Customer Reviews

The Cross by Day, Mezuzzah by Night

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4 star:		(2)
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The Cross by Day, the Mezuzzah by Night reminded me a little bit of the Diary of Anne Frank but was set during the Spanish Inquisition. The book is told from the point of view of a girl, Isabel, at the age of her Bat Mitzvah-twelve turning thirteen. She has been raised as a Catholic in a very prominent and observant family, but upon her thirteenth birthday, she is told of her Jewish ancestry and given the golden mezuzzah which belonged to her great-grandmother. She also finds out that the rituals her family performs on Friday nights in the basement after the servants are all asleep are really the way her family has kept alive their Jewish identity. The remainder of the book tells of her struggle with who she really is and the pride she feels for her father and the rest of her family along with the revulsion she feels for having this dangerous secret life. In the end the family must leave the home they love in order to escape the horrible torture that awaits the secret Jew. This book truly is not to be missed!

This is touching story of a family courageously dealing with cultural and religious genocide. There is, perhaps, no better way to fight intolerance than to journey with a victin, fictional or otherwise, through the nightmare of persecution. This story needs to be told. As a Catholic, I welcome the opportunity to come to terms with a dark time in our past when Christ's message of love was unrecognizable in Christianity. We don't have to look far to see parallels in the ethnic cleansing taking place today, to realize vigilance is necessary if history is not to repeat itself. I would very much recommend this book and hope it will be read by Christian and Islamic, as well as Jewish, young people.

This is an excellent book for both adults and mature junior high and high school age. The information was obviously researched well as I am of this heritage and have read much on the subject. Isabel is a believable young woman who has to grow up way too soon in the face of the Spanish Inquisition. I found the story to be both exciting and educational. Many of the situations Isabel finds herself in are well documented as fact. Parents should read this book first before giving it to their children because the information may be difficult to digest. Treat it as you would a Shoah (Holocaust) book.

As a descendant of Conversos, and researcher of their history, I am REALLY glad to see a young adult book of this kind. However, I was very unhappy to see mistakes. They are minor, and I hope that a second edition will be better edited. For example, the mother, at one point, says, "Uno momento." This is horrible Spanish and only non-speakers would say this. The correct way is, "UN momento." Still, I'm glad that the subject is being written by and for non-scholars. Isabel/Ruth's experiences are true to the time she lived in, and this period in history is widely ignored by many. Secret Jews (Anusim) and their descendants deserve more attention!

I chose this book because my students complete a book study on Alice Hoffman's Incantation. Finding an additional fiction book intended for young teens reading on the same topic (Spanish Inquisition) was a difficult feat. Though not as engaging as Incantation, this text gives a different angle to the events of the Inquisition. Nobles, auto de fes, expulsion from Spain.

My co-teacher could not easily get into this book becuase of the style of the writing. She claimed it "dry" while I found it easy to follow.