Incantation (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 7 Up–The opposing forces of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal underscore this brief but rich tale set during the Spanish Inquisition. Told by 16-year-old Estrella deMadrigal, the novel shows how gruesome beliefs nourished by ignorance and prejudice destroyed the lives of countless people. Hoffman weaves a tale of a close friendship between two teens, Estrella and Catalina. Both envision that their lives will be intertwined forever. However, there is a secret about Estrella and her family that unfolds in spurts. The deMadrigals are Jews who follow their religion in secret, appearing to the world as good Catholics in order to escape persecution. Hoffman, a master storyteller, has captured this harsh time and the fragile lives of the hidden Jews. On one level this is the story of a friendship and the deadly interference of jealousy. It is also a story of the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit. Estrella develops incredible strength as she tries to save herself and her grandmother. Ultimately, it is the love of a Christian, Catalina's cousin Andres, that saves her. Hoffman's lyrical prose and astute characterization blend to create a riveting, horrific tale that unites despair with elements of hope. Good companion selections include Waldtraut Lewin's Freedom beyond the Sea (Delacorte, 2001) and Kathryn Lasky's Blood Secret (HarperCollins, 2004).–Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Growing up in Spain around 1500 in the village where her family has lived for 500 years, Estrella, 16, knows that there are secrets in her home. As books are burned in the streets, and Jews from the nearby ghetto are murdered, she confronts the reality that she is a Marrano, part of a community of underground Jews who attend a special "church." The plot tangent involving Estrella's best friend, Catalina, jealous because Estrella has taken her boyfriend, seems too purposeful, but the historical fact is compelling, with the reason for the secrets spelled out in the horrifying persecution: Estrella is witness to her mother's burning and her brother's bones being broken by the police "one at a time." Acclaimed adult writer Hoffman, whose YA books include Aquamarine (2001), makes the history immediate in Estrella's spare, intense first-person narrative, in which tension builds as Estrella's discovers her hidden identity. Suggest Deborah Siegel's The Cross by Day, the Mezuzzah by Night (1999) or June Weltman's Mystery of the Missing Candlestick (2004) to readers wanting other stories about Marranos. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316154288
• ISBN-13: 978-0316154284
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,927 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars INCANTATION, October 3, 2006

By	Jewish Book World Magazine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incantation (Hardcover)

The burning of Jewish books in the town square is the first portent that life for sixteen-year-old Estrella is going to change. Set in Spain during the Middle Ages, the story is about secrets and self-knowledge. Estrella's family are Conversos, who practice Judaism in secret at home and in a church where all of the congregation plus the priest are like themselves. As the persecution of Jews draws ever closer to Estrella's own family, she is told about their secret, given a ring to buy herself safe passage to Amsterdam if need be, and taught the rudiments of kabbalah by her learned grandfather. This unlikely act is undoubtedly a gesture toward the current popularity of kabbalah and it does little to mar the credibility of the plot, consisting only of a few "kabbalistic" customs like wearing a red thread and learning the names of the ten gates of Paradise. More central to the story is Estrella/Esther's development from a carefree girl to a young woman fated to pass on her family's heritage virtually alone. As in other of Hoffman's books, nature and magic are intertwined. Estrella's mother is a dyer and a healer; her grandfather is a surgeon and a scholar. The witchcraft of which they are accused is practical magic, the kind that works not through the supernatural but through knowledge heightened by insight. Throughout the book, Estrella's mother teaches her about the natural world and how humans use it for good or evil. At the conclusion, after some horrific scenes of torture and burnings, she flees, having learned that "a Jew can never be attached to a place...We cannot have roots in the earth of any country, only in the garden that we carry inside us." This is a somber message for the teens of today and it is offset by other conflicts that they may find more appealing: the true nature of a false friend, and rivalry over a boy friend. Admirers of Alice Hoffman will enjoy her evocative writing style but Incantation is one of her lesser works. For teens and adults. Reviewed by Linda R. Silver

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story of love, friendship, and betrayal, January 5, 2007

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incantation (Hardcover)

"A monster is hard to see and even harder to kill. It takes time to grow so huge, time to crawl up into the open air. People will tell you it's not there; you're imagining things. But a book is a book. Pages are pages. Hawks are hawks. Doves are doves. Hatred is always hatred."

