The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

genre: historical fiction

Ever since Nefertari was a little girl, she knew what everyone thought of her, the niece of the heretical former queen Nefertiti.  She has heard the whispers and knew that her place in the royal Egyptian court was a fragile and frought one - but her love of her ancestors is strong, almost as strong as her love of her kingdom and the Gods that watch over it.  What Nefertari wants most, though, is the heart of the Crown Prince Ramesses the Great - but with her aunt's misdeeds overshadowing her and members of the court actively campaigning against her, Nefertari's chances of making a love match with Ramesses seem almost impossible.  But Nefertari is a resourceful girl and if she can just find an ally or two, it's possible that she could change the course of Egypt.

I chose this book because I needed a book that fit the prompt: read a book about a non-western world leader.  Obviously I chose historical fiction instead of non-fiction, but the notes at the end of this novel gave me enough context that I have a sense of what is real in this story and what is fictional.  What it made me think of most, in a world-leader sense,  is how very precarious a throne can be, how very much of one's time was occupied by getting more power and managing to keep what you'd already gotten.  The politics of leadership, the cunning required, the desperate decisions to decide who to trust!  It's a lot and so much of it is laid bare in this story, with an interesting plot to boot.  I think some of the characters are one dimensional and there were a few plot holes here and there but overall, I allowed myself to just BE in ancient Egypt, imagining the heat and the ceremony and the majesty of royal life.  It entertained me and that's what I needed.