But
I will also be raising a glass to honor the birthday of one of my favorite
female heroines--Sadie Kane. Alongside
her brother Carter, Sadie kicks modern-day butt using Ancient Egyptian
magic. The Kane
Chronicles
series by Rick Riordan supposes (much like his other series do) that a certain
ancient mythology is not as dead as we think it is. In fact, Egyptian gods still tread the world,
and the globe itself is divided into 360 Nomes--clusters of magician
communities. Sadie and Carter learn that
they are themselves descended from pharaohs from way, WAY back, and they make a
home at Brooklyn House. And that’s only
the start of things. As the trilogy goes
on, they have to prevent a certain snake from eating the sun and destroying the
world. That’s right, eating the sun.
The
books are presented as transcripts of a rushed audio recording wherein Carter
and Sadie pass the microphone back and forth, each telling different parts of
the story (and sometimes hitting each other).
Whereas Carter is more studious and calm, Sadie is the feisty one. She often tells off confused deities and acts
rashly. Case in point: Even though the
world could end in four days, Sadie insists on heading into London so she can celebrate
her 13th birthday (on March 17th!) with her friends. Of course, this celebration gets wrecked by a
giant baboon and vulture disguised as her grandparents, and Sadie ultimately
defeats them with the help of a supernaturally ugly dwarf god, but hey, you
can’t win them all.
To
celebrate Sadie’s birthday, maybe you’ll want to dress like her. She is known for wearing combat boots,
sporting a leather jacket when off-duty (because it gets in the way of
performing magic—duh!), and has purple highlights throughout her hair.
Or you could quote some of Sadie’s more
memorable lines (don’t forget her British accent):
- The
last thing I wanted was my embarrassing death by fruit bats posted on youtube.
- So,
yeah. Our cat was a goddess. What else is new?
- Right,
and [the god] Set will just stand there calmly while I read him to death.
- Somebody
get a can opener. I’ve got a god in my
head!
- As
of this moment… My brother's name is Punching Bag.
- I
wondered if I would appear on a temple wall painting someday. A blonde Egyptian
girl with purple highlights running sideways through the palm trees, screaming
"Yikes!" in hieroglyphics as Neith chased after me. The thought of
some poor archaeologist trying to figure that out almost lifted my spirits.
- I
didn't ask for the Speedo Patrol!
So
as you prepare for March 17th, don’t forget to look up Sadie
Kane in the Kane Chronicles, starting with The Red Pyramid. (In case you’re wondering, the
audio version is outstanding!) I raise a
glass to you, Sadie Kane. May the road
rise to meet you!
Five students met for detention on March 24, 1984. They concluded:
