A Ceiling Made of Eggshells

Paloma is a rare bird. She draws on the strength her dear Bela imparted before dying of the plague. She loves on the "littles" in her family rejoicing with her siblings as they add to the family. Her Belo is an important man in late 15th century Spain and he relies on her to travel with him and be an advocate for the Jewish population. Paloma even gets to meet Christopher Columbus in 1491, the year before he "sails the ocean blue." Unfortunately, I don't see a large number of kids sticking with the book as it takes until about 66% in for it to really get exciting. The period information is well researched and fascinating to me, but even I struggled in the first 50%. So, I would recommend it to kids who like books like "The Book of Boy," "The Inquisitor's Tale," hoping they will fall in love with Paloma enough to hang in there.<br /><br />Thank you to Quill Books and Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who knows me knows I love Gail Carson Levine. She is easily my favorite middle grade author. So when I saw she was sending out ARCs for her latest book, A Ceiling Made of Eggshells, I jumped at the chance to request it. I was surprised when my request was accepted and the book arrived in the mail a week later. I now had access to Levine’s newest book six months before anyone else! I was so excited to start reading it over Christmas break. <br />I’ve never read a story that takes place during the Spanish Inquisition (and I’m honestly not even sure I learned about it in school—or if I did, I don’t remember it), so the subject matter really intrigued me. Levine’s father was Jewish, so she wrote this as well as one of her first novels, Dave At Night, to explore her Jewish heritage. As a Protestant Christian myself, I have a fondness for the Jews as God’s chosen people, so I enjoy learning more about their history when I can. <br />The story starts with six or seven year old Loma catching the plague. Her grandmother, Bela, gave Loma her amulet, as she believed it would protect her granddaughter from evil spirits. While Loma survives the plague, Bela, tragically, does not. Belo, not nearly as kind and sympathetic as Bela, watches Loma recover, trying to understand why Bela loved her so much. Loma is consumed with guilt—she believes that, having “taken” the amulet from Bela, it is her fault Bela died. I was pulled into the story almost right away, wondering how this guilt, based on a superstition, would consume her as she grew up and how it would affect her relationship with Belo, whether or not he, too, blamed her for Bela’s death. Unfortunately, this inner conflict is resolved within a few chapters. The story continues to show Belo’s developed interest in Loma and the daily lives of the Spanish Jews, but besides that, there isn’t any real conflict for almost 150 pages. <br />Once that inner conflict was gone, it took me a while to get pulled back into the story. To be honest, I couldn’t tell where it was going. Slowly, Loma grew up, and while I knew she loved to count and spend time with her nieces and nephews, and she was intimidated by Belo and his friends, I didn’t know what her motivation or struggle was, as a character. Finally, around 150 pages in, as I mentioned above, a new conflict arises. After turning eleven, Loma waited patiently for Belo and Papa to arrange a marriage for her as she had watched them do for her older siblings when they became of age time and time again. However, Belo decided he wanted her to continue to be his traveling companion and that he’d find her a good husband later. This crushed Loma as she wanted to be a wife and mother now. She also worried that she wouldn’t be able to marry—there wouldn’t be anyone left!—if Belo waited too long. Now that there was tension in her relationship with Belo—the primary focus of the book—I was pulled back into the story and read the last 2/3 of it within a week. It is unfortunate that the first third of the book took a while to build, but looking back, I understand that Levine was setting up Belo’s and Loma’s relationship and the ins and outs of their religion before the heavy persecution began. Once conflict in the story returned, the pace of the story moved quickly. <br />There are many aspects of this book that fascinated me, the main one being the friction between the Christians and Jews. This hostility was in no way new to the 1400s, but I think it was especially accentuated during this time period. As a Protestant Christian, it was hard for me to read about the violence toward and persecution of the Jews by the “Christians” (they were actually Catholics). While Catholics do call themselves “Christians”, they in no way reflect how a true believer of Jesus would act, especially during the Spanish Inquisition. The Catholics tainted the name of Jesus by associating themselves with Him while at the same time hurting His chosen people. Because of this, I was pained to read Loma’s thoughts on Christians and their faith. Because she’s absolutely right: how could they claim to worship God while at the same time hurt her people? But that’s just it: they aren’t real Christians, not in accordance to true Biblical teaching. This disparity made the conversations between the Christians and Jews in this book very interesting. Because both were wrong just in different ways: the Jews believe the Messiah has not yet come, which we know He has. The Catholics believe He has come in Jesus, but that you must earn His salvation and favor, which we know is not true as God’s gift of Jesus’s salvation for us is free. I was struck by how, as represented in the characters’ daily lives, both religions are centered around rituals. In neither instance is there a personal relationship with God.<br />Something else that stood out to me was Loma’s strong desire to be a mother. In today’s society where feminism runs rampant, it is rare to find a book where the female main character’s foremost desire is to be a wife and mother. I greatly appreciated this perspective as my greatest desire has always been to be a wife and mother as well. For the first time, I related on a deeply personal level to the main character’s struggle. And in a world where female main characters usually have not just one, but two or three options of men to choose from, Loma, more realistically, had obstacles in her path to marriage. This was made an even more interesting conflict considering that back then all girls’ marriages were arranged for them between the ages of eleven and fourteen. Their sole purpose as a woman was to bear children. As Loma was prevented from fulfilling this purpose due to Belo’s interference, she was often looked down on by those around her.<br />However, I have to admit that, in regard to Loma’s romantic plot, I was a little disappointed. As the book progresses, so does Loma’s relationship with one of the family’s Muslim servants, Hamdun. I don’t remember if Levine ever gives us his age, but as I read, I assumed he was in his mid-late twenties, maybe early thirties. So I could be totally off, but I definitely felt there was potential for romance between Loma and Hamdun, especially as they bonded over dangerous adventures. While I know that a Jew could never marry a Muslim and vice-versa, it at least felt as if their relationship and feelings toward each other were growing fonder as the story advanced. So when they finally parted, I was heartbroken to see them separated. I guess I couldn’t tell if their relationship was supposed to be platonic or not as it wasn’t really clear.<br />Finally, this book showcased the never-ceasing resilience and courage of the Jews. This is a trait I’ve noticed often throughout my studies of Biblical times as well as the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism, as old as time, is consistently terrible and unjust, but I don’t see a future where it doesn’t exist until Jesus returns and establishes the New Heaven and New Earth. Until then, Jews have never given up and I have great respect to them for it. I felt this resilience in Loma. There were so many times she was scared, shy, insecure and uncertain of herself and her abilities, but she always rose to the challenge in order to protect her family. Even when it came to her personal desire for marriage, she set it aside to serve her grandpa. In our overly-individualistic society, it is rare to find a person willing to sacrifice their dreams for the sake of someone else’s—in fiction or in the real world. I found this trait to be truly inspiring. <br />In A Ceiling Made of Eggshells, Levine demonstrates that the Jews have never been safe throughout history and how easily friends can turn their backs on one another. However, Levine writes in her foreword: “we all have bad times in our histories, both recent and long ago. Yet here we are.” While this wasn’t my favorite of Levine’s work, it reminded me once again what I love so much about all her books: her strong and brave characters. <br /><br />In conclusion, I give A Ceiling Made of Eggshells 4 out of 5 stars. The beginning is slow, but the overarching plot, character development and life lessons learned is well worth the journey. It is also a glimpse into a unique time in history. Because of some realistic, but gruesome descriptions of the persecution of the Jews, I recommend this book for ages 12 and up.<br />

