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The Blazing Star Paperback – December 6, 2016

by Imani Josey (Author)

4.6 44 ratings

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Sixteen-year-old Portia White is used to being overlooked after all, her twin sister Alex is a literal genius.

But when Portia holds an Egyptian scarab beetle during history class, she takes center stage in a way she never expected: she faints. Upon waking, she is stronger, faster, and braver than before. And when she accidentally touches the scarab again?

She wakes up in ancient Egypt her sister and an unwitting freshman in tow.

Great.

Mysterious and beautiful, Egypt is more than they could have ever imagined from their days in the classroom. History comes alive as the three teens realize that getting back to the present will be the most difficult thing they've ever done. Stalked by vicious monsters called Scorpions, every step in the right direction means a step closer to danger.

As Portia and the girls discover that they're linked to the past by more than just chance, they have to decide what it truly means to be yourself, to love your sister, and to find your way home.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Publication date

December 6, 2016
Dimensions

5.47 x 0.94 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1945769165
ISBN-13

978-1945769160
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Imani Josey is a writer from Chicago, Illinois. In her previous life, she was a cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls and won the titles of Miss Chicago and Miss Cook County for the Miss America Organization, as well as Miss Black Illinois USA. Her one-act play, Grace, was produced by Pegasus Players Theatre Chicago after winning the 19th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. In recent years, she has turned her sights to long-form fiction. She now spends the majority of her time working on backstory, teaching dance fitness classes, and cuddling with her American bulldog, Thor. The Blazing Star is her debut novel.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wise Ink Creative Publishing (December 6, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1945769165
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1945769160
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.47 x 0.94 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,047,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 44 ratings

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Imani Josey

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Imani Josey is a writer from Chicago, Illinois. In her previous life, she was a cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls and won the titles of Miss Chicago and Miss Cook County for the Miss America Organization, as well as Miss Black Illinois USA. In recent years, she turned her sights to long-form fiction. The Blazing Star was her debut novel; it is followed by its sequel The Falling Star.

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4.6 out of 5

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Evie Terrell

Beautifully Written!

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2019

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I had so much fun reading this novel. The author has an amazing gift for lush imagery and strong, unique voice. I enjoyed every character, every scene, and dilemma. I'm surprised it ended the way it did and hope this means a sequel isn't too far behind because I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of Ms. Josey's work.

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Anthony Franceschina

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

I couldn’t put this book down! The descriptions and characters were very visual. When I finished I immediately purchased the sequel (The Falling Star- also finished!). Great read!

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Gentlewoman

Fun and exciting read!

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed the characters and storyline. Just pre-orderes the sequel "The Falling Star".
This would make great series TV!

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G. ZOLA

Thank you for the great read!!

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

Ok, first of all, there'll be no spoilers here. So read on.

I loved the character building. At the beginning I thought it wasn't going fast enough, but then I realized, I loved getting to know Portia & Alex at that pace.

The fact that the author wasn't always rushing it just helped me get deeper into the story. And from a girl who was used into getting overshadowed by her twin, and then found herself and the courage to face the challenges in front of her, Portia seriously braved up in a way that made me love the story even more. Top that up with time travelling, romance (even though I would've loved to read more about this romance), AND YA DIVERSITY, my heart seriously melted by this amazing, adventures story that took me into a world way before my time.
LOVED IT! LOVED IT! AND LOVED IT SOME MORE!

Already looking forward for the next book by this Author!
Thank you for the great read!!!

G. Zola

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Fantastic, immersive debut

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2017

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I refuse to believe Imani Josey didn't spend significant time in ancient Egypt, because her knowledge about the setting/time period is truly astounding. Such an immersive read with a fresh voice and a relatable MC. Can't wait for book 2!

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Nicole

A great read for all ages and quite a dazzling affirmation ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2017

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The Blazing Star was a thrilling, absolutely necessary work of magic! A great read for all ages and quite a dazzling affirmation of black girl magic. You don't want to miss out on this one!

