“For my sake, guard your tongue to guard your life, my daughter.”
This book was a brilliant, heartfelt, and mesmerizing retelling of historical fiction.
The story opens in the thirteenth century, where a historian is recording the tale of Dolssa, a young Christian woman who was condemned as a heretic by the Catholic Church and hunted down to be burned at the stake. The plot was truly horrifying and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
The first thing that drew me in was the writing. The language held an ancient quality with old words, strange terms, and unfamiliar names. For example, this book is set in Provence, France, but at the time, it was known as “Provensa.”
Julie Berry did a marvelous job at making me feel like I was living during the time era. She added so many details that enriched the story—peasants pressing grapes into wine with their bare feet, three sisters running a tavern by themselves, the threat of poverty, and farmers tending to their crops and animals.
I grew to care so much for the lifelike, dynamic characters—Dolssa, with her kindness and strong spirit, Botille, the spunky matchmaker, her supportive sisters Sazia and Plazensa, and the frustrating but charming Symo.
The chapters alternate point of views between Dolssa, Botille, and the friars. When Dolssa manages to escape imminent death and finds herself on the run from the obsessive Friar Lucien, she stumbles upon Botille’s poor and simple village.
I became so caught up in the plot as the characters battled trials; their struggles felt real and important. Dolssa’s refusal to back down from what she believed in was so inspiring—even if you aren’t a Christian I think you will be able to appreciate her courage and sacrifice.
“These voices from the past had arisen like ghosts demanding to be heard.”
Though this book is centered around well-researched religion in the thirteenth century, it’s about so much more than that—the story races by at a heart-pounding speed as themes of love, devotion, selflessness, and family are explored.
This is fresh, well-written YA.
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