I guess I found it
because I was looking for a book on "Princess Margaret", (which the school library did not have), and, at that age, was not too
familiar with the Dewey Decimal System.

However I found that book, I am certainly glad I did! It is a true classic, and deserves to be better known! I am glad I am not the only one who wants to get this book into the hands of
Steven Spielberg!

Every time I watch "All My Children", I think how PERFECT
the actresses who play "Bianca" and "Kendall" would be, as
"Mara" and "Hatshepsut"! (Oh, if only David Selby were just
a little younger.....he'd make a PERFECT "Lord Seftu"!)

Every character in this book is so true to life! The
story is, (as the flap of the hardcover edition which I
finally bought, over 20 years ago, said), "broght to life
with photographic detail."

"Mara" is a love story, an adventure story, a story of
palace intrigue, a slice of true history, a story with twists
and turns and excitement. Every character in it is brought
to life in "high relief", (I think that was on the flap of
the hardcover edition as well). Everything one could want
in a book is in this novel. Along with just about everyone
else who has read it, I wanted it never to end....

A great thing about this book is that, even as a slave,
Mara never loses her sense of herself as a person. That is
one lesson we present-day "wage-slaves" should take to heart!

But even more importantly -- especially in this post-
9/11 world -- is the true moral of this story. Yes, it is
a love story, an adventure story, a story of heroism and
bravery and excitement. But it is, above all, a story about
PATRIOTISM -- what it really is, and what it really means.
As Mara realizes at the end, (I paraphrase): "...Egypt is
not the Nile. Egypt is not the Pharaoh. Egypt is US -- all
the people who live here."

This literary classic is more important than ever!
It NEEDS to be better-known, to be filmed, to be read by
even more people. Especially now, as we all suffer, in greater or lesser degree, from "post 9/11 shock". We who have read this
book know it to be a true treasure...our own secret treasure,
nestled in our minds as surely as Mara's scarab and ring were nestled in the folds of her garments! All too
selfishly, perhaps, many of us, (myself included), have
wanted to keep knowledge of this secret treasure of a book to
ourselves. But Mara herself was quite selfish at the begin-
ing of the book -- even though in her case, it was a self-
protection device, and so, forgivingly understandable. But
the rest of the world NEEDS this book -- especially now! (I
begin to wonder how even Osama Bin Laden would react to it
...written as it is by a Westerner who so achingly understands
the Middle East -- and even more, the Human psyche of ALL peo-
ple -- and their wish to be free. In Mara's case, the wish
to be free of slavery. In our case, the wish to be free of
terrorism. One can only speculate how far the myriad and
wonderful messages of this book -- the real meaning of
Patriotism being the primary message -- could go, if only
it were better known!

This book is still in print after more than 30 years!
This alone attests to its status as a classic. It is a
perfect book in so many ways!

Is Eloise Jarvis McGraw still alive? If not -- do
her heirs have the film rights to this book? (I repeat,
as do so many others -- somebody who has the authority:
PLEASE get this book to Steven Spielberg!) Ms. Jarvis
McGraw is an exquisitely gifted writer. I have also
read her novel for adults, "PHARAOH", another take on
the Hatsepsut story. It is a much longer book -- and
has much magic to it as well. But it is not as good as
MARA. For only "Mara, Daughter of the Nile" has Mara,
Lord Sheftu, Innani, Nekonka, and all the other, unfor-
gettable characters unique to this novel.

Patriotism -- and unselfishness too -- are things
we all need to have. Especially now! MARA, DAUGHTER
OF THE NILE teaches these and other lessons in an ex-
quisite, love-and-adventure story format! It rings
true in every word! It rings true in every character!
It is a story for all time. Read this book! And,
hopefully, some day very soon -- see the movie, too!