This exceptional reimagining of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s life, inspired by Shank’s study of her writings, brims with impassioned feeling. From a young age, Juana is different: a child prodigy, she yearns to read and write, desires that are fueled by her abuelo—Pedro Ramirez de Asbaje—and his astounding library collection. Juana’s early years are spent by his side, ravenously consuming any learning he offers her, including helping her dress as a man so she can access La Biblioteca de la Universidad, forbidden to women in Juana’s 17th century Nueva España. When her beloved abuelo dies, Juana carries that flame inside, dedicating the remainder of her life to education, writing, and love.Shank (author of The Mystical Land of Myrrh) acknowledges an absence of factual information on Juana’s life, noting the liberties she takes to fill in those blanks—the end result of which is a stunning tapestry of one woman’s unusually brilliant spark. Juana’s larger than life personality consumes the pages of Shank’s novel, materializing in Juana’s delicately intense writing, perseverance in the face of tragedy, determination to be herself no matter the cost, and passionate love for Maria Luisa, the viceroy’s wife who, in real life, ensured some of Juana’s works were published in Spain. Just as she gives herself fully to Maria Luisa, so, too, does Juana devote herself to the Catholic Church, even when it sanctions her creativity and summons its considerable power to muzzle her talents.
Historical fiction fans will devour Shank’s story, enriched with historically accurate details throughout, including Juana’s nemesis, the Archbishop Francisco de Aguiar, who manipulated church doctrine to silence her outspoken writing, and 1695’s devastating plague, confined primarily to Juana’s San Jeronimo’s Convent, that eventually took her life. This penetrating novel portrays the many sides of an extraordinary woman, who dared to love, create, and pursue the question, “should I dare to fly?”
Takeaway: Stunning reimagining of the inspiring life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
Comparable Titles: Alicia Gaspar de Alba’s Sor Juana’s Second Dream, Paul Anderson’s Hunger’s Brides.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
