Review: The Girl with the Secret Name
The Girl with the Secret Name:
The Incredible Life of Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi
by Yael Zoldan
Green Bean Books, 2025
Category: Middle Grade
Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili
Although The Girl with the Secret Name refers to a girl in the title, this inspiring book is about the life of Dona Gracia Nasi well beyond her youth. It is the year 1522 in Lisbon, Portugal and the night before Beatriz (Gracia) de Luna's twelfth birthday. Like most girls her age, she is excited about her party the next day, as well as the new dress she has been waiting to wear. Her whole world shifts, however, when her parents reveal to her that their family are secret Jews. This is shocking and terrifying news to Beatriz who is told that the punishment will be death if the truth is discovered. Drawing on the strength of her parents and grandmother, however, she bravely faces her new reality. By age 18, Gracia has married and soon suspects that her husband's business is not all that it seems. When confronted, he reveals he is using his fortune to save fellow conversos from the inquisition. She readily joins forces with him in these dangerous and secret dealings but when she becomes a widow at the age of only 28, she forges on with the rescue missions, determined to not let anything or anyone stand in her way.
Both Jewish and non-Jewish students familiar with this era will have their understanding enhanced by learning about a true heroine of the times, while this story will especially resonate with young girls who wish to read about an enterprising and intelligent woman from centuries ago. Extra matter includes an author's note, a map outlining Dona Gracia Nasi's travels, a family tree and a timeline beginning with the announcement of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 and ending with Gracia's death in 1569.
Besides the main plot during the years of the Spanish Inquisition, the book contains Jewish references, both direct and subtle. For instance, being brave like Queen Esther who kept her identity a secret and saved her people from death, or being as "welcoming as our Mother Sara in her tent, as brave as Miriam in the desert" are woven in naturally into the story. As well, while in Istanbul, which would turn out to be her final home, she proclaims, "Let all who are hungry come here to eat," echoing the declaration stated in the Passover Haggadah. Readers who are familiar with Megillat Ruth, which is read on Shavuot, will find Gracia's daughter's statement "Wherever you go, I will follow" reminiscent of Ruth's declaration to her mother-in-law Naomi.
Additionally, interspersed throughout the narrative are short, fictionalized diary entries which will appeal to middle grade readers, like this final one which reads: "Always, we Jews have been persecuted and hated by our enemies. And always, we have cried to them or bribed them or run away. But this time we fought back." How poignant.
Both Jewish and non-Jewish students familiar with this era will have their understanding enhanced by learning about a true heroine of the times, while this story will especially resonate with young girls who wish to read about an enterprising and intelligent woman from centuries ago. Extra matter includes an author's note, a map outlining Dona Gracia Nasi's travels, a family tree and a timeline beginning with the announcement of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 and ending with Gracia's death in 1569.
Besides the main plot during the years of the Spanish Inquisition, the book contains Jewish references, both direct and subtle. For instance, being brave like Queen Esther who kept her identity a secret and saved her people from death, or being as "welcoming as our Mother Sara in her tent, as brave as Miriam in the desert" are woven in naturally into the story. As well, while in Istanbul, which would turn out to be her final home, she proclaims, "Let all who are hungry come here to eat," echoing the declaration stated in the Passover Haggadah. Readers who are familiar with Megillat Ruth, which is read on Shavuot, will find Gracia's daughter's statement "Wherever you go, I will follow" reminiscent of Ruth's declaration to her mother-in-law Naomi.
Additionally, interspersed throughout the narrative are short, fictionalized diary entries which will appeal to middle grade readers, like this final one which reads: "Always, we Jews have been persecuted and hated by our enemies. And always, we have cried to them or bribed them or run away. But this time we fought back." How poignant.
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Reviewer Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili enjoys reading and writing middle grade historical fiction. Among other titles, she is the author of THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST WATCH, which was showcased in Our Canada magazine, and SHLOIMIE'S LETTER, which was a PJ Our Way selection in 2025 and 2022; both chapter books take place in post-WWII Canada. Infused with a love for literature at an early age, she is the librarian at an all-boys elementary school.
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