Ungodly Chaos

Gr 9 Up–There’s something rotten in the state of Kemet (also known as the human realm), and it’s not just the mummies; Kemet is experiencing a series of murders. The premise of Soren’s novel is that the gods worshipped by ancient Egyptians walked the Earth, and their descendants live among us today. Amira Shah is not a god but an ordinary Egyptian American girl who works at a coffee shop, studies for the ACT, and hangs out with her best friend. The most interesting thing in her life is that her mom makes a living telling people’s fortunes. Then one night, Amira sees her ex-boyfriend Kaidan Jaziri fall—or did he jump?—into a hole in the ground and disappear. Making a split-second decision to follow, Amira soon finds herself in Duat, the Underworld, and is caught up in a mystery of pharaonic proportions. In Soren’s ensemble piece, the characters (many of whom are Egyptian American) can sometimes feel two-dimensional and indistinguishable from each other, with somewhat heavy-handed relational dynamics. This story heavily relies upon plot and action, and readers in search of excitement and adventure won’t be disappointed on that front.