Name: Mapmaker's Daughter
ISBN: 9781402286490

Laurel Corona

A sweeping story of 1492 Spain, exploring how what we know about the world shapes our map of life Valencia, 1492. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issue an order expelling all Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity. Amalia Cresques, daughter of a Jewish mapmaker whose services were so valuable that his faith had been ignored, can no longer evade the throne. She must leave her beloved atlas, her house, her country, forever. As Amalia remembers her past, living as a converso, hiding her faith, she must decide whether to risk the wrath of the Inquisition or relinquish what's left of her true life. A mesmerizing saga about faith, family and Jewish identity.

Mapmaker's Daughter

"Vividly detailed and beautifully written, this is a pleasure to read, a thoughtful, deeply engaging story of the power of faith to navigate history's rough terrain."—Booklist How Far Would You Go To Stay True to Yourself? Spain, 1492. On the eve of the Jewish expulsion from Spain, Amalia Riba stands at a crossroads. In a country violently divided by religion, she must either convert to Christianity and stay safe, or remain a Jew and risk everything. It's a choice she's been walking toward her whole life, from the days of her youth when her family lit the Shabbat candles in secret. Back then, she saw the vast possibility of the world, outlined in the beautiful pen and ink maps her father created. But the world has shifted and contracted since then. The Mapmaker's Daughter is a stirring novel about identity, exile, and what it means to be home. "A close look at the great costs and greater rewards of being true to who you really are. A lyrical journey to the time when the Jews of Spain were faced with the wrenching choice of deciding their future as Jews—a pivotal period of history and inspiration today."—Margaret George, New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth I "The many twists and turns in the life of the mapmaker's daughter, Amalia, mirror the tenuous and harrowing journey of the Jewish community in fifteenth-century Iberia, showing how family and faith overcame even the worst the Inquisition could inflict on them."—Anne Easter Smith, author of Royal Mistress and A Rose for the Crown "A powerful love story ignites these pages, making the reader yearn for more as they come to know Amalia and Jamil, two of the most compelling characters in recent historical fiction. An absolute must-read!"—Michelle Moran, author of The Second Empress and Madam Tussaud

The Mapmaker's Daughter

A solid four stars for this fine piece of women's historical fiction. The setting and time of The Mapmaker's Daughter were new for me, and I learned a lot. I do wish there could have been a map because our main character, Amalia, travels a lot, especially in the beginning. Additionally, many of the place names are very similar, and with so much back and forth between places, the map would have been beneficial. Plus, the novel's title (not to mention main themes) deals with maps! 

Amalia is a compelling character; raised as a converso, her family are secret Jews. After some personal losses, Amalia lets go of her faith, and a large part of this book is about her accepting it again and embracing it fully, without hiding. This book does have adventure, romance, religion, turmoil, politics and much more. The first two-thirds were my favorite, as the last third is a little slow. As Amalia gets older and settles down, she no longer travels, and the plot slows. I also had no idea what direction this book was going to take, and the first part kept me hooked. It was refreshing to read about people, places and events I hadn't before, and Laurel Corona wrote it beautifully. 

However, the more the book goes on, the bigger (and more confusing and complex) Amalia's extended family gets. Maybe a cast of characters or a family tree would have been a good addition because there were times when I couldn't keep track of who was who. 

The timeline of this book is also a little confusing; I noticed quite a few discrepancies regarding age and events. In the beginning of the book, first it would say Amalia is 8, then a few pages later she's 10; first her sister Susana is to be married in a couple months, and then it seems like a year has passed and she's still not married. It could have used stronger editing on that front because it got pretty fuzzy. It's the same for the last third of the book as well. First, Amalia's grandson, Judah, is said to be 21 on page 285, but two pages later, it says he's 20. Just these little things I noticed. 

The tone of the book also shifts when Amalia comes back to her true religion, but for a little while longer it's simply still a gorgeous piece of women's historical fiction. Then, it becomes mostly about her religion and her family seems to take the center stage. The plot slows, but the writing was still superb. Laurel Corona is a brilliant author, and this book has gorgeous prose. I suppose I nitpick sometimes, but I can't help but notice blatant mistakes. 

Overall, I'm glad I read this book, mainly because of the new-to-me setting and time period. It was wonderful to read about a woman who made her own choices and became her truest self during a dark time in history. This book gets pretty dark, but its themes and events depicted were necessary to read about, if only because this is the only hist fic I'm aware of that doesn't shy away from it; I can't name any others that feature Jews and take place during the Inquisition in Spain.  

Amanda

A solid four stars for this fine piece of women's historical fiction. The setting and time of The Mapmaker's Daughter were new for me, and I learned a lot. I do wish there could have been a map because our main character, Amalia, travels a lot, especially in the beginning. Additionally, many of the place names are very similar, and with so much back and forth between places, the map would have been beneficial. Plus, the novel's title (not to mention main themes) deals with maps! 

Amalia is a compelling character; raised as a converso, her family are secret Jews. After some personal losses, Amalia lets go of her faith, and a large part of this book is about her accepting it again and embracing it fully, without hiding. This book does have adventure, romance, religion, turmoil, politics and much more. The first two-thirds were my favorite, as the last third is a little slow. As Amalia gets older and settles down, she no longer travels, and the plot slows. I also had no idea what direction this book was going to take, and the first part kept me hooked. It was refreshing to read about people, places and events I hadn't before, and Laurel Corona wrote it beautifully. 

However, the more the book goes on, the bigger (and more confusing and complex) Amalia's extended family gets. Maybe a cast of characters or a family tree would have been a good addition because there were times when I couldn't keep track of who was who. 

The timeline of this book is also a little confusing; I noticed quite a few discrepancies regarding age and events. In the beginning of the book, first it would say Amalia is 8, then a few pages later she's 10; first her sister Susana is to be married in a couple months, and then it seems like a year has passed and she's still not married. It could have used stronger editing on that front because it got pretty fuzzy. It's the same for the last third of the book as well. First, Amalia's grandson, Judah, is said to be 21 on page 285, but two pages later, it says he's 20. Just these little things I noticed. 

The tone of the book also shifts when Amalia comes back to her true religion, but for a little while longer it's simply still a gorgeous piece of women's historical fiction. Then, it becomes mostly about her religion and her family seems to take the center stage. The plot slows, but the writing was still superb. Laurel Corona is a brilliant author, and this book has gorgeous prose. I suppose I nitpick sometimes, but I can't help but notice blatant mistakes. 

Overall, I'm glad I read this book, mainly because of the new-to-me setting and time period. It was wonderful to read about a woman who made her own choices and became her truest self during a dark time in history. This book gets pretty dark, but its themes and events depicted were necessary to read about, if only because this is the only hist fic I'm aware of that doesn't shy away from it; I can't name any others that feature Jews and take place during the Inquisition in Spain.  

Mapmaker's Daughter

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