- a group of school boys are determined to clear the name of their falsely-accused friend for graffiti on the temple wall
- unique view into the culture of Ancient Rome intertwined with the mystery
- convo: slaves mentioned, ghosts mentioned (there were none), wine mentioned, some lying, mentions a seer/second sight/soothsayer, execution by drowning mentioned, emperor insists on being worshipped as a god, a man is drunk but friendly, someone falls to his death
- language: “dumbbell” used throughout (it’s part of the graffiti), stupid x4, shut up x2, occasional “by the gods” type exclamations, jackass x1, idiot x4, brat x1
Type: chapter book
Ages: 8-12
Author: Henry Winterfeld
Illustrator: Charlotte Kleinert
Translators (from German): Richard & Clara Winston
The story never lags for a moment after you begin it! And if you, as a parent, think you’ll solve the mystery quicker than your child, think again. There are a lot of fun twists and turns.
The boys are almost all from very wealthy homes in Ancient Rome, and their teacher is a strict man whom they don’t particularly like…at first. Throughout the book, we grow to appreciate him and his little nuggets, like: “Sarcasm gets us nowhere. You are only trying to make up by impudence for a lack of intelligence.” Ha! He’s really helpful in guiding the boys through the pieces of the puzzle in a logical way.
Regarding the age, if your 8-year-old is fairly sensitive, you might want to wait a year or two. One of the boys is arrested and chained up in prison. Additionally, there is some violence, a few intense scenes when confronting the creepy soothsayer, and someone dies.
Overall, it was a decent historical fiction read for us, though not a personal favorite. Definitely check it out if you’re okay with the above conversation points.