15 year old Karen is exploring the sea side when she finds an ancient looking mirror in the sand. Now everyone knows that if you find an old mirror, do not stare into it. Of course Karen does and she is transported through time to ancient Rome. Some solders happen upon her and believe she is a runaway slave.
She is taken to a house where she is given to a slave to give her decent clothes and to wash her. Shorts and a tee shirt were very odd clothes indeed. She was taken to the market place and sold. She was a slave to Mistress Julia and was made to take care of Julia’s two children. She made friends with some of the other slaves and fell for a older slave boy, Kleon.
Christianity was a new religion back then and when the fires started and destroyed home after home, the Christians were blamed and persecuted. Karen and Kleon flee together to avoid persecution. Eventually Karen confesses to Kleon that she is from the future and he helps her find her way back.
Lynne Ellison wrote this short young adult novel in 1966, when she was just a teenager. It was just re-issued in 2009 by CnPosner Books. The copy I received was a final copy, not an advance reader edition. However, page after page I found spelling errors and word omissions. Instead of fixing these, the publisher has all of the errors listed on their website and invite readers to notify them of any other errors they may have missed. Though I really enjoyed the story, I found these errors rather annoying. I know it costs money to reprint books but I feel that it is unprofessional and does not do Lynne Ellison’s good story justice.
Karen told Kleon that the time that she lives in everyone in the world is Christian and how wonderful it is. There is no persecution. I guess this is also suppose to be Christian fantasy novel, because the world I live in, not everyone is Christian and there are still all kinds of people who get persecuted because of their religion. That said, I did like Karen as a character and I liked the story of her as a slave. The story took place when the Roman Empire was ruled by Nero and Ms. Ellison did bring the ancient time to life.
3/5
Thanks to CnPosner Books for this book.
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Errors really bug me in a book, unless it’s a galley, so I don’t think this is the book for me.
I really like the title of this book and the time travel premise intrigues me, but I think I would be annoyed by what annoys you, too. Why not fix the errors you find? Are they just waiting for the next edition to come out?
And yes… not everyone is Christian and I doubt that if everyone was, the world would be perfect, either. Definitely steering clear of this one if that is the message!
Kathy and Aarti,
The errors were so numerous that if I would have known, I would not have requested this book. Also, they are so numerous that I don’t think the publisher should wait for another printing. They are just way too noticeable.
Please note that a new version of this book has now been printed which should have eliminated the regrettable errors in the 2009 printing.
I am so glad to hear that Christopher! Thanks for the update!
I take it, this book is geared towards younger readers, but it does sound interesting.
It’s fascinating to me that the author was a teen when she wrote this, especially taking place during ancient Roman times. I work with teens and children and am always looking for any connection to get them reading more, and a teen author is definitely one way to do that.