Book excerpt: NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE With the Holy Land in turmoil, seven-year-old Jesus and his family leave Egypt for the dangerous road home to Jerusalem. As they travel, the boy ponders the mysteries surrounding his birth. Anne Rice's dazzling, kaleidoscopic novel, based on the gospels and the most respected New Testament scholarship, summons up the voice, the presence, and the words of Jesus, allowing him to tell his own story as he struggles to grasp the holy purpose of his life. Praise for The Young Messiah "[An] intensely literal, historical, reverent treatment of a year in the life of Jesus, Son of God."--Time "Brilliant and tangible . . . Rice retains our rapt attention."--Los Angeles Times "Emotionally engaging and often moving; Ms. Rice succeeds in creating a Jesus who is recognizably human."--National Catholic Reporter "An inestimably valuable contribution to the discussion of Christian history as well as a tender look at the young Jesus."--The Denver Post Previously published as Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt