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A review by christinecc
A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hats off to Gail Carson Levine for writing a freaking masterpiece.
This is an incredibly well-researched, compelling, and complex historical fiction novel about Loma, a young girl who comes of age in Spain in the years leading up to 1492, the year of the Alhambra Decree, i.e., Isabella and Ferdinand's decree expelling the Sephardi Jewish people. At the start of the book, Loma is 7. By the last page she is 16--and mature beyond her years.
Loma is a naturally nervous child (no surprise given how nervous her parents must be in an increasingly hostile environment rife with pogroms, harassment, and a constant need to pay for protection at different levels of the legal hierarchy, all the way up to the royal family) with a compulsion to count when she is distressed and trying to calm herself. Any conflict sets her on edge, so she is also quick to look for solutions or just the right words to restore peace, even if that peace is merely temporary. She dreams of domestic bliss with a future husband, children, a large family just like her own, where she can be a caregiver and hold her loved ones close.
However, Loma's grandfather is in deep mourning for his recently deceased wife, and in his loss he takes a special interest in Loma's talent for math and diplomacy. He begins to take her with him on work trips, and eventually even to the royal court where he is a regular courtier before Isabella and Ferdinand themselves. All the while, Loma is exposed to more of the world--and the many, many dangers that come with 15th century Spain. Even traveling is a risk, and that doesn't even cover the early rumblings of the Inquisition.
What I especially loved (besides the rich historical background seamlessly woven into the story and its characters) was the complex relationships and personalities of Loma and her family. Her dear grandfather is wise and a pillar of his community, but he is also a man with his own caprices who at times puts his needs above those of his granddaughter (despite the fact that he loves her very, very dearly). It's a level of complexity I don't often find in adult novels, let alone the middle grade shelf for which Gail Carson Levine so masterfully writes.
Even though the book is told from Loma's perspective in the first person, Levine somehow imbues the other characters with enough detail that we the reader can develop opinions of them that may very well differ from Loma's personal take. Loma is a child, so when she notices things, she doesn't always have the experience to understand details reported, but the reader might. I thought this was especially the case with a brother of Loma's whom she particularly dislikes. He does many, many awful things, but there were some later scenes of his where Loma tries to find the right things to say, and I began to see that he was someone... well, not evil. He does bad things that endanger his family such as threatening to denounce them to the Inquisition , and while that made me sick to my stomach, I really respect the author's efforts to make him feel human and, quite honestly, scared. These were very unkind times, and they didn't always bring out the best in people. Levine never shortchanges her readers even where she could have taken the easy way out with cartoon villains. And that doesn't even cover the insidious and cloyingly "well-meaning" attitude of those who try to convert Jewish people to Catholicism by any means necessary (and then justify them).
This is a novel with a LOT of crossover appeal, and honestly I would recommend this to adult readers in a heartbeat. It's a fantastic work. The author makes it look easy, but I can assure you that this is the result of years and years of experience and craft.
Highly recommended if you like historical fiction with compelling, complex characters and intricate family relationships. The last act is STRESSFUL. I was on the edge of my seat and bursting with panic. So much goes wrong for our characters, and there's no avoiding the tragedy of 1492. But wow, Levine sure does stick the landing.
This is an incredibly well-researched, compelling, and complex historical fiction novel about Loma, a young girl who comes of age in Spain in the years leading up to 1492, the year of the Alhambra Decree, i.e., Isabella and Ferdinand's decree expelling the Sephardi Jewish people. At the start of the book, Loma is 7. By the last page she is 16--and mature beyond her years.
Loma is a naturally nervous child (no surprise given how nervous her parents must be in an increasingly hostile environment rife with pogroms, harassment, and a constant need to pay for protection at different levels of the legal hierarchy, all the way up to the royal family) with a compulsion to count when she is distressed and trying to calm herself. Any conflict sets her on edge, so she is also quick to look for solutions or just the right words to restore peace, even if that peace is merely temporary. She dreams of domestic bliss with a future husband, children, a large family just like her own, where she can be a caregiver and hold her loved ones close.
However, Loma's grandfather is in deep mourning for his recently deceased wife, and in his loss he takes a special interest in Loma's talent for math and diplomacy. He begins to take her with him on work trips, and eventually even to the royal court where he is a regular courtier before Isabella and Ferdinand themselves. All the while, Loma is exposed to more of the world--and the many, many dangers that come with 15th century Spain. Even traveling is a risk, and that doesn't even cover the early rumblings of the Inquisition.
What I especially loved (besides the rich historical background seamlessly woven into the story and its characters) was the complex relationships and personalities of Loma and her family. Her dear grandfather is wise and a pillar of his community, but he is also a man with his own caprices who at times puts his needs above those of his granddaughter (despite the fact that he loves her very, very dearly). It's a level of complexity I don't often find in adult novels, let alone the middle grade shelf for which Gail Carson Levine so masterfully writes.
Even though the book is told from Loma's perspective in the first person, Levine somehow imbues the other characters with enough detail that we the reader can develop opinions of them that may very well differ from Loma's personal take. Loma is a child, so when she notices things, she doesn't always have the experience to understand details reported, but the reader might. I thought this was especially the case with a brother of Loma's whom she particularly dislikes. He does many, many awful things, but there were some later scenes of his where Loma tries to find the right things to say, and I began to see that he was someone... well, not evil. He does bad things that endanger his family
This is a novel with a LOT of crossover appeal, and honestly I would recommend this to adult readers in a heartbeat. It's a fantastic work. The author makes it look easy, but I can assure you that this is the result of years and years of experience and craft.
Highly recommended if you like historical fiction with compelling, complex characters and intricate family relationships. The last act is STRESSFUL. I was on the edge of my seat and bursting with panic. So much goes wrong for our characters, and there's no avoiding the tragedy of 1492. But wow, Levine sure does stick the landing.