INCANTATION

by Alice Hoffman

Set during the Spanish Inquisition, this dark and mysterious novel tells the story of man's cruelty to man. Narrated by Estrella deMadrigal, a young girl who has no idea that she belongs to a Jewish family who was forced to convert to Christianity one hundred years before, Incantation is the story of escalating violence and mob rule. Friends betray friends, and no one is safe. As soldiers come for Jewish families, and burn books in the Plaza, fear falls on Estrella's family and church members. She reads the newest edict in the center of her village, ordering everyone to turn in people suspected of being Jews, based on a list of ways a hidden Jew could be distinguished. From that point on, her life unravels before her eyes, and she is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. A short and quick read, Incantation is one more evidence of Alice Hoffman's skillful storytelling. It is on the 2008-2009 Tayshas list.

---reviewed by Dail Sams