In "Maia of Thebes," Ann Turner tells the engaging story of an orphaned young girl and her brother who live with their cruel aunt and uncle and are treated more as servants than as family.The boy is studying at The House of Life to be a scribe, for a scribes life is an easy one, filled with clean clothes and plenty of food.Though girls are not allowed to learn to write he secretly teaches his sister the art of writing hieroglyphics, a skill which will eventually save her life.

Maia and her brother Seti live in Ancient Egypt, in a city called Thebes, during the time of Hatshepsuta's rule.Their uncle is a priest in the temple of Karnak and although he is not poor, he is cheap and prefers not to spend his hard earned money.The family only has one servant, because servants are expensive and they use Maia as a servant because she is a good for nothing niece, a useless child. More than anything, Maia does not want to be useless but as hard as she tries to please her aunt and uncle, nothing she does is ever right.Her story begins when she uncovers her uncle's secret and by telling the truth, starts an unstoppable chain of events that will lead her on a life altering adventure.

This young orphan girl asks questions of ancient gods, meets the pharaoh of Egypt, lives is a house with servants, goes to jail and testifies in a trial before the most important members of Egyptian society.Through all this she keeps dignity and remembers a most important lesson; there is no place for lies in the life of a young girl: one must always tell the truth.