One person found this helpful

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Tibby Wroten

@ Home Librarian Book Reviews

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018

I am a sucker for books with Ancient Egypt. I fell in love with Ancient Egypt in sixth grade and pursued Egyptology in my undergraduate years going to far as to spend a semester abroad in Cairo. I’ve even taken Middle Egyptian and learned to read and write hieroglyphics. I’ve been to the Pyramids, to the Valley of the Kings…you get the point. Before I could get there and study Ancient Egypt, though, I read about it. And to be honest a lot of what’s out there is ridiculously inaccurate, silly, colonial, or some combination of those. And yet I still have a soft spot for all those books and when I come across new ones I’ll still read them. Call me sentimental.

One thing I only recently realized about all these books I devoured as a kid, though, is that all the main characters are white. Either those existing in Ancient Egypt or those looking back at it (or even traveling back to it), which of course would not be the case at all. Call that prewoke reading if you will.

I think I found The Blazing Star through following the author on Twitter and however I found it, I am so glad I did. The book features a black girl going back in time with her twin sister and another black girl. And the people they meet are not white. They’re given appropriate skin colors and heritages. It was eye opening to contrast it with everything else I have read (and loved, as problematic as it all is). For all those kids, and girls in particular, who are not white and have fallen in love with Ancient Egypt they deserve to see that they are more closely linked with Ancient Egypt than people that look like me are. This is a book for them.

I appreciated that Josey appears to have done her research. The clothes, activities, and places are much more reflective of what Ancient Egypt would have looked and felt like than a lot of other books out there. The story follows the Ancient Egyptian calendar. They speak another language. Even the weather gets a mention. Sure, it ends up diverging from the reality of what Ancient Egypt would have been for the sake of a plot, but in the context of the book that’s okay. She kept what she could and embellished it in a fun and suspenseful way.

This one is definitely worth having on your shelves, especially if you have Egypt fanatics. While I would call it YA because it features some very light romance and because the girls are 16 years old, there’s nothing in it that would make it inappropriate for younger audiences (seven and eight grade). The reading level and length might deter some kids, but don’t rule it out simply because you serve a middle school population.

One complaint about the cover. Two actually. First are the Pyramids silhouetted in Portia’s head. Everyone thinks of those when they think of Egyptian history, but by the time most Egyptian history people know about (Ramses, Tut, etc.) and by the time this book takes place, they were already very, very old. Yes, they’re iconically Egyptian, but it’s not historically accurate. I know, I know. Nit-picky. Also the menes forming around Portia’s head was not a headdress worn by just anyone. It’s something worn by male pharaohs. Again, nit-picky. Otherwise, this cover is going to suck in readers. It’s lovely and screams Egyptian adventure.

Be sure to purchase The Blazing Star and keep your eye out for sequels. I know I will be.

One person found this helpful

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Adriyanna Zimmermann @ Life Writings of a Reader

Breathtaking debut novel!

Reviewed in Canada on August 31, 2018

Verified Purchase

*Quotes have location instead of page number because I have the ebook.

THE BLAZING STAR by Imani Josey is an entertaining, well-written fantasy about strong female characters facing a dark force in ancient Egypt. This was a fresh take on time travel and goddess-given magic, and once I started reading I couldn’t stop. With strong messages of sisterhood, Josey has created a breathtaking debut.

The protagonist, Portia travels the Rivers of Time to ancient Egypt with her twin sister, Alex and freshman Selene, and must protect Egypt from a power-hungry priest and humanoid monsters. Not to mention, learning to control her own new-found magical abilities called Heka. I absolutely loved Portia’s character! In the beginning, she’s shy and introverted, struggling to break out of her sister’s shadow. As the book progresses, we see her breaking free and becoming a stronger, bolder person. Alex is this super smart genius, who doesn’t understand why her sister would want to do things differently from her. I haven’t read many books where the MC is a twin, so it was interesting to read about these conflicting personalities. Portia doesn’t want to live in her sister’s shadow anymore and doesn’t completely hate the idea of staying in ancient Egypt. Alex just wants to go home and for everything to go back to normal. Selene is new to Portia’s school, so she and Alex are getting to know Selene at the same time as the reader.

