"Readers don't have to be Jewish to appreciate this beautifully written story
and it's wonderfully realized characters and fascinating setting. Lovely."
Kirkus Reviews

"An intriguing take on the experience of being Jewish in Europe in 1096."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[B]rings to life a smart, wise, bold, and insecure twelve-year-old who relies on her 'mazal,'
her guardian angel, for advice."Na'amat Woman magazine

In France in the year 1096, everyone in the Jewish community is terrified of the Crusaders,
who have been known to burn Jewish houses in the name of religion.

Elvina, the funny, feisty, twelve-year-old granddaughter of the great rabbi Rashi, knows how to
read and writevery rare for a girl of her time. She draws strength from this, as well as from
her guardian angel, to whom she speaks constantly. Then one cold Sabbath afternoon while
Elvina is alone in the house, three soldiers pound on her door. One of them is wounded. Elvina
has only a moment to make a difficult choice that could put her family and the entire community
at risk. Can her guardian angel guide her now?

Winner of the Prix Sorcieres, France's most prestigious award for children's literature, this is a
story of compassion and tolerance that speaks to people of all faiths.