My 13 year old self would have eaten this with a spoon. I'm a lifelong history buff, and I've always loved medieval / early Renaissance period settings, and this novel pretty much does everything for me. I love all of the historical details. I love how we get an in-depth look at what it was like to grow up as a Jewish girl in this time period. Many of the critical reviews seem to think the book has "no plot," but I think the plot of "growing up and learning how to survive both as an individual and as an unexpected community leader" mixed with some "slice of life" was pretty engrossing. Was it as quickly paced as outwitting ogres and such, like we see in Ella Enchanted? No, but it's not that kind of book, and the world has room for both.<br /><br />We meet Loma as a naive 7 year old who barely survives the plague that kills several of her family members (shades of Ella Enchanted, right there, actually), and, shortly thereafter, she begins traveling around with her grandfather (Belo), who uses her as a sort of lucky / comfort talisman. Belo is a rich and savvy businessman who has the ears of the king and queen of Spain, as well as many other important people, and he uses this power to keep the Jews of Spain safe (relatively speaking. He does his best). He's also proud, tyrannical, and selfish on a personal level, and he insists on always having his own way within the family. Loma dislikes discord, and, above all else, wants to be a wife and mother (which was honestly refreshing to see). But she sees the good her grandfather does for their community, so, even as she grows past the usual age of marriage (12-ish) and into her later teens, she stays by her Belo's side to help him. She tries to satisfy her longing for her own "littles" by helping with her younger siblings and niblings whenever she has the chance (and they all adore her for it).<br /><br />Loma is a thoughtful, observant, compassionate character, as well as a shrewd judge of character. She loves mathematics, and uses her problem solving skills more than once to get herself out of trouble. She also makes mistakes, but she makes a point of learning from them. She acts as diplomat within her family on multiple occasions, and she learns how to make her voice heard even when speaking up makes her nervous. She's delightfully real.<br /><br />Who would I hand this to? Kids who like history. Kids who like complex world building. Kids who want something that's different, and who don't mind waiting a couple hundred pages before the tempo picks up because the writing and the characters and the setting are enough to hold their attention until then. Kids like I was. I'm pretty sure I'll find some.<br /><br />One further note: I'm Catholic, and I think other Catholics, in particular, should read this book. This is what real religious persecution looks like, and we did it. A lot. To a lot of other people for a really long time. And we're still doing it, by excluding and alienating people we don't think belong (I'm also queer, which is an interesting dynamic). History, good history, should make people uncomfortable, because that's what's real, and it's important that we learn from it and don't forget.

