The Last Song

Gr 6–8—A story set during the Spanish Inquisition. Isabella, 14, and her family appear to be devout Catholics. But curiously, her mother does not eat pork, saying that it doesn't agree with her stomach. Blatant hints unfold, and readers learn that Isabella and her parents are New Christians, Jews who are forced to deny their own beliefs in order to survive. The teen is distraught when her father insists that she become betrothed to the son of an upstanding Old Christian family. She finds Luis disrespectful and harsh and doesn't understand why she must marry him. Soon she is told the truth about her family's secret religion. She meets Yonah, the son of a Jewish silversmith, and their conveniently instant friendship takes root. When her father is suddenly arrested and brought before the Inquisition, Isabella is determined to save him. She discovers a letter that alludes to the Jewish ancestry of Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, and she and Yonah plan to use it to garner Don Enrique's freedom. Soon an edict ordering the expulsion of all Jews from Toledo is handed down, and Isabella's family must leave, freeing the teen to look forward to life with Yonah. Historical information is woven throughout the story, but it is heavy-handed and greatly interrupts the dramatic flow. Alice Hoffman's Incantation (Little, Brown, 2006) and Kathryn Lasky's Blood Secret (HarperCollins, 2004) are more successful in presenting the drama of this time through gripping, well-paced stories and multidimensional characters.—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