Adventure, intrigue, and precious gems; all items necessary for a good novel, right? Then you’re in luck if you pick up a copy of The Obsidian Mask by Caroline Ludovici!
Allow me to tempt you a little bit with history. What’s that you say? History’s not your thing? Maybe not, but reading this book might change your mind. Ludovici, a charming Brit, has taken the cradle of civilization, ancient Mesopotamia, and turned it into a thriller for middle grade readers.
Imagine ancient Mesopotamia
Look really closely. You’ll see that the Mesopotamia area crosses over a large portion of the world that has been in the news lately: Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and a teeny part of Iran.
So what, you say? Well, here’s what: during the course of the novel, four young friends help uncover ancient secrets and are kidnapped because of a very valuable mask that is found in that area. The mask, belonging to an ancient warrior queen, contains glass known as obsidian, a beautiful, dark, and volcanic glass stone that makes the mask financially priceless.
The glass can look like this:
You’ll accidentally learn about history and the Middle East as you read the book. If you’re like me, you’ll want to know more about the region: what’s the weather like? How did they access water in the desert? What part of London are the teens from? Who is from Italy? What in the heck is cuneiform?
Cuneiform is an form of writing. It’s how ancient people wrote. Wanna see my name in cuneiform?
I”m not sure what it really says but it prolly says “enjoy this book”!
Which I did and you know what? A second book is coming out next year, how fun will that be??
Stay tuned for more from this exciting series…