Estrella is Esther and her family is Marrano, caught during the Spanish Inquisition when Spanish Jews hid their heritage camouflaged as Spanish Catholics. Sixteen-year-old Estrella knows nothing of evils or monsters, nor is she aware that anyone can suddenly become an outcast. Estrella's life is full of hope and dreams of a happy future with her best friend, Catalina. Both girls have black hair and look so much alike. Catalina is the Crow and Estrella is the Raven, and the two plan, as sisters might, for the day when they will raise their children as friends. They know each other so well --- until the day the monster is brought to life in the town square.

The day soldiers come into the plaza and publicly burn a rabbi's books is the day the town is poisoned. It becomes dangerous and full of fearful hate, the hate often used as protection. The soldiers reward those who turn against neighbors as they uncover the Conversos, who practice Judaism at home and in a church with a congregation of other Conversos. A mere accusation would suffice and seal the guilt; the accused would suffer unimaginable punishment and humiliation.

For most of Estrella's life she is unaware of her family's true identity --- their greatest secret. Estrella never questions her private name (Esther), family traditions such as lighting candles before dinner and not eating pork, or her grandfather being a teacher. But Catalina does notice that Estrella always makes the sign of the cross backwards.

Estrella's confidence in Catalina's character fades when she learns that her best friend may have turned in their neighbor, an act that leads to their deaths. Catalina is poisoned, but the poison becomes deadly when she realizes that her handsome betrothed has fallen in love with Estrella. Catalina's betrayal leads to a series of arrests with horrific consequences. Friendship ends in tragic destruction as a new love forms, and a silly, innocent girl becomes a burdened woman carrying unbelievable responsibilities for her people.

Alice Hoffman's story of love, friendship and betrayal is set during a deplorable period in history, a time of religious intolerance and racial discrimination, when individuals benefited from turning against their best friends. This cautionary tale painfully describes the haunting consequences of Catalina's betrayal; it advises that the monsters of hatred, intolerance and discrimination have existed through time.

INCANTATION is such a powerful novel that it captured me from the start, seriously wounding my heart and conscience with its affecting portrayal of Estrella.

--- Reviewed by Patsy Side

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intersting Young Adult book, November 8, 2006

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incantation (Hardcover)

"I am someone
I never would have imagined.
A secret.
A dream...
body and soul..."


Growing up in the small village of Encaleflora, Spain, Estrella deMadrigal is aware of the Spanish Inquisition but believes it has little to do with her. She and her family attend one of the Catholic churches in town and her brother is studying to be a priest. However, Estrella is forced to face the brutal reality of the Inquisition as Jews from the ghetto are murdered and she discovers her own family's secrets--they are Marranos, a community of Jews who public profess to Roman Catholicism while secretly practicing their Judaism and Kabbalah at home.

Shortly after this momentous discovery, her family's secrets are made public and Estrella confronts a world she's never imagined, where neighbors turn on each other, where friendship ends in flame, and where betrayal has tragic and bitter consequences. To create a future for her family, Estrella must reach deep within herself and find sources of strength to craft a new reality.

Incantation, Alice Hoffman's newest novel for young adults, introduces readers to a turbulent period in European history through the eyes of 16-year-old Estrella.

Estrella enjoys spending time with her best friend Catalina, believing that their destiny is to marry and live next door to each other. "We thought we knew exactly what our lives were made of: still water, not a moving river."

Fate, however, has different plans for Estrella and Catalina. In 1478, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella established the Spanish Inquisition in a bid to maintain Catholicism in their kingdoms and in 1500 the Inquisition arrived in Encaleflora and snared Estrella and her family in its trap.

In Incantation, Hoffman has crafted a compelling coming-of-age story. At a time when the biggest decision facing her should be choosing a young man to marry, Estrella must confront a life built upon lies. Yet even within this dark period, Estrella manages to find dignity and hope.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting history lessons for young adults.