Hunt For the Golden Scarab – M.G Leonard

Published By: Macmillan Children’s Books
Pages: 256
Released On: 30/01/2025
Reading Age: 9-11

Sim and his mum never live anywhere long. When dangerous strangers appear one night, Sim finds out why. His mum has been keeping secrets: she has the power to open doors in time.

Running for their lives, Sim and his friends are determined to outwit the sinister Council of Keys and be the first to find Nefertiti’s lost tomb and a powerful door to Ancient Egypt. They must piece together long-hidden clues if they are to solve the mystery of her golden heart scarab. Can they find it before the Council finds them?

*****

Thanks you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Books for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

Oooooooh there’s pictures! I’ve never been quiet about my love for pictures in books and I just wished more adult books had them as they add so much more to a book.

M.G Leonard’s books are a reliable thing, stories that entertain everyone from my 9-year-old nephew to the 31-year-old me.

This book is so rich in colour in settings, characters, dangers and magic.

It feels nostalgic in a way, like it reminded me of the good adventure books I read as a child. This has the makings of a classic that children will be loving for years. It will become the book that they are reminded of when they are adults.

It is really well paced. It’s important for children’s books to be fast paced in my opinion, because their attention span can often be much shorter. But it can’t be too rushed, because they will get a bit lost and then bored and not want to finish it. And I felt this was a real edge-on-your-seat, fast, firecracker of a story.

I am fascinated by Ancient Egypt, and whilst I’m aware this is a fictional children’s story, and not an encyclopaedia of Ancient Egypt, it has really reignited my interest in the topic and I found myself going down some Google black holes whilst reading this.

Whilst I think it will be enjoyable for anyone, I think it would be particularly enjoyable for those interested in Ancient Egypt, especially if it’s being taught in school lessons. You’re not sitting there reading regurgitated facts. It doesn’t feel like a history lessons. It’s learning but in a fun way.

All of the characters were great – if not all nice. We’ve got the modern day characters, including children, which helps the young readers to relate. But then you’ve got the historical figures which adds to the fun, magical element. It was very interesting seeing the modern characters interact with these figures we only know about in writing.

It is so much fun; it’s got everything you could want – action, adventure, heists, secrets, danger, fun, time travel, exploration, history, magic, deceit, just everything.

I am very much looking forward to the next in the series, and I could see it being a very successful TV series. It has an almost young Indiana Jones quality about it which will appeal to readers.