Atticus of Rome 30 B.C.

Life and Times

by Barry Denenberg

In this departure from our first person diaries, we leap into ancient times in a third person novel filled with action, adventure, and glory -- all the drama of life in ancient Rome.

Acclaimed author Barry Denenberg brings to life the intrigue of Roman politics and the bloody violence of the gladiator games in this story about ancient Rome.

Atticus, a young boy who has been torn from his family and home and sold as a slave to a Roman aristocrat, quickly learns that not all is as it seems in the republic of Rome. Politicians and greedy merchants plot against each other, and Atticus must do his best to protect his kindly master...and, in turn, the Emperor of Rome. Murder and lies fill his new life as a spy for Lucius Opimius.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Historical, Literature, Novels

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Barry Denenberg is the critically acclaimed author of non-fiction and historical fiction. His historical fiction includes titles in the Dear America, My Name is America, and Royal Diaries series, many of which have been named NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. His nonfiction books have covered a wide array of topics, from Anne Frank to Elvis Presley. After the publication of An American Hero: The True Story of Charles Lindburgh, Denenberg was interviewed for various documentaries including ABC’s “The Century.”

Denenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York and lived in Long Island, Binghamton, New York, and Palisades Park, New Jersey. “I was a serious reader from an early age and when I attended Boston University in 1968, majoring in history, I worked in a bookstore at night,” he says. “After college I was a book buyer for some fine, independent bookstores, some of the nation’s largest retail book chains and a marketing executive in publishing.

“At the age of forty I came to the startling realization that the glamorous world of power lunches, power politics, and power trips was not for me. I immediately went to work on the Great American Novel (since destroyed) and was rescued when my future wife, Jean Feiwel (then and now publisher of Scholastic Inc.) made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Scholastic had received a biography of John F. Kennedy that they deemed unacceptable: would I like to try and write one?

“The rest is history in more ways than one. I went on to write biographies of Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, J. Edgar Hoover, Nelson Mandela, Elvis Presley and Voices From Vietnam, an oral history of the war.

“Writing some of the first books in the Dear America series was a turning point in my career. Its popularity and the resulting readers’ letters made a great impression on me. This in turn inspired my writing and fueled my research. With my bookstore background and the help of numerous knowledgeable booksellers I am able to assemble an extensive bibliography on each topic I write.

“I think there’s an art to both writing and research. I’m a good writer but a better researcher.”

Something that has added greatly to Denenberg’s perspective on writing for young readers is his volunteer work as Director of Creative Writing and Library Services at the Waterside School in Stamford, Connecticut. Waterside, established in 2001, is an independent school dedicated to educating gifted children of the communities’ low-income families.

Aside from writing and teaching Denenberg’s interests include listening to music, reading (books not related to his research), swimming, practicing yoga and spending time with his family.

Barry Denenberg lives in Bedford, New York with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Susannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a pretty poor portrait of Ancient Rome, that conveys none of the striking combination of majesty, corruption, power and beauty that first caught my attention about the Ancient world. The dates are completely off and I found several typos. Couldn't the writer at least do some research and proofread through his work more than once? The writing style of both this and "Pandora of Athens" feels hurried and choppy and there's little character growth. I understand that this book is written for younger kids, and the author didn't want to frighten over-sensitive tykes, but, if you're going to write a book about the Ancient World for kids, do it in the style of Caroline Lawrence. If you're looking for an entertaining, yet still accurate and educational, story about Ancient Rome for children, invest in the Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence, rather than wasting your money on Atticus of Rome. The main characters are relatable yet multifaceted and the world they inhabit gives much more realistic view of Ancient Rome. Despite this, the series requires little censoring for younger children, handling the most difficult of topics with sensitivity, charm, and style.

[Hunter C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atticus of Rome 30B.C.
By:Bary Denenberg
Genere: Historical Fiction

Atticus is a young kid that lived in a small town that was overrun by the Romens. During the seige he and his father are taken as slaves while his mom was killed. In the slave auction his father was seperated from him and Atticus was bought by a very rich man in Rome. This man is very hospitable to his slaves but is exeptionally nice to Atticus.With nightmarres very often about being taken from his father. Atticus finds he is very intelligent and used by his master in his secretive plan.

