A Cage Without Bars

by Anne Dublin

In 1492, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain signed the Edict of Expulsion, giving all Jews three months to leave the country. In the aftermath, twelve-year-old Joseph escapes to Lisbon, Portugal with his parents and younger sister, Gracia. After only eight months of safety, Joseph and Gracia, along with hundreds of other Jewish children, are kidnapped from the port in Lisbon and put on a ship. They then make a dangerous journey to the island of São Tomé, off the coast of West Africa. Now slaves, they are forced to work on a sugarcane plantation. Joseph must work in the fields, his life repeatedly saved by a combination of luck, strength, and quick wits. While Gracia tries to accept their circumstances, Joseph holds on to the hope that, one day, they will be free.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Jewish

154 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2018

Reviews

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially I was really excited about A Cage Without Bars. It's a middle age/grade book about a tough topic. Set in the late 1500's in Spain we see a twelve-year-old boy taken away from his Jewish parents, only with many other children, and taken to an island where he is enslaved on a sugar plantation. Tough topics in middle age books usually make for great reads. Unfortunately A Cage Without Bars doesn't quite deliver.

Starts out Strong
This is a simple language book about some harsh conditions. It started off by reminding me some of a book I loved at age twelve called The Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Like that book they both have portions that take place at sea under less than ideal conditions; and both feature a whipping scene. At this point I was really stoked for this to carry forward and continue to give us intense, realistic scenes that middle age children could understand.

Drops off
Unfortunately Anne Dublin didn't keep the momentum moving. Once we are off the ship and arrive at the island where our children are enslaved to work on a sugar plantation; A Cage Without Bars becomes a typical story of trying to grow sugar under awful conditions. There isn't really much here that even tugs at the heart strings (which really says something given that the children are slaves and starving). I just didn't feel the emotion that I had when our children were on the boat. Not sure what changed but the narrative felt so different.

Overall
I've read a variation of the failed sugar plantation run by slaves dozens of times before. Unfortunately there was nothing new to really add to this one. I wish I had been more wrapped up in the survival of the children; and I wish that we had the perspective of the sister (and not just the lead boy).
A Cage Without Bars is also very short. So I suppose that's a positive if you want to add a quick indie book to your list for the year. Overall I just don't think there is enough here to be worthy of even the short time spent. However, I did finish the story (and not just because it was short). There was just enough to keep me interested; even when I felt like I had read the plantation setting before. So it's not all bad; but not all that great either.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea this kind of thing happened after Spain expelled its Jews in 1492. Portugal enslaving Jewish children while their parents watched helplessly is beyond barbaric! This is an unforgettable story of two such children.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cage Without Bars by Anne Dublin, 129 pages. Second Story Press, 2018. $11

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (beatings, casual deaths)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

In 1492, Joseph, 12, and his family, and the rest of the Jewish population of Spain, are given just three months to exit the country. They flee to Portugal and live there safely for 8 months, until one day they are all again forced to flee. But this time the children are separated from their parents, even children as young as 2, and forced onto a boat. Where are they going – to Sao Tome to work as slave labor on a fledgling sugar plantation. Of the 200 children on board, only 600 make it to the island. And more misery and death await them.

If you are a Jewish interest school then you will probably want this more than most schools. It’s short and interesting, but it will have to be hand sold to readers. The subject is so obscure, but still worth being recognized. It is a quick look at the brutality of the world and would easily connect to the problems we still have with “immigration” or unskilled labor today.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked into the historical back ground of this story and was pretty horrified. I had never heard of this even and expected to learn more about it through this historical fiction account. Well, it is for younger kids, so I suppose a lot was sort of watered down. That's not a bad thing, but mostly I felt it was too watered down. Not a bad story, one that I think needed to be told, just really didn't resonate with me as I got toward the middle and end of the book. It lost it's steam. But maybe kids will find it interesting enough to look up the true story on their own.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was on the United Methodist Women reading program reading list for 2020. It is the story of a young Jewish boy who lived in Spain during the reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. He and his sister were kidnapped and became slaves because their parents would not become Christians.

This is a good book in that it told me of things happening during this time that I knew little about and feel like I should. It is very easy to read and is actually written for older children. Adults can learn much from the book also.

[MaryMargaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A children’s book that offers a beginning to an understanding about discrimination and human trafficking. Parts made my heart hurt and I believe that was the author’s intention. It showed how people grow and change and survive in the most tragic of situations.

[Marina Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

While visiting Israel I stopped at the Shrine of the Book and the Holocaust Museum ( both awesome places by the way) and stopped at the Museum's gift shop where they had a selection of various books about the persecution of Jewish people. I often like to check out the young adult books because they make for easy reading of interesting subjects. There they had many interesting books but having only limited space I bought 3 small books. This one was one of my first choices because it was about the period around 1492 which I have great interest in and it was about something I had not heard of. I did not know that children and babies were taken from their parents for payment of due taxes to the Portuguese government and sold into slavery to work in the sugar cane fields in Sao Tome a Portuguese colony in Africa. It is a sad but interesting story of survival as the main characters Joseph and Gracia are put on a ship and live through the treacherous conditions at sea. Then comes the horrible living and working conditions on the Island. More than half of the children perish either at sea or working on the sugar plantation. Additionally, their faith is put in question as they are forced to be baptized and expected to give up their faith and become Christian. Certainly want to know more about this subject matter. However, the book is very short and just touches on some of the issues, I think the book would of improved if we were give the point of view of the sister and perhaps some of the other characters.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a UWF Reading Program book from 2020 Social Action category.
It tells of an event in history of which I knew nothing. Anne does a good job of relaying the emotions of a young adult caught in a tidal wave of personal tragedy. She weaves her story by personalizing history and relating the impact on human lives.
The only detraction from the story is that sometimes the dialogue seemed clipped or contrived.
The reading level may be for 10-14 (grade 5-8), but the content seems way too intense for anyone younger than 14 or 8th grade.