The first couple chapters were a bit rocky, it started off with Alex being given an academic award and I was a little confused. I definitely understood why the author chose to start the novel there – Portia had just cut her hair, it was the start of her breaking out of her sister’s shadow. After that, I was totally into the book. TBS starts off in the modern era, to set the scene a bit, but the parts set in ancient Egypt were completely captivating! The descriptions were incredible and I felt like I was actually there. It was almost like reading a diary or another primary source, just because of how real it felt. The reader almost forgets the MC is from the modern era, but every now and then Portia compares something from the ancient world to the modern. I loved these references, mainly because of the humour; Portia is such a funny character. Some of my favourites:

“Most women I knew changed their names after marriage, but no one changed their full name unless they joined the Witness Protection Program.” – Location 1688

“The procession left the temple in an excursion like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” – Location 1734

“Every eye was on the mysterious Hyksos monarch, a Hollywood Star glittering on the red carpet.” – Location 1873

There’s some romance but the focus is definitely on Portia’s character as well as the bonds of sisterhood. The romance hits a bit harder halfway through and boy I was not disappointed. I loved Prince Seti and I also loved the mysterious Merenptah, who we met earlier in the novel. There were some plot twists I saw coming and others I didn’t, but I loved them all! Especially the one surrounding Selene, which I won’t share because of spoilers.

At first I was a bit disappointed about the romance being on the back burner but I started thinking about this book as a whole. It’s so original and fresh, and it breaks tropes. I started reading THE BLAZING STAR with the expectation that the protagonist would have this incredible romance with a prince (as is usual with some other time travel books I’ve read) and I loved that that didn’t happen, at least not right away. There are not a lot of well-written time travel books set in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, so it’s hard not to expect something that’s been done in every other book you’ve read.

One last thing I loved about this book: Portia doesn’t let anyone undermine another woman, even if letting it happen would help her out. At one point Prince Seti makes fun of his betrothed, Princess Tuya for needing Portia’s help even though she has a lot of other servants, and Portia doesn’t let him get away with that. NO WOMEN BASHING IN THIS BOOK.

THE BLAZING STAR is a fresh, original take on the time-traveling-to-the-ancient-world books we’ve seen before. I loved the emphasis on sisterhood and Portia is a protagonist I’m unlikely to forget in the near future. Definitely check out this star studded masterpiece.

Favourite quotes:

“People don’t expect me to fail. People don’t expect me to do anything at all.” -Location 2633

“You aren’t here to rid us of trouble. There is no world of only light, Portia, or darkness.” -Location 2857

“This is the first time I mean something,” I said, my voice cracking before I could get all of my words out. “You’ve always meant something to me,” she said. “But I didn’t mean anything to me, Alex,” I replied. “I didn’t mean anything to me.” -Location 3059

“Though stripped of my lightening, I was a deadly warrior. But the goddess gave talent, not control. I would have to discover that for myself.” -Location 3169

“To him, I was still a strange girl in the Temple of Isis’s keep, the daughter of a foreign princess who was entangled with powerful enemies of his kingdom.” -Location 3563

“For you, I will wait for one day,” he said through now shock-less kisses. “For you, I would wait everyday.” -Location 3623

L. Unrau

So much promise

Reviewed in Canada on January 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

I was really excited for this book. The cover art had me swooning and the plot sounded right up my alley. The first third or so was pretty good, I still had tons of hope for where the story was going and was getting to know the characters. The last half did not have the payoff I was hoping for, however. I have seen a lot of great reviews for this book so I know there are people who really enjoyed this story and I'm sad that I wasn't one of them. There were some editing errors in the ebook version where typos weren't caught. I also found some awkward sentences that could've used some more editing. I also found it strange that although the book was written in first person, it did not feel experiential at all. I did not experience what Portia was experiencing. There was also too much telling and not enough showing. Near the end of the book, when I was forcing myself to complete it, I skimmed through entire paragraphs that described the set dressing in the middle of what should've been an action scene (just as an example). If you give this book a chance I really hope you enjoy it, but I have to be honest that I will not be picking up the next.

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The Blazing Star Paperback – December 6, 2016

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Buy new:

$24.34

FREE delivery: March 25 - 26

Ships from: Gulf Coast Books LLC

Sold by: Gulf Coast Books LLC

Buy used:

$9.87