Sphinx's Princess, by Esther Friesner

Sphinx's Princess, by Esther Friesner
Young Adult, 2009

Nefertiti is a good and kind-hearted girl whose precocious ways get her into mischief. She finds herself in tight situations, such as willing to give up her life for a slave, learning to read behind her father's back, and finally, catching the eye of the dangerous Queen Tiye. Using Nefertiti as a pawn in her 'games' at court, Queen Tiye manages to estrange Nefertiti from her family and those who would be her friends. But such a strong will isn't for nothing...and Nefertiti finds herself equal to the task.
It's a fun idea, and I do like the character Nefertiti, but I hate that Friesner has to take every story she writes and drag it out into two huge books. The writing is slow and cautious, so it would be very easy to put the story into one. At any rate, I won't read the sequel (I can't bring myself to read them by the time they come out). I will say that this one had some fun scenes, but it's like I'm reading a biography. I don't feel it's critical to know every step of her childhood or even adulthood. And the ending - well, I could have used a little closure. She's still calling the man you know she's going to end up with 'friend' as if she's blind to the fact that she loves him.
Graded a B-.