Marcy's father Arthur is a famous adventurer (see Arthur and the Golden Rope for details of one of his many outings). Marcy loves to hear his stories, even though she doesn't believe they are true. When her father sets off for Egypt to find Thoth's book of knowledge, Marcy is convinced he needs help. After all, she thinks, "Her father had trouble just bending over when he dropped his glasses." Marcy journeys to the Great Sphinx to rescue Arthur, but she will have to overcome her fear of the dark and enlist the aid of some ancient deities to succeed.
The artwork is especially good at showing motion with large illustrations that depict the characters in various locations along their route. For instance, when Marcy is trying to get aboard the sun boat of Ra, readers see her standing on the sand, running toward the boat, balanced on top of a stone arch, dangling from the hand of a giant statue...each instance moves her closer to her goal and shows her progress across the obstacles. There is also humor in the images, such as Bast the goddess of cats stretched out catlike in a hammock for a nap.
Besides being an adventure story and an introduction to some of the Egyptian pantheon, this is also the story of discovering a sense of self. Marcy doubts she is "even a real Brownstone" because of her fear of the dark. But in finding her father, she outgrows her fear and her doubts, finding the adventurous spirit within herself.
Recommended for readers of Hilda, Zita the Space Girl, and other awesome girls having their own adventures. I read an e-book provided by the publisher for review purposes.
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