Published by Bethany House on April 5th 2016
Genres: Biblical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Historical, Religious
Pages: 352
A Story of Love, Desperation, and Hope During a Great Biblical Epoch
Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all.
To save her older brother and escape the bonds of slavery, Kiya flees with the Hebrews during the Great Exodus. She finds herself utterly dependent on a fearsome God she's only just beginning to learn about, and in love with a man who despises her people. With everything she's ever known swept away, will Kiya turn back toward Egypt or surrender her life and her future to Yahweh?
Counted with the Stars is the first book in the Out from Egypt series by Connilyn Cossette. First off, look at this cover! This cover is absolutely gorgeous and thankfully, the pages within are just as good. This author is new to me and because of that, I had put off reading this book for some time. I wish I’d not have waited because I really enjoyed this book.
As a Christian, I grew up hearing about the plagues and the Exodus from Egypt. I’ve always heard the tales from the viewpoint of the Hebrews. It was very interesting hearing the viewpoint of an Egyptian.
Being that the Egyptians were a polytheistic society, it only makes sense that the Lord would have challenged their belief system. The author piqued my interest with the observation that the plagues challenged the Egyptian gods and goddesses. I couldn’t help but do a little research myself.
I love fiction that makes you think and gives you things to consider. This book certainly resulted in several days in my Bible and contemplating the spiritual applications I’d been missing from this epic Bible tale.
The characters in Counted with the Stars are complex and authentic. As a mother, my heart also broke for the Egyptian mothers that the Egyptian mothers must have felt with the last plague. I felt that this book did a good job humanizing characters from the Bible. I feel guilty that I had never considered their humanity. The fears that one must have felt when their gods provided no aid; I just can’t even imagine. It had to have been terrifying.
I look forward to picking up the rest of this series and learning more about them as they start their journey in the wilderness.
About Connilyn Cossette
Connilyn Cossette is the author of the Out from Egypt Series with Bethany House Publishers. When she is not homeschooling her two sweet kiddos (with a full pot of coffee at hand), Connilyn is scribbling notes on scraps of paper, mumbling about her imaginary friends, and reading obscure out-of-print history books. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Texas where she loves the people but misses mountains, tall trees and barefoot-soft green grass. There is not much she likes better than digging into the rich, ancient world of the Bible, discovering new gems of grace that point to Jesus, and weaving them into fiction. Connect with her at www.ConnilynCossette.com
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