The Last Song (review)

Fifteen-year-old Isabel de Cardosa is a privileged fourteen-year-old girl whose life is turned upside down by the Spanish Inquisition when she learns that she her family is of Jewish descent. Her father has arranged for her to marry the vile and lascivious Luis, whose "Old Christian" ancestry ensures that Isabel will be protected from her own tainted lineage. Isabel, however, has been learning about her Jewish heritage from Yonah, the son of a Jewish silversmith, and her attraction to Yonah grows as her abhorrence of Luis increases. When her father is imprisoned, Isabel goes to the Grand Inquisitor himself and executes an extortionate bargain that buys her family just enough time to escape Toledo. While the story is generally well plotted, it's often overwritten. The first several chapters are riddled with absurdly obvious hints at Isabel's Jewish heritage, and the characterization of Luis is similarly over the top, with his dialogue cartoonishly villainous. The love story between Isabel and Yonah is sweetly portrayed, however, and readers will cheer their happily ever after. History fans will be disappointed by the absence of any historical note, but they may appreciate the well-crafted descriptions of time and place and the look at this dramatic moment in history.