Counted Among the Stars by Connilyn Cossette – Book Review
The story is about Kiya born to a wealthy father, but by the turn of fortune is sold into slavery by her father who is supposed to protect her. She is then mistreated by the wife of her new master Tekurah, who she later learnt, is her father.
Kiya’s story is set during the era of Israelite slavery when God heard the cry of the Israelites and sent Moses to liberate them. It contains the story of the 12 plagues of Egypt which were used by God to not only liberate the Israelites but also show to Egyptians how powerless their gods were.
Each of the plagues was directed to one or more of their gods. The plague of the frog – Hake the frog goddess could not control the frogs; Basset the goddess of beauty did not protect the Egyptians from boils growing on their bodies; all their healing gods, Isis, Imhotep and Thoth could not heal their bodies; Hapi the god of the Nile could not protect the Nile river from turning into blood; Geb could not staunch the flow of lice; Kehpri did nothing to keep flies from the land; Ptah and Hathor ignored the pleas to protect their livestock and the wind that destroyed the crops in the land; and the god of the afterlife Osiris, could not protect their firstborns.
During Kiya’s slavery, she meets Shira who tells her about her God, Yahweh and how he has come to deliver them. Shira’s friendship with Kiya results in some suffering for her but she endures it to have a friend in Kiya. She also serves as a testimony of the one true God Yahweh. When the plague continues and Shira is not affected, Kiya’s mistress Tekurah releases Shira for fear of her God but this happening begins to make Kiya question the power of the Egyptian gods she has served all her life.
Tekurah continues to mistreat Kiya and is particularly offended when Kiya tells her the truth about her bitterness. She beats Kiya and chains her. Kiya is released by Shefu who asks for her forgiveness and she soon begins to believe what Shira mentioned that Shefu was her father. He helps her by telling her how to protect her brother, a firstborn.
Kiya gets her family to come along and stay with Shira with some persuasion for her mother, which Shefu provided. They stay with Shira for the final plague which made the Egyptians beg the Israelites to leave, giving them their gold and weapons.
The story also explores the Israelite’s journey through the wilderness, God’s faithfulness in parting the red sea, the need for food and thirst, war with Amalekites and God meeting with the Israelites at the foot of the mountain. It also shows how most foreigners that journey with the Israelites out of Egypt were not welcomed by them.
Kiya learns that she can be counted among the stars if she chooses to follow Yahweh, that He listens and He is a God who cares for his people and anyone that calls on his name.
In the end, Kiya find loves in Eben – Shira’s brother who used to hate Egyptians, and they both seek God together.
Lessons learnt from the book
That freedom is a gift and should never be taken for granted – Kiya never would have thought she would become a slave
Being kind to everyone because we all have our stories
We can be counted among the stars if we choose to follow Yahweh; that he can make himself known to us if we ask Him.
Get the book from Amazon here
** The link above is an affiliate link – meaning when you buy through the link I get a small percentage