The Cross by Day, Mezuzzah by Night (Hardcover)

by Deborah Spector Siegel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Despite its melodramatic plotting and prose style, this novel merits a look for its treatment of a topic generally neglected in YA fiction: the fate of Jews during the Spanish Inquisition. The narrator has spent her childhood believing herself to be Isabel Caruso de Carvallo, daughter of a good Catholic family. But when she turns 13, in 1492 (the year of the Jews' expulsion from Spain), her parents explain that she is really Ruth de Cojano, and that she and her family are MarranosAdescendants of forcibly converted Jews, they now practice their religion in secrecy. Tipped off that they will soon be "questioned" (tortured) by the Inquisitors, the family makes plans to flee Spain, only to be betrayed by Isabel/Ruth's older brother, who has become a Dominican ("the most fanatical sect in all Christendom!"). The father goes to a martyr's death; the mother, along an escape route; insists on returning to her husband. Ruth, tending her baby brother, convinces other fleeing Jews that she is one of them, not one of the Marranos they despise, and feels uplifted to become part of the community. Characterizations lack all subtlety and the writing is overblown ("To think that we had been sinners all along by practicing Christianity!"). Even so, Siegel forces her audience to think about the astonishing methods and rituals Marranos devised to protect their religion, and to imagine the impact of the Expulsion Edict. Readers may end up skimming, but they'll be intrigued. Ages 12-up. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Grade 6-8-Historical fiction is first and foremost a story that uses historical events as its underpinnings. Siegel's novel does not. Rather, it seems an attempt to tell about the history and atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition. The author does this dramatically and in great detail, but there is little depth of characterization, and the plot is contrived. The story takes place in 1492 when Queen Isabel has issued an edict expelling all Jews from Spain. Until her 13th birthday, Isabel de Carvallo, named after the Catholic queen, thought she was Catholic. That day, her father informs her that they are Marranos-secret Jews. She is shocked and confused at first, but eventually Judaism becomes the center of her life. Isabel's older brother has fully accepted Christianity and denies his Jewish heritage to the point of turning in his own family as they try to escape. Moral questions are raised as, for example, the hostility of the Jews toward the Marranos is described. The history of the Inquisition in Portugal around the same time forms the background for Jacqueline Greene's Out of Many Waters (1988) and One Foot Ashore (1994, both Walker). By creating gripping stories with fleshed-out characters, Greene succeeds where Siegel fails.
Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Pubn Society; 1st edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827605978
• ISBN-13: 978-0827605978
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,109 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful glimpse into life during the Spanish Inquisition, October 29, 1999

By A Customer

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!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rolling Meadows, IL, February 17, 2000

By	Joan Conneely (Rolling meadows, IL) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cross by Day, the Mezzuzah by Night, December 30, 1999

By A Customer

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.