A Ceiling Made of Eggshells

Starred review from March 30, 2020
This sweeping historical novel illuminates the plight of a Jewish family in Spain during the late 15th century. Precocious narrator Loma is just seven when her facility with numbers endears her to her influential financier abuelo after his wife, her beloved abuela, dies in a plague outbreak. Her status as his favorite proves a mixed blessing and one of the narrative’s essential tensions. Loma becomes increasingly indispensable to her grandfather as he travels across Spain collecting taxes for the country’s monarchs. As she grows older, however, his requirements of her mean that she must postpone her desire to marry and have children. Infusing her title with historical details about costume, food, and customs, Newbery Honoree Levine (Ella Enchanted) deftly conveys the obstacles facing the Jewish community under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, among them the Inquisition, pressure to convert to Christianity, and eventually expulsion from Spain. Though the narrative unspools slowly, pacing builds considerably in the final chapters as 16-year-old Loma memorably navigates tumult and danger, bravely taking control of her destiny. Ages 8–12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown.

March 1, 2020
Grades 5-8 In 1483, the Inquisition cast a shadow over many living in Spain. Born into a powerful Jewish family, young Loma becomes a traveling companion and, increasingly, caretaker and advisor for Belo, her ailing, autocratic grandfather. For years, she watches and learns as he uses his wiles, his family's wealth, and his longstanding relationships with the Spanish monarchs and archbishops to protect the Jews. As she matures, Loma aches to marry and raise a family, but she must set that dream aside. And by 1492, when the Jews are expelled from Spain, her experiences on the road have brought her the wits, wisdom, and determination she needs to survive and help her people. Inspired by family history, Levine's latest novel offers a fascinating portrayal of Loma as a shy, conciliatory, intelligent child whose unusual upbringing leads to broad understanding and insights into power. The first-person narrative uses details of daily life to bring the period more sharply into focus for readers, while the appended author's note offers further information. A well-researched historical novel from an accomplished storyteller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from May 1, 2020

Gr 5-8-Readers first meet Loma, a young Jewish girl living in late 15th-century Spain, when she is seven years old. Readers watch as she navigates life as the granddaughter of a powerful Jewish leader. As the title of Levine's new novel suggests, Spain in the late 1400s was a perilous place for Jewish people. This was the time of the Spanish Inquisition, during which the Jewish community was persecuted and ultimately exiled from Spain. Loma's grandfather is one of the wealthy Jewish figures who uses his connections, money, and skills to help Jewish people and tries to prevent forced conversions to Christianity. As her grandfather's traveling companion across Spain, Loma gets a firsthand look at the superstitions, ceremonies, and sacrifices that governed daily life during a cataclysmic and dangerous time. Loma witnesses, up close, King Ferdinand's and Queen Isabella's efforts to "defeat the infidel," meaning Spain's Muslim people. She also observes her grandfather's efforts to keep her people temporarily safe from harm. Although she loves and respects her grandfather, Loma is also devoted to her parents and siblings and looks forward to being married and starting her own family. She is loyal to her beloved grandmother's memory and is a loving aunt to the "littles," as she refers to her growing number of nieces and nephews. Levine skillfully juxtaposes the larger religious battles taking place in Spain with Loma's dreams for her future. VERDICT This story of adventure and bravery under unstable circumstances will appeal to mature readers who enjoy historical fiction and tales of courage.-Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2020
Life for Spain's Jews in the late 15th century was as precarious as a ceiling made of eggshells, ready to crash at any moment. Paloma is sensitive, inquisitive, and highly intelligent, attributes that will both cause her intense pain and keep her alive. Her grandfather is an important figure in Spain's Jewish community, using his wealth and political acumen to deal with the powerful Christians, including Ferdinand and Isabella, who rule the country, all in the service of keeping Jews from harm. Loma becomes his constant companion and aide, traveling with him across Spain on his missions. As she grows to maturity she is denied the opportunity to marry, though it is her dearest wish to have her own children. Levine seamlessly weaves historical facts with day-to-day life concerning food, clothing, prayers, rituals, superstitions, and the social orders both within the locked juder�a and without, among Christian and Moorish Spaniards. Jews must always be wary, for bizarre accusations are made that incite mob violence against them. They face kidnapping, forced conversion, torture and execution at the hands of the Inquisition, and, finally, expulsion from Spain. Loma tells all her fears and worries, how she finds solace in counting, her plans and dreams, and her deep love for her family as well as her hurt and anger as she faces grave dangers and loss. Heart pounding and heart wrenching in equal measure. (author's note, recipe, glossary) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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July 1, 2020
This historical novel follows Paloma, a Jewish girl living in fifteenth-century Spain, from age seven -- when Jews are blamed for a plague despite being struck by it themselves -- to sixteen, when her family is exiled by the Inquisition. In between those years Paloma, a particular favorite of her grandfather Belo, finds herself caught up in the uneasy, transactional relationship between her wealthy family and the powerful non-Jews surrounding them. Belo's possessiveness also stands in the way of Paloma's ability to pursue marriage, though she is eager to, and early adolescent marriage is the norm in her culture. Rich descriptions in Paloma's first-person narration make for an immersive experience of her palpably precarious situation, fraught with constant pressure to convert to Christianity (the title refers to the fragility of the Jews' position in Spain). The pacing is episodic, with instances of danger -- a kidnapping, attempted forced conversion -- often resolved with the help of Paloma's influential family. Back matter includes an author's note with some historical background and an explanation that Paloma is an imagined ancestor of Levine's Sephardic Jewish family.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2020
This historical novel follows Paloma, a Jewish girl living in fifteenth-century Spain, from age seven -- when Jews are blamed for a plague despite being struck by it themselves -- to sixteen, when her family is exiled by the Inquisition. In between those years Paloma, a particular favorite of her grandfather Belo, finds herself caught up in the uneasy, transactional relationship between her wealthy family and the powerful non-Jews surrounding them. Belo's possessiveness also stands in the way of Paloma's ability to pursue marriage, though she is eager to, and early adolescent marriage is the norm in her culture. Rich descriptions in Paloma's first-person narration make for an immersive experience of her palpably precarious situation, fraught with constant pressure to convert to Christianity (the title refers to the fragility of the Jews' position in Spain). The pacing is episodic, with instances of danger -- a kidnapping, attempted forced conversion -- often resolved with the help of Paloma's influential family. Back matter includes an author's note with some historical background and an explanation that Paloma is an imagined ancestor of Levine's Sephardic Jewish family. Shoshana Flax

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)