Book Review: The Inquisitor's Tale

This is a guest post replicated from our library website. For more from Alina and Micha, see their blog links in the right-hand sidebar.

The Inquisitor's Tale

by Adam Gidwitz
Fantasy

Review by Alina L and Micha B, ISKL class of 2025

cover illustration by Hatem Aly

property of Dutton Books

The Inquisitor’s Tale is a fictional book full of great stories about three children and their holy dog. It is full of great writing and it makes you want to keep reading. It is not suggested for people who want an easy read because of the complexity in writing.

The story takes place in the 13th century, where monarchy ruled over. In the book, there were many moments that showed inequality, such as the king not being very supportive of Jews. In the story, the royals also considered the peasant’s dirt which was very wrong. In the book, we also shortly understand that the book is fiction/fantasy for we learn that the kids have magical powers, such as super-strength, healing, and visions which could be based on real events, such as a very good doctor, an extremely strong monk, and a girl who could predict the weather.

Inquisitor's Tale is a book based on some real events, such as the dog saint actually being a real saint, only it was a he and was called Guinefort, and the holy nail actually being lost in real life and found again.

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