This is a unique story, in that I don't think I've ever seen a middle-grade book set during the Spanish Inquisition, revolving around the expulsion of the Jews. So I was definitely excited to read it.<br /><br />I loved Paloma as a character - she has a great arc over the course of the story. All Paloma, or Loma, wants is to be a mother. She adores caring for her "littles" - her siblings, nieces, and nephews and cannot wait to have children of her own. However, Abuelo, her grandfather whom she calls Belo, has different plans for her and asks her to help him in his work to protect the Jews of Spain. <br /><br />We follow Loma from the age of about 7 until she is 16, as she travels across Spain with her father and grandfather, meeting with the monarchs and pleading for the Jews. All the while, the Christians of Spain constantly try to force them to convert, sometimes politely, but most times it was either convert or die. Those who did were watched carefully, in case they reverted to Judaism. It was a very dangerous time and place to be a Jew, and it was great to see Loma holding strong to her beliefs.<br /><br />This book was very well-researched, and I know it was one that the author had been wanting to write for many years as it is based on her own family history.

Those of you who are offended by the fact that 12 year old girls are getting married (and having kids) in this book, welcome to history.The average person of the time has a life span about half of what we have today.Loma's parents are likely to be in their thirties and her grandparents perhaps in their 50s--and at that age considered really OLD!<br /><i>Also you are kidding yourself if you don't think that child marriage isn't around anymore. Sadly, it still exists widely in many parts of the world to this day. It horrifies me that it exists in 2021. But like so many things, it needs to be put into perspective. And what Carson Levine portrays here is true to its time. Want everything nicey nicey? Well, Carson Levine has written some really nice fairy tales...</i><br /><br />This is an interesting piece of historical fiction about a part of Jewish history seldom dealt with in kids fiction--the Sephardic Jews and their expulsion from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella. It won't be everyone's cup of tea-the pace isn't fast, and at the beginning I found Loma less than believable. But I persisted with the story and enjoyed it.

Gail Carson Levine, one of my all-time favorite authors, does not disappoint in this historical fiction novel centering on the Jews' expulsion from Spain in 1492. Despite the wide cast of characters, each seems realistic and has depth. The heroine is courageous and smart but not perfect, and while she overcomes trials, it is not without pain and loss. I found myself engaged in this novel and was glad to learn more about Jewish and medieval daily life. Plus, having studied abroad in Spain, it was a personal delight to "revisit" beautiful cities and sites that I have seen in the modern day. (My most excited moment was a scene taking place in the monastery which actually housed my dorm when I lived there!) This is an excellent work of historical fiction. Be sure to read the author's note at the end, which details Levine's Sephardic Jewish heritage and inspiration for the novel.

