Drawing in the Sands by Zoe Klein

I finally finished the book Drawing in the Sands. Here is a little overview of the story.

"Brilliant archaeologist, Page Brookstone, is convinced bones speak, yet none of the ancient remains she has unearthed during her twelve years of toiling at Israel's storied battle grounds of Megiddo has delivered the life-altering message she so craves. Which is why Ibrahim and Naima (in the summary, it says Aisha, but in the book, it's Naima) Barakat, a young Arab couple who implore Page to excavate the grounds beneath their house in Anatot, instantly intrigues her.

The Barakats claim the ghosts of two lovers haunt their home, overwhelming everyone who enters with love and desire. Ignoring the scorn of her peers, Page investigates the site, where she is seduced by the undeniable force. Once Ibrahim presents Page with hard evidence of a cistern beneath his living room floor, she has no choice but to uncover the secret of the spirits.

It is not long before Page makes a miraculous discovery - the bones of the deeply troubled Prophet Jeremiah locked in with an eternal brace with a mysterious woman named Anatiya. Buried with the entwined skeletons is a collection of Anatiya's scrolls, whose magical words challenge centuries-old interpretations of the prophet's story and create a worldwide fervor that threatens to silence the truth about the two lovers forever.

Caught in a forbidden romance of her own, and under constant siege from religious zealots and ruthless critics, Page risks her life and reputation to deliver Anatiya's passionate message to the world." - From the summary in the book

So. I bet that was a lot of information to take in. Before we get further, I do want to state that Anatiya is a fictional character. In the author's acknowledgments, she tells the story of how she loved the story of Jeremiah; however, she was distraught over the fact that he had a sad, unfortunate life. Zoe Klein created the story Anatiya as a way to give Jeremiah a happier outlook. The way she wrote, I was in fact sure Anatiya had existed until I read the acknowledgments at the end.

"There is no blemish on the glow which surrounds you like a metal shield. But what good is a shield if the hurt is inside? . . . O Lord, let his heart break and begin to heal rather than this perpetual and terrible swell!" - Scroll of Anatiya; 4:42-47 (excerpt from the book)

At the beginning of each chapter, there are several small excerpts from the scroll, like the one I quoted above. Through the excerpts, we learned about Anatiya's story. And yes, there is even more throughout the book in between chapters once the scroll is discovered. I loved this part of the book. For a while, I was honestly very confused until, well, the scroll was discovered as well as her name. I didn't want to look it up on the internet in case of spoilers or finding the ultimate disappointment that Anatiya wasn't real. I honestly couldn't bear the thought.

At the beginning of the novel, we learn that Page's father passed away, and the reason she became an archeologist was to find the bones of Elisha to bring her father back to life. However, when the Barakats arrive, it makes Page's world colorful and not so black and white.

"I have wrestled the demons off the cliff. I have slept with a rock for my pillow. I have shaded my skin from the swarthing sun, healed my passion-wracked frame. But the instant I see you appear, out of clouds, out of dust, I feel the sickness overtake me again, grab hold of my heart and steal my breath. I am sick for you! Sick in love! I never again want to be numbly healthy. Rather, let me be filled with hurt and longing. Let me burn," - Scroll of Anatiya 7:10-14

I will say, the beginning of the novel is meh. But once the ball gets moving, you'll have a hard time putting it down. I certainly did. There were parts in the book that I thought I was there with the characters, and could feel every moment. I wasn't happy about the ending, and it left me wanting to know more about a situation that happens at the end of the novel.

I'd honestly give this book a 9/10. Just because I felt like I was left with questions, but I might be a bit dense, too. As someone who isn't a Christian or religious in nature, however, this book has me wanting to read the story of Jeremiah now. I want to know the whole story about him and the desire to know why the author took this point of view for him.