Customer Reviews

Blood Secret

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teenager Jerry hasn't been the same since her irresponsible mother disappeared years ago. What began as a conscious decision to stop speaking has become a way of life: "She could bury the longing for her mother in this silence.... So many years had passed now and with every year she buried the longing deeper, the memory of her voice deeper into the good dirt of the silence." Shuttled from foster home to children's home, unable to be reached by well-meaning social workers and priests, Jerry may finally have a chance for a real family with her great-great aunt Constanza, an accomplished baker in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

As Jerry comes to know Constanza and explore her adobe house, she begins to suspect that other secrets, other voices, are buried there. When she opens a trunk in the basement, she hears children's voices...and finds herself transported to fourteenth-century Spain, seeing the world through the eyes of Miriam, the daughter of a family of lace makers. As Jerry explores the trunk's secrets, she uncovers answers to many of her questions. Why does Aunt Constanza light candles on Friday evenings? Why does she throw a piece of dough in the fire before baking her delicious bread? Why do both Jerry and Constanza rub their heads when they are anxious?

Jerry discovers a historical root for almost all her questions, and also learns that she is not the first one in her family to bury her sorrows in silence. As she learns more about her family's rich and troubled heritage, she finds herself questioning everything: her traditions, her name, even her Catholic faith. She also finally, gradually, discovers her long-buried voice again.

With BLOOD SECRET, Kathryn Lasky has constructed a compelling story that stretches across centuries. Lasky successfully creates two convincing, evocative settings: the present-day Southwest and Inquisition-era Spain. As the narrative reaches back in time, the family relationships can be a little confusing, so the extensive family tree at the back of the book is extremely useful. Although the historical passages sometimes read like a history lesson, they are effectively integrated with the modern-day setting, and dedicated readers will probably appreciate this opportunity to learn more about a little-known, sometimes gruesome period in history.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

This is a multi-layered story. The top layer is that of Jerry, the 14-year old girl who stopped speaking when her mother abandoned her. The secondary layer is that of historical Spanish Jews and the persecution they went through - indeed that followed them wherever they went.

It's strange to have two such powerful kind of topics - child abandonment and religious persecution - go together so well.

But through finding the history of her ancestors - the mystical way this comes about seems natural when one reads the story - Jerry finds herself and her voice. And though not all is well - historical wrongs can never be righted - the knowledge of the truth gives a sense of completion to both plots.

The character of Jerry is very well drawn - from her unwilling desire to be fashionable and accepted to her uncanny critique of Shakespeare. Her aunt - the other main character in the story, is a bit more than a supporting role, as she is as changed by Jerry as Jerry is by her.

All in all, a very good book.

(*)>

Jerry hasn't spoken since her mother disappeared. The 14-year-old has been labeled with "elective mutism", and has been bounced from children's homes to foster families until she is finally placed with her great-aunt in New Mexico. After exploring the old family relics in her aunt's basement, the strange objects there seem to call to her. Upon handling them, she somehow relives her family's past history and uncovers family secrets going back to the Spanish Inquisition. She finds out that she is from a long line of secret Jews, which explains why her aunt lights candles and prepares a special meal on Friday evenings without mixing milk and meat. By uncovering these secrets Jerry also finds her voice and begins to speak again.

While Lasky creates an interesting and likeable character in Jerry, there is some confusion about how Jerry is able to discover the stories of her ancestors. Is it a dream? Does she travel back in time? Do ghosts or spirits tell her? Or, do the stories just magically come to her? Additionally, while the family tree in the back of the book is helpful, the six different narratives from the past are difficult to follow and it is hard to figure out how they relate to each other and to Jerry. Several other novels tell the story of the Secret Jews (Secrets in the House of Delgado by Gloria Miklowitz and The Cross by Day, Mezuzzah by Night by Deborah Siegel, for example), however Lasky's story attempts to bring the history to the present day. Ages 12 and up. Reviewed by Rachel Kamin

I found "Blood Secret" to be a disappointment after enjoying Ms. Lasky's contributions to the Royal Diaries series. The time in history about which the story speaks is a very fascinating, yet turbulent one. Turbulent like the writing itself. Their was no reason to skip around so much, and no solid explanation as to why the main character, Jerry, is able to witness all these things by touching inanimate objects.
Although the Jerry's plight of trying to connect with her heritage left me discontented, the book has piqued my interest in the Spanish Inquistion and all that it touched.

This is a really great book that tells about the Spanish Inquisition. The flashbacks into history were a little awkward, but I didn't care because the story was so great. I love this book. I'd recommend it to anyone except little kids because some parts are really brutal.

Kathryn Lasky has done it again. Her books on the lives of young people brings history alive. She makes a reader feel exhilarated and inspired by the story of young people overcoming obstacles. It starts out rough with the painful reality of a girl abandoned by her mother and living in an orphanage in New Mexico. She is taken in by a Great-Aunt Constanza, an elderly baker in a small town. She learns of her family history from artifacts she finds in a old trunk in the cellar, starting with the 1391 riots against the Jews in Seville. This book traces the history of her ancestors before the Inquisition in Spain through its continuance in the Americas, a period of 600 years. It captures the lives of young people in these eras and cross relates them to the present day. It is accurate, insightful and compassionate. I found it a perfect book for readers as young as 10 and up to adults. It sheds light on the hidden struggle of the persecuted Jews in Spain and her colonies.

Blood Secret by Kathryn Lasky is a book that starts out slow from the beginning. Since I am not very much into Histroical Fictions or Biographys this book was very tiresom to read. You follow the main character Jerry as she finds a mysterious trunk that holds many different stories of her ancestors. Sense the book often changes form Jerry to her ancestors point of veiw it is very hard to follow. Overall I would not recomend this book to someone who is looking for a quick start to lots of action.

Blood Seceret was a thriling story. It Gripped and pulled me in to the book. I loved the way the book not only entertains it makes you think. I didn't know a lot about the Spanish inquisition: but this book descibes the pain, suffering and fear that all the Jews felt! I felt really connected to the characters through out the story. I felt their joys and pains as they battled the obstacles in their lives. I felt the book could get confusing at times, I didn't know who or what they would be talking about. I didn't like the ending; I felt it didn't tye things together well. It just left he reader hanging. But over all I really enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it to everyone.-Mid-Prairie kid

This is the story of Jerry, a selective mute who goes to live with her elderly aunt Constanza after the mysterious disappearance of her mother. Jerry's story takes an interesting turn as she discovers the existence of a trunk full of artifacts in her aunt's cellar. Jerry finds herself drawn to the trunk and its contents and as she delves into the items, she is transported into the world of her ancestors,Jews living in Spain during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Their stories become part of Jerry's story and her own eventual dealing with her past. While the book's premise is a bit far-fetched, the stories themselves are believable enough and Lasky does an admirable job of pulling you into the story and caring about the events. I learned a good deal about the persecution of the Jews during this time period but I never felt like I was being taught a lesson. Lasky is a good author and this is one of her best. Recommended!