by Ruth Behar
First sentence: “The sound of trumpets coming from the direction of our town gates tears me from sleep, my dreams forgotten as I jolt out of bed.”
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Content:Â There are some instances of hatred toward Jews, deaths of parents, and overly strict fathers. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.
These inter-connected short stories follow girls in the same Sephardic Jewish family from their exile in Spain in 1492, to their lives in Turkey and one girl’s exile from there to Cuba, to finally landing in Miami in present times. Three of the stories follow a direct mother-daughter line; the fourth is their ancestor in Spain. While there isn’t much of a plot except for these girls’ experiences, there is a lot of history here, much of which I didn’t know.
Behar is a talented writer, capturing quite a lot in a few words. It’s an elegant little book, and I appreciated that it was interconnected stories rather than trying to be one long novel. It was just enough to keep me interested and yet dense enough that I felt I connected with the characters are well as learning something new.Â
I’m not entirely sure it’s for kids, but maybe some out there will find an interest in this story. It’s a good one.