This book took me by surprise as I was expecting a fairytale. I've read several other books by Levine and they've all been fairytale based. So I seriously was expecting a big twist for over half the book. That aside, Loma's tale is skillfully written and an excellent way to learn and really think about the Spanish Inquisition. Loma felt real and relatable.<br /><br />The mid-1400s were such a vastly different time compared to the 2020s we're now living in. As an adult reader, it was offputting thinking about these children being married off at ages where today they are in middle school, but Levine writes about this aspect appropriately and tactfully keeping the history and time period in mind. 

Fascinating history and great writing. The story really drew me in and I absolutely loved Paloma as a character.

3.5/5<br><br>Thanks to HarperChildrens for this lovely ARC in exchange for an honest book review. <br><br> After finishing this book, I LIKE IT! I love Paloma, Hamdun, Belo, and all the side characters (especially the children). The plot is as exciting as historical fiction plots get and the conflicts are real and alluring.<br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1592438711i/29665326._SX540_.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br> BUT. . . I was sooooo sorely tempted to stop around 1/3 of the book. Seriously. I wanted to put down the book, never touch it again, and never finish Paloma’s story. As a reader, I was bored and annoyed. Here’s why— <br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1592438711i/29665329.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br> There are many, many restrictions to writing historical fiction and because Levine is such a great and informed writer, she takes these restrictions into account. However, these boundaries severely limited the interest of the plot and the development of the character. Worse, I felt that A Ceiling Made of Eggshells lacked the classic Levine charm found in her fantasy-based books. <br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1592438711i/29665325._SX540_.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I admit, I grew up on her books. Everyone did, but this book, in particular, didn’t have that magic—the kind that sweeps the reader into a whole world and engrosses them in the character. That disappointed me and it might disappoint other readers who have fallen in love with that kind of characterization and plot development. <br><br> By biggest “peeve” was that Paloma is so young at the beginning. Too young. She’s seven, I think? Levine portrays Paloma that way because during the Inquisition period in Spain, girls were usually married around 11 and seven was necessary for the continual growth and the realistic picture of a young Jewish girl during that time. However, Paloma is so naïve and just young. Her perception of the world is altered and her voice/tone isn’t compelling because it’s so malleable by the opinions of others and the historical situation around her. It’s because that Levine is such a great writer that it was easy to get annoyed by the character in the beginning. It threw me off. As Paloma’s character matured into 17 (?) by the end of the novel, I got her. I understood her and I grew to really love her backbone, her wisdom, and her defying position against societal norms of the era, but it took the whole book for me to grow to love Paloma and the steady buildup of her character. However, most readers may not want to go through that. Who knows?<br><br> But I loved the way Levine wrote CONFLICT into every part of Paloma’s life in Spain. Paloma is REAL. She’s part of the very conflicted and fearful existence of Jews in Spain. Reading this book, the cloak of fear and intimidation and threat was so apparent. Readers should see that Jews’ beliefs are constantly threatened by the Christian majority and that there’s little protection except with money. Paloma’s family uses MONEY to solve EVERYTHING. <br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1592438711i/29665327.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>But it’s so true because nothing else will protect them, not their social positions or connections. Basically, all there accomplishments are held by a thin string because of their religion. As a Jew, you were never safe and injustice was just normal. It’s so saddening to see how Paloma’s family just lives out their lives normally but are criticized and threatened because of their beliefs. The social/religious hierarchy is strong in this one, ladies and gents!<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1592438711i/29665328._SY540_.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br> Overall, it’s obvious—so obvious—that Levine knows what she’s talking about, although it may be toned down to fit the character. So, I give this book a 3.5/5, with the -1.5 attributed to the beginning.<br><br> Thanks for reading, y’all!

It took me a while to get into this story, but it was very interesting and a story/perspective I've never heard before. I love when I find one of those. <br />While I'll read anything and everything this author writes, I don't find her historical fiction as compelling as her fantasy. Still I enjoyed this read and learned a lot.