Customer Reviews

Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot (Girls of Many Lands)

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Twelve-year-old Saba is a regular girl living in the country of Ethopia in 1846. Like any regular girl she has a brother, Mesfin, and a strict grandmother whom she adores greatly. Everything is well for her until she and her brother disobey and venture out of their home, where they are kidnapped and brought to the royal palace. It is there that Saba finally learns of her true identity. At first, Saba, keenly unaware of the dangers of the court, can only delight in her new found surroundings. Unfortuantely, innocence can not last forever, and she learns of a deadly threat to her and her brother...one that threatens their very lives and freedom. Yet, Saba is determined to use her wits to save her and her brother from the treacherous inner working of the court.

I was very much fascinated with this book for it was one of the very few books that talks about the Ethopia royal family in any great detail. Saba is a strong first-person narrator and you will enjoy her way of expressing herself. A definite must-read.

The theme of this book is many things. The book starts out where she's from and her family, giving a backgorund of the character. Then it fades into her being kidnapped and trying to figure out how to get home. After that, she finds out that she's really part of a royal family. I'm not going to give away the ending, though.
The main character's name is, as the title states, Saba. She lives in Ethiopia with her grandmother and her brother in the woods. Saba is, at first, trying to figure out why they never go into town and why they are so secluded. Then she is trying to figure out why her grandmother never told her that she is really part of a royal family. After that, she learns the hard way why nobody ever told her that she was part of a royal family.
Some of the other characters are her grandmother and her brother. Her grandpa, who died, and her parents, who she was told were dead. Later many more characters are added.
This book is set in eighteen hundred, forty-six Ethiopia. The geography was rocky, mountainous and very hilly. In this time period, Ethiopia is in the midlle of a war.
There isn't really a major problem in this story. Actually there are just a bunch of smaller problems. First, when she's kidnapped it's how to get home. Then when she's at the palace, closer to the end, it's how to get out of there before she's married off!
Like I said, the first problem is her being kidnapped. As to her really getting home, that isn't really accomplished in this book. As to the second problem I stated, she is helped by the many friends she's made at the palace to escape the grounds. Once she leaves the palace, she rescues her brother and they start to leave, which is where the book leaves off.

This book was a little confusing to me, but I still liked it. It's about this African girl who was kidnapped along with her brother, and taken to a palace, where she learns a big family secret.

Saba Under the Hyena's Foot
By Kurtz
Historical Fiction
Character Motivation
By Jamie (age 9)
"I turned to flee. Out of nowhere hands grabbed me." This book is about twelve year old Saba and how she found out she was royalty. But when she did find out mean Empress Menen tried to get rid of Saba by marrying her to a prince. But Saba has one week to find her brother and escape. Will Saba do it? How? Reed the book and see!!

Saba's goal is to find her Emama and her brother. Her motivation is the unhappy thought of being married to a prince makes her keep trying. Another motivation she has is to be with her only family her and Emama (grandmother.) Another motivation she has is to get away from the evil Empress Menen.

Even though every book in this series is historical fiction the author's make the book seem so real like it was really happening. I recommend this book for girls ages 9-15 that have read at least one book in this series before. I like this book because it has a lot of detail that support the main idea. For instance, Saba would not take off her barebaso slippers because they were given to her in kindness. I hope if you read this book you will enjoy it as much as I did.