Prisoner of the Inquisition

This book is set in Spain around the time of the Spanish Inquisition and it is about a girl called Zarita and a boy called Saulo. Zarita is the daughter of a rich magistrate and Saulo is a beggar’s son. When Zarita’s mother and newborn brother die, Saulo’s dad is executed by the magistrates. Saulo wants revenge on Zarita’s family and he goes off in search of this. On his travels he meets Christopher Columbus, famous explorer.

I really liked Saulo as he had an interesting story to tell about his voyages. The parts about him were in detail and I could picture the scene clearly in my head. I thought that the way Theresa Breslin wrote from both Saulo and Zarita’s point of view was very interesting and it hinted to you that something was going to happen and they would meet at some stage in the book. The story kept you hooked all of the time and you wanted to read on to find out what happens. At some points, the plot was fast paced, whereas in others it was slower. When one of the narrators had finished speaking, the chapter would leave you on a cliff-hanger and you’d want to move on and find out more but ther was the other narrator first. This kept alternating and kept up my concentration the whole way through.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I couldn’t put the book down. The beginning was slow to start with and I found it a little confusing at times but it picked up again later on in the book and made up for it. I especially enjoyed Saulo’s adventures with Christopher Columbus as you didn’t know where his route would take him next. It was a great book to read!

By Ben, Year 8