The Poetry of Secrets

December 15, 2020
In Trujillo, in the Spanish Kingdom of Castile in 1481, Isabel is a Crypto-Jew; she and her family maintain their Jewish faith in secret. The Inquisition is gaining control, but 16-year-old Isabel, who has a passion for writing poetry, thinks that as New Christians her family is safe. The family converted to Christianity and were baptized in the hope of making their lives easier and more secure. However, like many other Jews in Spain at the time, they privately practice Judaism--attending church on Sundays but conducting Shabbat dinners every Friday night. They think their secret is safe, but the head Inquisitor, Fray Tom�s Torquemada, is now targeting conversos for their private Judaizing. When Isabel is betrothed against her will to the powerful and ruthless alguacil, or sheriff, Don Sancho, Isabel's parents believe that the upcoming marriage will save them from persecution. But when handsome aristocrat Diego warns Isabel that she is in grave danger from the Inquisition and especially from her husband-to-be, Isabel is determined to save her family, herself, and the man she loves--and live an openly Jewish life filled with poetry. This historical romance is a fast-paced, plot-driven tale with feminist main characters whom readers will root for from the very beginning. A charming Jewish love story set against the bleak backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. (author's note, photos, research notes, poetry citations, further reading) (Historical fiction. 14-18)

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January 4, 2021
Set in the Spanish town of Trujillo during the early years of the Spanish Inquisition, Gordon’s absorbing fiction debut focuses on Jewish individuals pretending to be newly converted Christians in order to avoid persecution. Along with her family, 16-year-old Isabel Perez practices her Jewish faith in the cellar of their home while publicly observing Catholic rituals. Rebellious and romantic Isabel, secretly taught by her grandmother to read and write, longs for a passionate love, a creative life, and the freedom to live openly as a Jewish person. To ensure protection from growing suspicions, though, her parents agree to marry her to the powerful town warden, the much older, unattractive Don Sancho. Meanwhile, love strikes in the form of handsome Diego, son of a count, whose burning desire to be a painter is as urgent as Isabel’s to be a poet. Intricate plot developments keep the story moving swiftly as Isabel and Diego’s blossoming romance brings about brutal consequences; Isabel’s strength in the face of horrific events—as well as her passion for Diego and her deep love of family, poetry, and faith—makes her an inspiring role model. Supported by extensive back material, the book movingly explores this history of religious intolerance. Ages 12–up.

January 1, 2021

Gr 7 Up-At 16, Isabel Perez, a Jewish teenager of the 15th century living in Trujillo, Spain, manages more than the books for her family's wine business; she's determined to fall in love with someone her poems only imagine, even if her refusal to marry the town constable kills her and her family-her parents, Abuela, and younger sister Beatriz. The resolution of this tension informs much of the novel, although Abuela, who teaches her granddaughters to read in secret, just as her own grandmother had done, shows that rebellion goes back over many generations. Gordon sets these willful characters against the Spanish Inquisition, and the repression, violence, and torture of Jews, Muslims, and anyone else who opposed the country's Roman Catholic orthodoxy. Isabel's family passes for Catholic but privately celebrates their Jewish faith; Isabel, miserable and critical of their fa�ade, threatens to leave and enter a convent. When Isabel encounters Diego Altamirano, who's as irresistible as he is unavailable, their love story is predictably romantic, despite the frenzied flight of the Perez family from Spain and the years of separation that result. This book articulates the fear and deception that define living in secret: None of the options-"passing," converting, rebelling-are safe. It's Isabel, the idealized heroine, whose quest propels the narrative to its eventual happy ending, while the fate of Beatriz, who's not as smart, pretty, or beloved, is less joyful. VERDICT An ambitious epic of the Spanish Inquisition seen through the eyes of a rebellious young woman whose Jewish family faces persecution and death.-Georgia Christgau, LaGuardia Community Coll., Long Island City, NY

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February 15, 2021
Grades 8-12 Gordon's historical novel, set in fifteenth-century Trujillo, Spain, follows young Isabel Perez as she manages several life-altering (and life-threatening) secrets that could forever determine her family's safety and social status. The alguacil (sheriff) desires Isabel's hand in marriage, which would cement her family's role in the new Spanish hierarchy, especially since they are conversos (Jews forced to convert to Catholicism). But behind closed doors, the Perez family still practices Judaism, and if found out, they will be severely punished by the Inquisition. Meanwhile, Isabel harbors a forbidden love for nobleman Diego, even as she keeps her faith and sneaks off to poetry readings. Gordon adeptly weaves all of this intrigue, danger, and secret history into an eloquent, romantic story, also offering historical and cultural references that will inform readers of the real-life events that inspired the plot. Isabel's fight to pursue the people and passions she loves will speak to adolescent readers as the stakes grow ever higher and the Inquisition and its deathly promise come ever closer to Trujillo.

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