I thought this novel was average. It felt like it kind of draged on and wasent completly resolved in the end. Though I did enjoy its political thoughts on how Rome was. I also thought well of the use of the differant charecters. There was many good area in this book but had room to improve. I would have given this book two stars if not for the twist at the end.

I recomend this book to anyone who appreciates Romen culture. The prime ages for read this book would be 10 to 13. Though t would be an easy read for 13.

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited about reading this book, but any hopes of "Atticus of Rome" being anything close to good vanished within the first few chapters. This book is extremely boring and dull. The main character of Atticus remains unrealistic and detached from the reader. You never get a sense of him as a person, as he is far more representative of, say, a cardboard box.
And why don't people talk in this book? The use of dialogue is scant, to such an extent that I began to wonder if I had missed something in the beginning and some of the characters were mute or deaf. Or something. It would be more plausible than them just deciding to never speak.
This book is classified as children's fiction, and it is, except for Atticus' recurring fascination with the large breasts of his master's pretty young wife, which are mentioned at random more than once.
Not recommended.

[Ms. Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the popularity of the Dear America and My Name is America series, I picked up a couple of books in The Life and Times series, ATTICUS OF ROME being one of them. I hoped this book would be on par with some of the titles from the aforementioned series. Sadly, I didn't like this book. The story took way too long to develop and then, wasn't even fully realized. Yes, there's plenty of detailed description of Ancient Roman life, but what happened to the story? There were things mentioned, here, there and yonder, but never cohesively tied together. Frankly, this was just a big hot mess. My suggestion is to skip this one entirely. I give it a D.

[Kiersten]

This was pretty bad. In fact, it was awful. Very poorly written - it was a struggle just to get past the obnoxious chapter titles ("A Scent Darker And More Terrible Than Animal Fear" - what?). The characters are hardly developed at all, and inconsistent when they do actually have emotions. Very badly written, regardless of the plot's potential - and it did have some sadly wasted potential.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atticus is a young boy who is the slave of a prominent Roman politician. While reading this book, you'll find out some of the odd and true behind-the-scenes life of a Roman citizen. Atticus works for his master and grows to respect him as the person he wants to be. A good read.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Atticus of Rome by Barry Denenberg because it taught me a lot about ancient Rome. The story seems very realistic, and its also really exciting. I would recommend it to middle schoolers.

[Hannah M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really thought this book had no point at all. All it talked about was Rome. This book was nice in a historical way, but I prefer fictional books that actually have dialog! There was barely any dialog between the characters and there wasn't much that told me what they were like.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

the WORST book ever!!!! =(

[Kiera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story of a boy growing up in Rome in 30 BC. Not really deep, and it has a depressing ending. Also, a little violent and gory for young ages.

[Wraith Tate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found this to be incredibly bland and flat. None of the characters had any depth to them; we didn't spend enough time with them to get to know them at all. The pacing was ridiculous, and it seemed that we were given barely any information about what were supposed to be the major, defining events of the story. It also seems that the author did minimal research, and there were typos that I noticed. (Pompeii is actually spelled with two "i"s, dude). And Roman roads were built with "blocks of crushed stone?" Um, really? There are videos on YouTube that show how a Roman road was built. Check it out.

Oh, and the "swordsman" gladiator that fought in the final battle at the end, the one who turns out to be the father of Atticus? Traditionally, a Secutor was set to fight the Retiarius, though based on the round shield the author described the "swordsman" as using, that suggests he could have been a Thracian. (All I had to do was a simple little Google search to find that out)

This is a shame, because I recall enjoying the books this author wrote for the Dear America series.

[Daylin Contreras · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atticus of Rome, 30 B.C. by Barry Denenberg is a historical novel about Atticus a young 12 year old boy who was captured and sold into slavery after his village was plundered by roman soldiers. Attics was bought by a wealthy Roman lawyer named Lucius Opimius and unexpectedly became involved in political intrigue in ancient Rome. Because he was a slave, Atticus is often overlooked, which have him the opportunity to gather valuable information and undercover a dangerous conspiracy. through out the way, he faces many obstacles, many moral choices, and he risks his life to protect those cares about. Atticus also discovers that his father, thought top be lost, is alive and fighting as a gladiator. Atticus's courage and intelligence help him navigate the danger of Roman society and grow into a brave and thoughtful man.

