2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 9, 2007
This review is from: True Love, the Sphinx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles: A Comedy in Four Voices (Hardcover)
Four teens from two very different parts of the world find themselves immersed in one class trip to the land of the sphinx and pyramids, Egypt. First there are Rosie and Octavia, two of the prettiest girls in their class, who attend a British private school. Then there are best friends Sam and Salah, two guys who attend a high school in Manhattan.
Sam is totally into girls, just like every other guy in his school. Except girls is not what he is totally crazy about. Sure, he may act like they are the most important thing in the world (well, only when his other friends are around). He doesn't mind doing favors for girls, just as long as they would go out with him. And he doesn't really care that most of the cute girls that are around go for his friend, Salah, first and then him, second. What he really cares about most is photography, his passion. Carrying around his camera everywhere, Sam just cannot miss a single shot.
Salah is like his friend, Sam. He puts up a front whenever his friends are around, only talking about girls. But deep down inside he doesn't really care about that for now. Along with how he doesn't care about how rich he is or how famous his dad is. Salah just likes being a normal kid, who wears suits with T-shirts underneath them and sneakers to prove his point. Salah is originally from Egypt, so he is actually pretty excited for the trip. He just hopes that his other buddies will appreciate Egypt and look at the tourist attractions instead of just looking at the girls there.
Octavia is best known for her family name, Geudenault, and for her ancestors who over hundreds of years ago helped a certain king. But behind the name, Octavia's family is actually poor, even though they live in the oldest and most expensive house ever, and her friends don't know about her poverty. Octavia tries her best to hide this little secret, especially by getting into quarrels with almost all of her teachers. And she gets out of having to go on school trips, since she cannot really afford it, by having her very own Outer London Zone Phobia, to where she acts like she can't stand leaving her home.
Rosie is the shy yet brilliant composer who loves to hate her beautiful and very crazy friend. Rosie usually lurks in Octavia's shadow, since all of the boys fall for Octavia instead of her. And so she uses her composing as a front, always listening and analyzing certain pieces from Bach and then trying to write her own music. Unlike Octavia, Rosie's family is pretty well off, but she never flaunts it. She doesn't even know about her friend's financial status, and doesn't see the reason to ask.
All four teens will cross paths that lead to miscommunication, secrets, and a whole lot of love. This will be one class trip that they will never forget.
A romantic comedy, told in four points of views, TRUE LOVE, THE SPHINX, AND OTHER UNSOLVABLE RIDDLES is one read you do not want to miss. All four characters go through life-changing experiences that will make them stronger and make us, the reader, laugh. Who knew that teenage love could be so complicating and very amusing?
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
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