The Desert Queen, Special Edition

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the ‘kids meet historical figures’ premise at first—how many times can we rehash the ‘time-traveling helper’ trope? But *The Desert Queen* won me over by making the cousins *earn* their role in history. Van Liew’s narration is the secret weapon: she voices 12-year-old Mira’s sarcasm like a teen who’s *done* with adults’ nonsense, while 8-year-old Leo’s wide-eyed panic when he’s handed a live scorpion (‘*Why is it waving at me?!*’) had me laughing out loud. The production is polished but retains a homemade charm—you can hear Van Liew’s grin during the banter, which sells the cousins’ dynamic. That said, the pacing stumbles in Act 2 when the plot hinges on a *very* convenient translation of hieroglyphs (even the kids call it out: ‘Since when do you read Ancient Egyptian, Mira?’ ‘I *Googled* it before we left!’). And while the historical notes at the end are great, I wished for more texture in the setting—Egypt feels vivid, but the palace politics could’ve used another layer of intrigue to match Hatshepsut’s real-life cunning. Still, the audiobook’s strength is its heart: a story that treats kids as capable partners in history, not just spectators. If your listener loves snappy dialogue, high-stakes choices, and a heroine who *demands* to be taken seriously, this is a winner. Just maybe keep a map of Ancient Egypt handy—they’ll want to trace the adventure afterward.