Customer Reviews

Goldsmith's Daughter

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Itacate was born in the great city of Tenochtitlán during the last years of the ill-fated Aztec empire. Her mother died giving birth to Itacate and her twin brother, and Itacate herself almost didn't survive. As a result, she is considered from birth to be unlucky and destined to a terrible future, while her brother is believed to be destined to greatness. She spends her childhood mostly ignored, until her father, a goldsmith, discovers her talents and makes her his secret apprentice. But the year Itacate turns fifteen, everything changes.

First, Itacate's twin brother, whom she believed would grow to be a great warrior, is instead chosen as a sacrifice to the gods. Then, Spanish Conquistadors arrive. Itacate catches the eye of one young Spaniard, Francisco. But when their secret love is discovered, it brings down upon them the wrath of her father and the disapproval of her people. And time is running out for Tenochtitlán and its people. What will become of Itacate, her family, and her beloved when the city falls?

The Goldsmith's Daughter is a fascinating historical novel that brings to life the Aztec culture and the final days of the great city of Tenochtitlán and the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Although the historical outcome is known, there is still suspense in wondering what will become of the fictional characters when the city inevitably is destroyed. Although the author does make a few modifications to the actual historical events for the sake of the story, overall she does a good job of introducing teen readers to the Aztec culture and to an era of history not often written about for young adults.

Fifteen-year-old Itacate, an Aztec girl who lives in the great city of Tenochtitlán, began her life by defying the gods, refusing to be cast aside in the corner and left to die. Born under a bad sky a few moments before her twin brother's welcome birth, the priests predict that she will bring ill fortune to all those around her, while her brother is destined to be a great warrior.

Itacate loves her brother, Mitotiqui, dearly, but cannot help but feel resentment as their paths diverge in life - his to education and a life blessed by the gods, and hers to a life of drudgery, chained to a loom and pounding maize, with no hope for anything better.

One day, their father, a goldsmith, recognizes Itacate's eye for working with stones and fine metal, and Itacate unwittingly replaces her brother as her father's assistant, incurring his jealousy. While they must keep Itacate's involvement in her father's workshop a secret, since it is forbidden for a woman to work with gold, the gods appear displeased, for a fire and then a flood attack their city.

Soon after, rumors begin circulating that strangers have appeared in the land of the Maya, and they are traveling towards Tenochtitlán. Itacate and her father, commissioned by the great leader, Montezuma, to work in the palace, soon find themselves involved firsthand when the Spanish invade the inner court of Montezuma's palace. With the destruction, war, and loss that inevitably befall the entire Aztec empire, Itacate wonders if the prediction made at the time of her birth was true, or if something akin to peace may indeed be found in her future.

Although the author took much liberty regarding the sequence and particulars of these ancient events, I found myself captivated by her treatment of this historical period. Seeing the world through the eyes of a young Aztec woman, one of the silent majority who have left little mark on historical records, brings a fresh view to the everyday life of the citizens of this once great empire.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose