A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine - ADVISABLE

A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine, 370 pages, HarperCollins, 2020, $18.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Loma is traveling across Spain in the late 1400’s with her grandfather, a Jew of some renown.  Loma is intelligent and together with her grandfather, they try shoring up relations between the Jews and Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, who are devout Catholics.  There is intense pressure for Jews to convert to Catholicism, ripping families and traditions apart.  Loma increasingly wants a family of her own, but also feels pressure to help with the greater good in an increasingly dangerous time.

Levine draws upon her own heritage to craft her story. Offering great insight into the lives of Jews during this time period, this book is about family and beliefs, where we call home and what we do when those things are changing or challenged.  Loma is a great character who evolves as she progresses from around age 8 to 16.  I liked that this story is told from a well-to-do Jewish family.  Loma’s traditions and mindset give empathy to her position as a young Jewess whose life is not really her own.

Michelle in the Middle