Incantation

By Alice Hoffman

Estrella de Madrigal thought she knew herself: daughter, granddaughter, dearest friend. But truth is rare in this cruel and unforgiving century in Spain, when Jews who refused conversion to Christianity risked everything- love, life, family, faith.
Then: a startling discovery shakes Esrella’s world to the core. Emerging from a cocoon of secrets, new love burns brightly, but betrayal unleashes a monstrous evil upon her. Estrella must find the strength-despite grave consequences-to become the person she is destined to be.

Remember the story she is about to tell you.

This is a story about love and loss. This is a story about finding yourself and then being true to what you find. This is a story about faith. I loved reading this book. Alice Hoffman has a very dream-like way of telling a story and it has a haunting effect when it’s a story about something that really happened. The setting is Spain during the inquisition; Jews are forced to denounce their religion or die. This book opened my eyes; I don’t like to think about the many cruelties that were inflicted upon people in history, but this was not only a story about loss, it was a story of hope and enduring. I’m glad I read it, it really was beautiful, though heart-wrenching. I will definitely remember this book and read it again. Absolutely beautiful.