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a pity this book is so bad because the concept is actually pretty interesting. The book summary is really misleading because the story is so flat and underdeveloped. There is very little characterization, and the plot felt thin. There is a nice reveal toward the resolution, but it still did little to satisfy the lackluster narrative. The book is clearly more focused on describing the historical facts about life in Rome (things like people's personal hygiene routines, food items and menus, astrology, etc.) than it is on telling a compelling story. So many things were rushed over that I felt cheated.
But perhaps the worst travesty of all is that this book did not use the Oxford comma. This would not have frustrated me so badly if the author hadn't relied so much on listing nouns.

[Shayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a thinly disguised history book. Lots of information about everyday Roman civilization and a weak plot. I'll donate it to the school library since the 6th graders do a unit on Rome. Maybe someone will be inspired to check it out and learn more.

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a slave in ancient Rome. He was certainly not treated as most slaves were. Glimpses into a typical day in the life of a wealthy man were quite interesting. The cruelty of the "sport" of gladiatorial contests is clearly indicated.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

[J. S. Seebauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a self-admitted "Roman History Ignoramous" this book was well written, capturing my attention with the story of Atticus and the city.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad I didn't live in ancient Rome! What a violent time! Of course, like always, there were still some people who were good guys. Lucius Opimius was one of those. I'm glad Atticus ends up with him when he becomes a slave.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very much looking forward to this book, as I am a big fan of Barry Denenberg's books from the Royal Diaries and Dear America series, and I love historical fiction set in the ancient world. However, this book has many problems. It is the story of a young boy, Atticus, who is brought as a slave to Rome after his small village is destroyed by Roman soldiers. His sister and mother die in the attack, and Atticus and his father are separated in slavery. Atticus ends up being purchased by a wealthy and powerful lawyer, who treats him well. Eventually, Atticus becomes a spy for him, trying to find traitors to the Empire. I thought the plot of this book was good. But that's about it. First off, the writing style was terrible. The book was written more like a nonfiction book than a novel for children. I can't imagine kids enjoying the style at all. There is very little dialogue. There are also historical errors. The cover says the story is set in 30 B.C. However, in the book, Atticus says he was born in 82 B.C. This would make Atticus over 50 years old. So obviously, one of the dates was wrong. And neither date fits with the story, as Rome was still a republic until 27 B.C. The story also has some minor plotholes that don't really make sense. I really cannot recommend this book at all, due to its numerous problems. It's too bad it has so many mistakes. If not for the mistakes, I personally would have enjoyed it, although I still don't think it would have had much appeal for young readers. I don't know how the mistakes got past the editor; I suppose the publisher can be blamed for putting the wrong date on the cover.

[Chase Panno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Atticus who was stolen from his family and sold into slavery. A rich man named Lucius Opimius buys him at the slave market and teaches him lessons. Lucius trusts Atticus and they even becomes his friend. Atticus spies on a conversation between a real estate developer named Galerius Traculus and his partner who are plotting against the emperor. One day, Lucius plans a huge banquet and invites Galerius to try and obtain more information on his plan to kill the emperor. Lucius sends Atticus to once again spy on Galerius at the chariot races and listen to his conversations with four different men. Atticus reports back that one of the men Galerius spoke to is in fact Lucius' wife. The assassination attempt failed and Galerius is then murdered by slaves. Later, Lucius' wife is banished from the land due to her involvement in the plot to kill the emperor.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this historical fiction book. If you are interested in ancient Rome, then I recommend this book to you. At the beginning of the story, I didn't think it was going to be a good book, but I really liked it in the end. The storyline keeps your attention and leaves the reader wanting to know the ending.

[Renae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think what nags at me about this series is the somewhat shallow scope of the narrative. I feel like they read very thinly. I've read two of these and am halfway through a third, and I've found that to be the case with all of them.

And I spotted an error that bothered me. The book's title dates it at 30 B.C. But in the story, teenaged Atticus has his horoscope done and quotes his birthdate as 82 B.C.
Now, I have two problems with this.
1. Atticus was born in 82 B.C., and in 30 B.C. is a teenager? That's a simple MATH check, folks. Unless it's a typo, and if it is it STILL bothers me because:
2. People living in B.C. didn't KNOW they were living in B.C.(the idea of B.C./A.D. wasn't applied to historical dates until HUNDREDS of years later--this detail, however small, undermines the accuracy of the narrative. It wasn't even necessary to mention the exact year, truthfully.

Might come across as nitpicky, but it's the kind of error that is easily fixable and annoys me as a reader.

[Ty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atticus of Rome
By: Barry Denenberg

Scholastic Inc.
$10.95
ISBN 0-439-52453-9

Book Review By: Ty Bair

Barry Denenberg’s Atticus of Rome is an interesting tale of a Atticus, a young slave boy. The novel takes you along for the ride as Atticus arrives in a new home and assists his new master in taking down corruption opposing the Roman government. The story has a smooth timeline and is easily understandable at the expense of sub-par character development. With basic, unimpressive telling of character emotion one can only imagine what could have become of this story with a more in-depth narrative. The book is interesting, nonetheless, and has good aspects along with it like the inclusion of interesting, ancient world places, but there was so much simply wasted potential here. The reader cannot become attached to the black and white characters and the point of the climax was unclear as it was underplayed and the end of the book was almost completely astray from the rest of the story. Ultimately, Atticus of Rome is an adequate book but was a shell of what it could have been.

[Drew Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atticus of Rome is a very good book. I would recommend that any one reads it because it is a good book through out the whole story. The cool thing about the book is the whole time you are reading the story your looking at the story through the slaves eyes.
At the beginning of the book the boy Atticus's village gets raided by romen or greek soldiars. anyway the soldiars killed Atticus's mom and sister. Then the soldiars enslave Atticus and his father. Atticus and his father were put up for sale and Atticus was stripped away from his father and sold to a man named Lucius optimus. Lucius treated Atticus different from all the other slaves. He treated Atticus as if he was one of his own instead of treating him like a slave at all. Lucius asks Atticus to basically spy on this man who Lucius did not trust. To find out what happens with Atticus's adventure go to the local book store or library and check it out, you'll probably like what you read.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terribly written and choppy. I don't know anything about character except the descriptions the author wrote. I honestly can't believe I liked this book- but I was a third grader when I first read it.

[Gabrielle Prendergast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up in the library book sale and read it while DD swam with a friend. As history, this book has it all – the clothes, architecture, food, politics and culture of the period are rendered clearly and in great detail. But all that detail came at the cost of the main character, Atticus, who was flat and inscrutable. I didn’t even have an idea of his age until the very last pages. In fact I don’t think he says a word until that scene. Much too much time was spent on the supporting characters and their thoughts and feelings. There was enough for a gripping plot, but poor Atticus seemed like he was watching it from the sidelines rather than being its hero.

I bought this because I thought DD, who loves historical novels, might like it, but I think she will be bored.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is about a boy from northern Europe who’s village was burned down and he and his father are taken as slaves. He soon finds himself as a slave to Lucius Optimius and soon learns that there is a secret plan to kill the king and his master is going to try and stop it and he will need his most loyal friends and family to help him. An important question is Atticus one of them?
This book reminds me of Caeser’s killing because he was killed for greed like in this book when the leader of the plan to kill the emperor was doing it because of greed.
This book reminds me of myself because sometimes rarely I have dream about something small and it comes true like in this book when Atticus has a horrible dream.
This book reminds me of the book You Choose: Ancient Rome.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a WONDERFUL book! I couldn't put it down. It was a very easy read but fun. I was/am learning ancient Rome and this book was very cool on how it might have been from a slaves point of view in Rome. The only reason why I won't give it five stars is because I am not a big "fan" of Gladiators and it did get very descriptive at some times and I didn't really want to read that. But since that was very real at the time I"m not going to say that this is a bad book because of that. It was very good!

[Kristen Fort · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so disappointed in this book. As I have read Denenberg's Dear America and My Name is America books, I expected this to be a first person narrative. That preference aside, let's get into the nitty-gritty of why I, as a Latin teacher and somewhat of a Roman historian, dislike this book.

30 BC: don't think Octavian was an emperor yet.

The master married a girl he had bought as a slave and freed her... yeah, don't think so.

Most gladiators did not fight to the death. They were too expensive to train to be disposed of that conveniently.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to my class out loud. I had to censor parts of the book that were inappropriate for the classroom. My kids loved it though. We were studying about the Roman Empire at the time so the kids really seemed to enjoy applying the background knowledge they had recently acquired.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't always entertaining. Most of the time it was boring, but I liked the idea of the book. Although it was confusing in the beginning towards the middle it got much better.